Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship

Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship Guidelines
"Many of the problems of our modern world, ranging from disease to drugs to crime to terrorism, derive from the inequalities between the rich and the poor . . . be they rich nation versus poor nation or rich community versus poor community. It is in the best interests of the well-off to help empower those who are not as well-off to improve their lives." —Jeff Skoll

What's New:
• Year-round application and award process
• 24-month wait period for declined applications
• Eligibility quiz

The Skoll Foundation’s mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs. We believe that social entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see problems and crises. They apply innovative solutions to social and environmental issues, empowering people and communities to envision and create positive change. They work in many kinds of organizations, including nonprofits, social purpose ventures such as community development banks, and hybrid organizations that mix elements of nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

The Skoll Foundation believes that social entrepreneurs represent a powerful force for large-scale impact or equilibrium change. Their work has the potential to reduce economic disparities, increase opportunities for the disadvantaged, promote healthy communities, and increase the interpersonal and intercultural understanding that is the foundation for world peace.

The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship support social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential for large-scale influence on critical challenges of our time: environmental sustainability, health, tolerance and human rights, institutional responsibility, economic and social equity, and peace and security. These issues are at the heart of the foundation’s vision of empowering people to create a peaceful, prosperous, sustainable world. Within these issues, we are particularly interested in applications from social entrepreneurs working in five critical sub-issue areas that threaten the survival of humanity – climate change, nuclear proliferation, global pandemics, conflict in the Middle East and water scarcity.

Skoll social entrepreneurs are innovators who have tested and proved their approach, are poised to replicate or scale up their work to create equilibrium change and engage others with a message that resonates with individuals whose resources are crucial to advancing these solutions. The Skoll Awards are designed for leaders who contribute value to a peer network committed to continuous learning. By telling their stories, they join in the foundation’s ongoing celebration of the power of social entrepreneurs.

The Skoll Awards provide later-stage, or mezzanine, funding, which is generally structured as a $1 million award paid out over three years, subject to payment limitations described below under Budget Guidance. In most cases, the grant is provided for core support to help organizations expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable equilibrium change. The Skoll Awards are not intended for new or early-stage programs or initiatives. Programs submitted for consideration should have a track record of no less than three years. In addition to core support, the Skoll Foundation supports the participation of Award recipients in the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

Deadline for Applying:
Applications are accepted and reviewed on a year-round basis, with successful applicants receiving initial funding installments shortly after decisions are made. Regular deadlines (listed below and updated regularly) assist us in managing the internal review process for these applications, a process that takes a minimum of six months to be completed. Awards will be presented publicly at a ceremony at the Skoll World Forum, which occurs at the end of every March in Oxford, England.

Please note the following application deadlines:

August 5, 2008.
November 4, 2008.

We will post future deadlines as they become available.

Please note that, starting in August 2007, applicants who are not selected must wait 24 months before reapplying.

How to Apply
Please note that the selection process for Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is highly competitive. Each year the Skoll Foundation receives hundreds of applications for the small number of Awards offered, which means that many fine organizations are not selected for an Award. We have enormous regard for the important work being done by all of our applicants, whether they are selected for an Award or not.

Our application process is designed to select organizations that most closely align with our criteria. We urge applicants to complete the Eligibility Quiz to assess whether their organization meets our selection criteria.

Changes in the Application Process:

In 2007 the Skoll Foundation revised its application process and materials. There are three major changes in how the program is administered:

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a year-round basis, with successful applicants receiving initial funding installments shortly after decisions are made. Regular deadlines (listed below and updated regularly) assist us in managing the internal review process for these applications, a process that takes a minimum of six months to be completed. Awards will be presented publicly at a ceremony at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, which occurs at the end of every March in Oxford, England.

Starting in August 2007, applicants who are not selected must wait 24 months before reapplying. This restriction is not retroactive; therefore, applicants who applied prior to 2007 may reapply if they believe that they now fit the Skoll Award criteria.
All applicants must complete an Eligibility Quiz before filling out the Online Application. The Eligibility Quiz is designed to help applicants assess their competitiveness and avoid preparing an application that is not likely to match Skoll’s selection criteria.
Application Process

Below is a description of the application process.

The first stage is the Eligibility Quiz. This tool is intended to help applicants assess their eligibility and potential competitiveness for a Skoll Award. At the end of the quiz, applicants are given a code that allows them to access the application. Applicants cannot move forward to the next phase until they have completed the Eligibility Quiz. However, you can view a preview of the application before taking the quiz.
The second stage is the Online Application. After taking the Eligibility Quiz, applicants who feel that their organization is eligible can proceed to completing an Online Application that requests key organizational details and brief answers to 10 questions. Skoll staff will review all applications. Those that are less competitive or do not fit our criteria will be declined at this stage.
The third stage is an invitation to submit a Full Proposal. Applicants selected to move forward in the process will be contacted by a program officer and invited to submit a Full Proposal. We anticipate that between 25 to 35 applicants will be asked to submit Full Proposals each year.
The fourth stage is Due Diligence. This process usually includes interviews, a site visit, reference checks, follow-up questions, an in-depth financial review and a discussion of grant objectives. We expect that approximately half of the organizations that are invited to submit Full Proposals will move on to the Due Diligence stage.
The final stage is the Selection of the Awardees. Decisions will take place on a year-round basis following completion of Due Diligence. We anticipate making eight to 12 Awards during each 12-month cycle.
Timeline:

Applications are accepted year round, with black-out periods during holidays, system maintenance and around Skoll Foundation events.
Applications are acknowledged electronically, usually within minutes of submission.
The application decision and, for successful applicants, an invitation to submit a Full Proposal occurs within six months of submission of an application.
Due Diligence takes several weeks to several months, depending on the schedule and project complexity.
Award decisions and funding are made year round.
All awards will be publicly celebrated during a ceremony at the Skoll World Forum in March of each year, regardless of the grant approval date.