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Build Change’s engineers and architects recognized from the start that retrofitting the world’s most vulnerable communities would require the most powerful tech. That’s why they rely on ThinkPad P70 and ThinkStation P510 workstations to transform Autodesk’s 3D models into new houses and schools in developing countries at high risk of earthquakes and typhoons.

And now Build Change has earned a special recognition of its own. The nonprofit has been granted a 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, presented to select groups whose innovations have helped solve some of the urgent challenges threatening the globe.

As part of the award, Build Change receives a $1.25 million, three-year grant. The Skoll Foundation provides this funding to invest in the promise of organizations like Build Change to make an even greater impact in the future.

Through an extensive vetting process, Build Change set out their undeniable qualifications: helping more than 257,000 people, constructing and retrofitting more than 51,000 homes, schools, and other buildings, creating more than 12,000 jobs, and serving as an example for 42 other organizations.

In addition to having a clear mission, sound business model, and strong partnerships, Skoll awardees are led by a visionary social entrepreneur. In Build Change’s case, that’s Dr. Elizabeth Hausler, who is a skilled brick, block, and stone mason with a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

It’s this combination of hands-on craftsmanship and intellectual savvy that has propelled Build Change to its position as an innovative leader. And it’s one more reason why Lenovo is proud to support them with the technology to rebuild and re-imagine our world.