United Way of Central Indiana awards top three prizes at Catalyst pitch event
Fatima Johnson of CANVAS (from left), Diana Matzinger of Belisimoda Academy, and AD Williams of AD1 Legacy pose for a photo with their checks upon winning Catalyst June 25, 2026, at Salesforce Tower in Indianapolis. (Photo by United Way of Central Indiana)
INDIANAPOLIS – Diana Matzinger, AD Williams and Fatima Johnson won the top prizes Thursday night at Catalyst, United Way of Central Indiana’s new nine-week design lab and live pitch event. The initiative is intended to help people and organizations test and develop sustainable solutions to community challenges.
A $50,000 first-place prize was awarded to Diana Matzinger, founder of Belisimoda Academy. Matzinger seeks to recruit, place and certify skilled Hispanic beauty professionals through an apprenticeship program delivered in Spanish. Belisimoda removes barriers to help women get their license, develop sustainable businesses and build financial stability for their families.
A $30,000 second-place prize went to AD Williams, founder of AD1 Legacy. Williams developed the Legacy Leadership Academy, a school-based, after-school leadership development program serving sixth through eighth graders in the 46218 ZIP code of Indianapolis. The goal: ensure youth enter high school confident, connected and prepared to lead.
Fatima Johnson, founder of CANVAS, took home the $20,000 third-place prize. With CANVAS, Johnson is seeking to disrupt cycles of youth violence and inequity by creating a safe space for youth ages 12 to 18 to go after dark. The initiative targets north and northwest Indianapolis.
Barb Richardson, founding director of Indy Encore, and Nicole Woods, founder and executive director of Can We Ryde Inc., also pitched live Thursday at Catalyst, held at Salesforce Tower in Indianapolis. The event was presented by J.C. Hart.
From April through June, 12 participants in the inaugural Catalyst design lab met weekly at United Way's Indianapolis headquarters, where they received guided design and testing of their idea; support for building operational and funding models; peer learning; and coaching from experienced entrepreneurs, business owners, C-suite leaders, professors and mentors from both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors.
Five finalists were then invited to pitch their ideas at Thursday's event to a panel of judges.
Catalyst is the natural evolution of United Way’s innovation initiatives, events and funding. It was built for people who see a clear community problem but need time, tools and support to figure out what works and then test and strengthen their ideas before launching them.
The initiative is for nonprofit leaders, social entrepreneurs and mission-driven people in Central Indiana who work in or alongside human services nonprofits, agencies or community organizations – or are independent leaders ready to build something new.
"At United Way, our work has always been about bringing people together to improve lives and strengthen communities," Fred Payne, United Way of Central Indiana's president and CEO, said at Thursday's event. "Catalyst is a natural extension of that mission — creating a place where new ideas can be tested, refined and positioned to create meaningful change."
This year’s Catalyst event was also made possible thanks to generous sponsorship from Roche Diagnostics.