Open July 15 – October 4, 2026
North Carolina Idea Challenge
Students in grades 5–12 and any educator can participate. Send a 2-minute video of your idea to improve your community. You’ll hear back from judges within 10 days, and up to 500 winners earn a $1,000 prize — no strings attached. Submissions are judged on a rolling basis, so enter early; if it’s a no, you can revise and try again.
Philanthropic journey
Commitment to make extraordinary education more accessible.
As alumni of Cary Academy, we have partnered with the institution over the last seven years in a path to provide a strong academic experience to those who seek it.
Mission Scholars financial award program (launched 2019)
In 2019, we quietly established two financial award programs at Cary Academy. These covered the full cost of attendance for a student’s academic journey, featuring annual stipends and other enrichment — including everything from athletic needs to experiential opportunities — for students who earned admission and had full financial need. This resulted in an increase in students supported by financial aid and in the socioeconomic diversity of the student population. 13 students have benefited from this unique experience.
Summer academic enrichment (launched 2022)
On their campus, we supported four years of summer programming that served students from varying socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds across the Triangle. From one organization, 100 students in grades 4–11 each summer participated in experiential education trips, college campus visits, SAT prep courses, college counseling, math, reading, writing, and science courses led by teachers at Cary Academy, cooking classes, swim lessons, entrepreneurial prep, and robotics training.
Charger Promise (launched 2025)
In 2025, as an outgrowth of the Mission Scholars program, we sparked the development and initial funding for Charger Promise — a commitment for a Cary Academy education to be fully accessible (tuition and experiential and creative opportunities along with transportation, before- and after-care covered) for families earning under $100,000.
Read the coverage in The News & Observer →Future programs
What we’re building next.
We’re exploring a range of ideas: multi-year student cohorts, community and peer support, and unique experiences — experiential learning, travel, and residential summer programs for bright young leaders.
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