While many Canadian startups use technology and innovation to build solutions for sectors like financial services and healthcare, they aren’t always at the forefront of creating solutions for social problems like poverty, hunger, and disease.

That’s where non-profit organizations and social enterprises come in. On March 30, 10 Canadian non-profits were invited to pitch tech-based solutions to issues like hunger and lack of Indigenous education at Canada’s first-ever Google.org Impact Challenge. The challenge is a nationwide competition designed to find and fund non-profits that are using technology and innovation to tackle social issues in Canada and abroad.

"Ambition to change the world and make it a better place is alive and well in ????????” – @SamSebastian @Googleorg #ImpactChallenge pic.twitter.com/1avIJW855m — Google Canada (@googlecanada) March 30, 2017

The 10 finalists, who were selected from a pool of over 900 applicants, had 90 seconds to pitch to a panel of judges with backgrounds in philanthropy and tech, followed by a three-minute Q&A period. The teams ware sharing $5 million in funding, with five organizations receiving $750,000 and five receiving $250,000.

“We had huge expectations for what Canada could deliver as part of this challenge, and these projects exceeded even those high expectations,” said Sam Sebastian, VP and managing director of Canada. “Canada’s capacity to deploy innovative technology in the service of social challenges is truly something to behold.”

Winners of the $750,000 prize:

Food Banks Canada was the People’s Choice Award winner, which was selected with nearly 500,000 votes.

“We just feel very, very fortunate to have been part of the Google Impact Challenge,” said Katharine Schmidt, the executive director at Food Banks Canada. “We’re really looking forward to implementing new technology to really link the gap between surplus food and people in Canada who really need it most.”

Food Banks Canada will use its new funding to build a prototype for its FoodAccess App and test it across several markets.

Winners of the $250,000 prize:

Along with the cash prize, each team will gain access to hands-on support from Google and its local support partner, the LEAP Centre, to launch their products.

Jacquelline Fuller, managing director of Google.org and a judge at the Impact Challenge, said she looks forward to working alongside each of the organizations. She added that while Google.org hosts similar challenges around the world, Canada “blew it out of the water in every single way possible,” as the pitching teams showed passion and commitment to ideas that will solve national and global problems.

“There are a whole lot of innovators in Canada who understand the needs of underserved populations, and who are ready to create new and unexpected solutions to address inequities,” said Fuller. “This a country with humanitarianism and innovation baked into its DNA, and that comes out in these big ideas to make the world better through technology.”

Toronto Mayor John Tory also stopped by the Google.org Impact Challenge to congratulate the 10 finalists, and reminded the audience of Canada’s position as a growing global hub for tech and innovation.

“The kinds of ideas that I saw today are going to make the world a better place,” said Tory. “When you look at these things and what they can do to help sites of disaster or help a food supplier or help with literacy…these are all things that are going to be advances not just for Canada, but other parts of the world.”