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218870
2024 Forum
February 3, 2024
218849
Lessons in Collective Trust & Action from the Skoll Community of Social Innovators
Vanessa Wai - Skoll Foundation , Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , May 10, 2023
At Skoll Foundation, we believe that communities – people who build trust with each other and share a sense of purpose – can unlock the support, sharing, and collaboration needed…
218834
Catch Up On Sessions And Highlights From The 2023 Skoll World Forum
May 5, 2023
218424
2023 Program
April 5, 2023
216685
The Skoll Foundation Announces the Winners of the 2023 Skoll Award for Social Innovation
April 4, 2023
Five social innovators from around the globe drive justice, equity, and stronger democracies, healthcare, climate action, and inclusive economic growth PALO ALTO, Calif., April 4, 2023—The Skoll Foundation has announced…
217765
2022-2023 Spring Letter
April 3, 2023
218213
Five Ways to Approach the 2023 Skoll World Forum
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , Lindsey Platt Ojok - Skoll Foundation , April 3, 2023
The 20th Skoll World Forum is just around the corner. After three years of connecting online, we will return to Oxford for opportunities to learn, share, and cultivate new and…
215272
Humble, Creative, Connective: How One System Orchestrator Makes Magic from Off-Stage
January 11, 2023
Several years ago, the Skoll Foundation noted a promising development in its portfolio. A few early Skoll Award winners, those models of social entrepreneurship, began to spin off new initiatives…
214965
Meet Our New Board Members: Gayle Smith and Shashi Buluswar
December 8, 2022
Gayle and Shashi bring unparalleled expertise in social innovation, global development, and poverty alleviation. Today, the Skoll Foundation announced the addition of Gayle Smith and Shashi Buluswar to its Board…
214489
Waste Water Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention in Low-Income Settings: Lessons From Swasti in Bengaluru
Angela Chaudhuri - Swasti The Health Catalyst , Sabhimanvi Dua - Swasti The Health Catalyst , Kathie Paul Wilkerson - Skoll Foundation , October 26, 2022
December 2023 will mark the third anniversary of the discovery of SARS-COV2, the virus at the source of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is no less important today to monitor the…
214374
Land Tenure: A Cross-Cutting Solution for Poverty, Climate Change, and Women's Rights
Esther Mwaura-Muiru - Landesa , October 11, 2022
Women farmers feed their communities and the world. From the paddy terraces of Asia to the maize fields of sub-Saharan Africa, the woman farmer tills, plants, waters, and harvests crops…
214269
Making Good Jobs Our North Star: Reflections on the First-Ever Good Jobs Summit
Liz Diebold - Skoll Foundation , Livia Lam - Ford Foundation , Jenny Weissbourd - Families and Workers Fund , September 28, 2022
On June 21st, we sat in the Great Hall of the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C., witnessing history. Leaders from across the federal government joined key representatives from…
213994
Africa Frontline First Catalytic Fund: A Bold Initiative to Transform Community Health
Ben Pyne - Skoll Foundation , September 6, 2022
The Skoll Foundation recently announced, along with Johnson & Johnson Foundation and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, its contribution to the Africa Frontline First Catalytic Fund.…
213935
Stories That Drive Transformational Social Change Come to the Clinton Global Initiative
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , Lindsey Platt Ojok - Skoll Foundation , September 2, 2022
The Skoll Foundation has always held that hopeful human-centered storytelling that elevates the voices of social innovators—and expands what people think is possible—helps fuel transformational social change. At the 2022…
213952
How Traditional Philanthropy's Obsession With Scale Too Often Excludes African Innovators
Atti Worku - African Visionary Fund , Katie Bunten-Wamaru - African Visionary Fund , Sibabalwe Mona - African Visionary Fund , September 2, 2022
Power imbalances and donor pressure to grow too fast can hinder African-led organizations’ long-term success and sustainability. Together, we can abolish the traditional scale formula and achieve higher impact. “Growth…
213870
Innovating Better Health Outcomes for All: Don Gips Joins Three Skoll Awardees at Aspen Ideas 2022
August 18, 2022
Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation joined Angela Gichaga, CEO of Financing Alliance for Health; Edith Elliott Co-CEO of Noora Health; and Aparna Hegde, Chair of Armman on a…
213714
Catalytic Investment to improve Community Health Care for Millions Across Africa
August 8, 2022
Today the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is announcing a crucial new catalytic fund to support community health workers across up to 10 African countries. The Africa…
213569
Closing the Vision Gap With Liberia's Community Health Assistant Workforce
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , July 28, 2022
Imagine a life fundamentally changed by a $1 investment. For over 800 million people around the world, there’s a critical tool to sustain their livelihood that remains out of reach:…
213413
Connecting Corporate Sustainability and Environmental Justice to Build a Clean and Sustainable Future
John Carlson - Ceres , July 13, 2022
We have spent decades working to build a clean and sustainable future. It took us too long to realize environmental justice must be at the heart of our effort. “We…
213343
Power of Partnership: Five Years of Connecting TED and Skoll Communities
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , Liz Diebold - Skoll Foundation , July 5, 2022
Connection, access, and visibility accelerate transformational social change. The Skoll Foundation works to embrace less obvious collaborations across sectors and geographies, within and beyond the field of philanthropy. Over five…
213339
Building From Adversity: How African Healthtechs Can Expand During Crisis
Solomon Nzere - LifeBank , July 5, 2022
When Dr Olukayode Oguntimehin saw the news of Nigeria’s first case of Covid-19, there was no dread. If anything, it was a familiar tingle of the strenuous work the fight…
213274
The Skoll Foundation Joins Global Effort to Address Large Shortfalls in Medical Oxygen
June 22, 2022
Today, the Skoll Foundation announced its continued commitment to expanding access to medical oxygen to respond to COVID-19 and also strengthen health systems over the long-term. Skoll supports proximate social…
213100
Telling It Forward: The Role of Storytelling in an Evolving World
Damilola Onafuwa - StoryMaxima , May 19, 2022
At StoryMaxima, we believe in the power of visual storytelling as a source of public influence and a force for social change. We help organizations tell their stories of impact…
212973
How Land Tenure Reform is a Critical Climate Solution
James Pippim - Skoll Foundation , May 9, 2022
To address the climate crisis and reach sustainable development goals, Indigenous, community, and Afro-descendant land rights must be secure. While communities claim and manage roughly half of the world’s lands—including…
212950
Highlights from the 2022 Skoll World Forum
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , May 2, 2022
This year’s virtual Skoll World Forum welcomed more than 3,000 attendees from 121 countries to Face/Forward with courage, determination, and hope. Over three days, we shared ideas for innovation, sparked…
212406
Skoll Foundation Announces Winners of the 2022 Skoll Award for Social Innovation
Skoll Foundation - , April 4, 2022
Six social innovators drive stronger health systems, racial justice, climate action, civic engagement, and inclusive economic growth The Skoll Foundation has announced the six winners of the 2022 Skoll Award…
212153
Mourning the Passing of Secretary Madeleine K. Albright
Donald Gips - Skoll Foundation , March 23, 2022
Like so many around the world, I’m deeply saddened by the passing of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. It’s a very somber day for those who knew…
211906
Introducing the Skoll Awards for Social Innovation
Kathryn Harrison - Skoll Foundation , Vu Dinh - Skoll Foundation , Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , March 23, 2022
Watch the 2022 Awards Ceremony on April 6 at the virtual Skoll World Forum! Register free by April 4. The Skoll Foundation's strategy evolution over the past two years has…
211859
2021 Annual Letter
March 21, 2022
211387
The Business in Africa Narrative Report Shows Another ‘Scramble for Africa’ by Foreign Powers is Underway
Moky Makura - Africa No Filter , March 7, 2022
The latest report by Africa No Filter investigates news and content about business in Africa and the impact of perceptions about Africa as a business and investment destination. It also…
211282
Announcing Skoll World Forum Featured Speakers and Sessions
Annah Mason - Skoll Foundation , March 2, 2022
Our team has added new speakers and sessions to the 2022 Skoll World Forum schedule as we prepare to advance social progress together on April 6–8! With an inspiring lineup…
211218
Honoring the Lifesaving Legacy of Dr. Paul Farmer
Skoll Foundation - , March 1, 2022
Dr. Paul Farmer left behind a generational legacy, a depth of impact felt far beyond the fields of public health and global development. He founded Partners in Health, the pioneering…
211178
Human Connection Matters: 3 Insights from Skoll World Forum Fellowship 
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , February 28, 2022
“Sometimes we lose sight of a simple truth about systems: They are made up of people.... Relationships are the essence and fabric of collective impact.”  SSIR, Relational Work of Systems…
210597
Skoll Foundation Welcomes Alice Rhee as Chief Communications & Partnerships Officer
Skoll Foundation - , February 16, 2022
Rhee, a veteran journalist, storyteller, and award-winning television producer, brings commitment to social impact storytelling. The Skoll Foundation is delighted to announce that Alice Rhee has joined the Foundation as…
210391
Working with Governments Towards Scalable Solutions: A Conversation With Don Gips
Skoll Foundation - , February 16, 2022
What if scalable solutions ultimately need to be integrated within a government system? What should be the mindset of leaders as they explore government partnerships? Don Gips, Skoll Foundation CEO,…
210427
Making Sanitation Everyone’s Business
Habibur Rahman - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , February 16, 2022
I remember walking into the offices of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) along with my colleagues at Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) nearly eight years…
210381
2022 Program
February 15, 2022
210320
Leading Organizations Launch the Carbon Call to Address Reliability and Interoperability in Carbon Accounting for the Planet
Skoll Foundation - , February 10, 2022
Participating organizations and signatories to focus on solving companies’ carbon emissions and removal accounting challenges for a net zero future Over 20 leading organizations on Thursday announced an initiative to…
210181
How U.S. Social Fractures May Benefit from Far-Flung Conflict Zone Lessons
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , February 1, 2022
In March 2022, Search for Common Ground (Skoll Awardee 2006), will celebrate its 40th year as a peacebuilding organization, having amassed a long track record of transformational impact in conflict…
210097
2022 Skoll World Forum Going All-Virtual
January 24, 2022
Until the onset of the global pandemic in 2020, the Skoll Foundation has held the Skoll World Forum in Oxford, UK, each year since 2004, bringing together thousands of social…
210090
Living the Values, Upholding the Legacy: The Archbishop Tutu Fellows Without the Arch
Jackie Chimhanzi - African Leadership Institute , January 24, 2022
Even as we come to terms with the passing of our dear Patron, we celebrate a life of service well- lived and the values and ideals he espoused and bequeathed…
209734
No Excuses: Universal Health Coverage is Possible Even in the Toughest Settings
Jacqueline Edwards - Medic , Ari Johnson - Muso , December 10, 2021
As the world recognizes Universal Health Coverage Day on December 12th, two Skoll community members reflect on their partnership’s progress towards achieving UHC in one of the world’s most challenging…
209655
Equipping Change Leaders to Reimagine and Reset Our Broken Systems
Peter Drobac - Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship , December 3, 2021
As I write, yet another new variant of Sars-CoV-2, Omicron is spreading concern and contagion around the world. Though we don’t yet know the implications of Omicron’s emergence, it’s a…
208864
Equity, Proximity, and Trust: How Philanthropy Measures Up to its Aspirations
Kathy Reich - Ford Foundation , Nidhi Sahni - Bridgespan , November 30, 2021
Every organization driving social change deals with resource and capacity limitations. Each is in a constant search for funding to implement its mission and develop its potential. During the pandemic,…
208867
Wealth, Power, and Social Change: Funding at a Systemic Level
Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , Alix-Ines Lebec - Lebec Consulting , November 29, 2021
Shivani Garg-Patel, Chief Strategy Officer at the Skoll Foundation, recently joined philanthropy consultant Alix Lebec in a conversation for her series Wealth, Power, and Social Change. They talked about Shivani’s…
202968
Justice40 Accelerator Reimagines Federal Climate Funding System to Heal Black and Historically Disinvested Communities of Color
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , October 25, 2021
Communities at the frontlines of climate, environmental, and social injustices have the wisdom and the solutions to create systemic, transformational change. Historic and persistent structural racism though has meant that…
202905
Dr. Nancy Messonnier on Philanthropy’s Role in Strengthening Global Health Systems to Prevent the Next Pandemic
Skoll Foundation - , October 25, 2021
Dr. Nancy Messonnier began her public health career in 1995 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Childhood and Respiratory Diseases Branch of the National Center for Infectious Diseases. She went on to hold a…
202942
Inside a Coordinated Response to COVID From a Billionaire Who Saw It Coming
Skoll Foundation - , October 21, 2021
Inside Philanthropy recently published an in-depth look at Jeff Skoll's longstanding commitment to pandemic prevention and preparedness and the Skoll Foundation's COVID-19 and health system strengthening work.  It’s fair to…
202869
Access to Clean Water and Safe Sanitation is the Missing Link in Urban Climate Adaptation
October 14, 2021
Clean water and safe sanitation services have the potential to play a major role in helping the poorest urban communities adapt to climate change, but more needs to be done…
202877
How to Build an Inclusive Economy
October 13, 2021
  The U.S. has long operated without being an inclusive economy.  It’s a fact of American life that’s most apparent in data on racial wealth gaps. In 2019, the median…
202840
How Indigenous Leadership and Innovative Investing Shape Climate Solutions in Andean Region
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter - Social Capital Markets LLC , October 11, 2021
The Skoll Foundation supports social innovations that advance renewable solutions, shape policies, influence private sector action, develop new narratives, and build strong support for climate action around the world. Skoll…
202820
Skoll Foundation Joins Leading Philanthropies to Reduce Global Methane Emissions
Skoll Foundation - , October 11, 2021
Major $223M international philanthropic initiative will build on action on methane, including the Global Methane Pledge, to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 Today, a first-of-its-kind alliance of more than…
202664
Learning From Our 2021 Virtual Skoll World Forum While Planning the Next
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , October 4, 2021
During an event like the Skoll World Forum you feel a sense of energy, connection to old friends and colleagues, and the excitement of meeting new folks. Right after the…
202611
Towards More Proximate Storytelling in Philanthropy
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , September 24, 2021
It’s an incredible honor to be entrusted to help tell someone’s story. The Skoll Foundation’s community of Awardees and grantees each have important, vital stories to share about their impact…
202573
The Skoll Foundation Announces $100 Million Commitment to Fight COVID-19 and Strengthen Health Systems Globally
Skoll Foundation - , September 23, 2021
This week, the Skoll Foundation joined President Biden’s Global COVID-19 Summit, where government, private sector, and civil society leaders joined together to begin the work on a coordinated plan to…
202464
How EYElliance is Accelerating the Inclusive Optical Sector in Latin America
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , September 7, 2021
Scaling a solution is not the same as solving a problem at scale. Nearly 1 billion people around the world live with blindness or vision impairment that is correctable with…
202393
Calling for a New Multilateral Fund for Global Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
Skoll Foundation - , August 24, 2021
As the Delta variant surges and suffering continues around the world, Pandemic Action Network (PAN) and its partners are calling for a significant multilateral mechanism for sustained investment in pandemic prevention and preparedness. “This…
202322
With New Federal Ambition on Climate, States Are Key to Reach Our Goals
Alli Gold Roberts - Ceres , August 11, 2021
State leaders have proven to be some of our nation’s greatest champions for confronting the climate crisis in recent years, passing strong laws and policies to address some of the…
202313
United Nations General Assembly Resolution on Vision: Eye Care For All By 2030
August 11, 2021
  For 20 years, VisionSpring (2009 Skoll Awardee) has worked towards its goal of reaching and providing affordable, quality glasses to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who need them. In…
202276
Why Philanthropy Needs to Change the Way it Thinks About Proximity
Tulaine Montgomery - New Profit , August 2, 2021
In 2020, somewhere around 20 million people took to the streets in what researchers believe was the largest movement in U.S. history. During the summer of Black Lives Matter protests…
202228
Protecting the Community Health Workforce During COVID-19: Getting PPE to the Last Mile
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , July 27, 2021
As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic bore down in Democratic Republic of Congo in December 2020, Bébé Bola, a community health worker (CHW) in the Pakadjuma township of…
202162
An Ambitious Plan to Tackle One City’s Dirty Secret
Philip Oyamo - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , July 27, 2021
It’s late in the evening in Malindi, a coastal city in Kenya. The city attracts many tourists keen to enjoy its beautiful beaches and the warm waters of the Indian…
202199
The Skoll Foundation and Capricorn Investment Group Partner with Inclusive Funds Investors to Close Racial Wealth Gap and Spur Economic Mobility
Marla Blow - Skoll Foundation , July 22, 2021
When a Foundation invests its endowment in alignment with its core mission, it compounds its grantmaking impact, driving towards transformational social change. The Skoll Foundation in partnership with our investment…
202105
Skoll Foundation and Capricorn Investment Group Partner With Apis & Heritage Capital Partners to Spur Economic Mobility
July 6, 2021
The Skoll Foundation and Capricorn Investment Group are proud to partner with Apis & Heritage Capital Partners in an innovative initiative aimed to spur economic mobility in historically marginalized communities…
202047
Repairing the Past: What the United States Can Learn from the Global Transitional Justice Movement
Fernando Travesi - International Center for Transitional Justice , June 30, 2021
Transitional justice is about the most difficult dilemmas facing a society during some of the most troubling and challenging moments of its history. It is applied when a country needs…
202026
Securing Land Rights for Indigenous Peoples & Rural Communities Can Activate Critical Change Agents in the Fight Against Climate Change
Rachel McMonagle - Landesa , June 29, 2021
Around the world, indigenous and rural communities are among those least responsible for climate change, yet they are often the first to suffer from its impacts. Communities in rural areas…
202006
Here’s How Your Mental Health Depends on Collective Wellbeing
June 25, 2021
The COVID-19 crisis has seriously damaged mental health all over the world. A high price has been paid by many children who’ve missed out on time with friends and school,…
202003
Reflections on Our Wellbeing Journey Through the Pandemic
June 25, 2021
Over the course of the last 12 months, we’ve published an article every month on a topic related to mental health and well-being. This series—Centred Self—conceived in partnership with The Wellbeing…
202000
Community Mental Health: Not a Silver Bullet
June 25, 2021
The history of mental healthcare is closely intertwined with human rights violations, incarceration, and a lack of patient-centred approaches. A ‘community-centric’ approach has often been offered as an alternative to…
201997
Addressing Trauma as a Pathway to Social Change
June 25, 2021
In the 1860s, American abolitionist Frederick Douglass noted that people invested in social change “endeavor to remove the contradiction” between “what ought to be” and “what is.” This contradiction seems…
201994
Being Blinded by Labels Stops Social Change
June 25, 2021
I want to start by sharing a short story with you that reminds me every day of why I do what I do as a cultural leader and social entrepreneur.…
201991
Practices Adopted By IDR Placing Wellbeing Front and Center
June 25, 2021
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve read about how teams across the world have had to adapt to working from home, the toll it’s taken on people’s well-being, and more. With 2020 coming to a close,…
201988
The Vision of a Wellbeing Economy
June 25, 2021
To solve the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face today, we need to rethink the status quo. Governments and other institutions around the world need to embrace new ways…
201984
Who is ‘Self-Improvement’ For?
June 25, 2021
The ‘rags to riches’ story trope is perhaps one of pop culture’s favourites, and for good reason. We want to believe that the work we do towards having a good…
201957
Rethinking Possible Episode 10 | Halla Tómasdóttir | Can Capitalism Save the Planet?
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , June 23, 2021
Capitalism has arguably accelerated many of the world’s problems, from climate change to economic exclusion. What role can—and should—it play in accelerating solutions? Halla Tómasdóttir of The B Team offers…
201861
Rethinking Possible Episode Nine | Garrett Bucks | The Role of White People in Anti-Racist Work
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , June 17, 2021
Garrett Bucks founded The Barnraisers Project, an organization that “equips people who’ve never thought of themselves as organizers with the tools to move their social networks from denial and defensiveness…
201855
Rethinking Possible Episode Eight | Colette Pichon Battle | Lessons from the Bayou on Climate Change and Community Power
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , June 10, 2021
Step foot into Louisiana's bayous and you’ll smell the strong scent of azaleas even before you smell the cooking. Amidst the sweet fragrance of flowers and mouth-watering cuisine, an odious…
201834
Hospitals and Health Systems Join the Race for a Healthy Climate
Gonzalo Muñoz - Conference of the Parties (COP) Champion for Chile, COP25 High Level Climate Champions , Josh Karliner - Health Care Without Harm , June 2, 2021
For more than a year, the world’s doctors, nurses, hospitals and health systems have been on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19. Many have served heroically as first…
201826
Rethinking Possible Episode Seven | Priti Krishtel | A ‘Patent Detective’ Investigates Access to Medicine
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , June 2, 2021
Getting the right medicine at the right time can mean the difference between life or death. Yet until COVID-19, there hasn’t been widespread recognition of the importance of creating easy…
201801
Dr. Nancy Messonnier Joins Skoll Foundation as Executive Director for Pandemic Prevention and Health Systems
June 1, 2021
We are excited to welcome Dr. Nancy Messonnier to the Skoll Foundation as the Executive Director for Pandemic Prevention and Health Systems! Jeff Skoll has long supported efforts to prevent…
201735
Rethinking Possible Episode Six | Yordanos Eyoel | In Democracy We Trust?
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , May 26, 2021
Yordanos Eyoel emigrated to the United States at age 13, in the aftermath of the Ethiopian Civil War—a war that started long before she was born. Yordanos saw firsthand the…
201374
Highlights from the 2021 Skoll World Forum
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , May 24, 2021
This year, in partnership with more than 40 organizations, the Skoll World Forum came together as a co-created, collaborative, thought-provoking event of a new kind. This year, we enlisted a…
201701
Education Poses an Existential Threat to Extremism
May 20, 2021
Afghan girls and boys may lack books, pens and laptops, but in their thirst for education, they have plenty to teach the world. Indeed, one of the few things the…
201696
This nonprofit is helping communities stop pandemics in their tracks
May 20, 2021
In 2016 — years before the COVID-19 pandemic — Cambodia launched a toll-free hotline to enlist the public in monitoring and tracking the spread of disease among both humans and animals. People can call 115 to…
201681
Rethinking Possible Episode Five | Harish Hande | The Ultimate Solver? A Street Vendor
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , May 19, 2021
What can we learn about resilience from street vendors? Just about everything, says Harish Hande of SELCO, an organization that delivers decentralized solar energy to the poor in India. Tackling…
201639
Rethinking Possible Episode Four | Dr. Christian Happi | The Decolonizing Power of African-led Scientific Innovation
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , May 12, 2021
Based in Nigeria, Dr. Christian Happi is a molecular biologist whose day job is combating infectious diseases. Alongside his life-saving scientific work, he’s on a mission to embolden young African…
201575
Rethinking Possible Episode Three | Esther Armah | Why the Racial Justice Reckoning Requires Emotional Justice
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , May 5, 2021
Too often we rely on technical models to address racism—implicit bias training, examining data and statistics, crafting institutional statements. But the very systems that uphold racial inequity, says Esther Armah,…
201554
Catalyzing Change Week May 3-7: Connect. Celebrate. Accelerate.
May 3, 2021
Catalyst 2030, the global movement of social entrepreneurs and social innovators who are collaborating to achieve the SDGs by 2030, are holding its second annual Catalysing Change Week from May 3-7,…
201525
How An Atlanta Park Became an Intergenerational Multiethnic Hub of Community Resources During the Turbulence of 2020
Isabel González Whitaker - Encore.org , April 29, 2021
Like many people, at the start of 2020, I had big plans for the year ahead. In addition to family reunions and work trips, I intended to spend a few…
201492
Rethinking Possible Episode Two | Alessandra Orofino | Democracy—There’s No App for That
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , April 28, 2021
If there’s one thing Alessandra Orofino won’t accept, it’s the status quo. She believes democracies can’t be healthy and thrive unless citizens roll up their sleeves and do the hard…
201449
Funding Institutions Perpetuate Inequitable Global Health Partnerships: Here Are Three Ways to Stop That
Katherine Ginsbach - O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law , Ngozi Erondu - Georgetown University , April 22, 2021
In February, the New York Times Editorial Board announced: “Foreign Aid is Having a Reckoning.” This reckoning based on the Black Lives Matter movement is not just isolated to foreign…
201432
Three Lessons from Skoll World Forum for Impact Investors: Systems Thinking, Innovative Financing, and Adaptability
Justin Schwartz - IMPAQTO , Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter - Social Capital Markets LLC , April 22, 2021
This year, once again, the Skoll World Forum placed the social entrepreneurs and innovators front and center of the conversation, inviting those of us who have made it our mission…
201412
Rethinking Possible Episode One | Rodney Foxworth | Community: The Driving Force Behind Economic Inclusion
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , April 21, 2021
Rodney Foxworth says the racial "wealth gap" is a misnomer because it implies something that’s achievable to close. "Wealth chasm" is more on the nose since we’re talking about disparities…
201142
Introducing: Rethinking Possible
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , Courtney Martin - Individual , April 13, 2021
Introducing Rethinking Possible, a podcast about social innovators tackling the world’s biggest problems. Hear voices from around the globe including infectious disease expert Christian Happi, activist and community organizer Alessandra…
200808
Skoll World Forum: Closing the Distance and Shifting Power
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , April 5, 2021
Just around the corner, on April 13-15th, the Skoll Foundation will host its 18th annual Skoll World Forum, and for the second year in a row, it will take place…
200741
Overview of 2021 Skoll World Forum Sessions
April 2, 2021
The Skoll World Forum is going virtual again this year on April 13-15. The program is a mix of plenaries, sessions, networking activities, and more. Our theme “Closing the Distance”…
200737
How African Visionary Fund Built an Organization Centered on Equitable Funding for Local Leaders
Atti Worku - African Visionary Fund , Katie Bunten-Wamaru - African Visionary Fund , April 2, 2021
Led by the desire to invest in funds that prioritize equity, the Skoll Foundation partnered with other major foundations to seed the African Visionary Fund, an organization that drives unrestricted…
Skoll Foundation: History and Vision
April 1, 2021
200687
Picture This: An Effective Post-Pandemic Civil Society Organization
Jean Scrimgeour - Accountability Lab , Blair Glencorse - Accountability Lab , April 1, 2021
As we enter the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, effective, collaborative civil society organizations (CSO) —which provide critical ideas, services, and advocacy efforts—have never been more essential. Over the…
199597
2020 Annual Letter
March 30, 2021
199713
Standing in Solidarity Against Hate
March 18, 2021
  All of us at the Skoll Foundation are devastated by the shooting in Atlanta on Tuesday, which resulted in the death of at least eight individuals, including six Asian…
199665
Skoll Foundation Announces Marla Blow as President and Chief Operating Officer
March 16, 2021
  The Skoll Foundation and its Board of Directors are delighted to announce that Marla Blow will join the Foundation as President and Chief Operating Officer. Marla comes to the…
199583
How Colombia Cuida Colombia Launched a Collective Movement to Address the COVID Crisis
Kathryn Harrison - Skoll Foundation , March 8, 2021
Colombia Cuida Colombia (CCC) is a national COVID response movement of over 400 organizations across civil society and the private sector. It launched in March 2020 to mobilize a coordinated…
199529
Kirk Hanson on Ethical "Bad Orchards" and Reflections from His Long Skoll Board Tenure
Kirk Hanson - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics , March 5, 2021
Stepping down from his role as Skoll Board member after 18 years of service, doesn’t mean Kirk Hanson will be less busy. His new book with co-author Marc Epstein, ROTTEN:…
199459
De-Centering Whiteness in Public Imagination
Jimmie Briggs - Skoll Foundation , March 4, 2021
The early months of 2021 have failed to mark a transition from the divisiveness and turbulence of the prior year—and not solely due to the disturbing acts of violence in…
199427
Connecting Communities TEDx Style: Pandemic Responses and Reasons for Hope
Michael Ryan - TED Conferences LLC , Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , March 3, 2021
In a year with lockdowns and border closures, TEDx Skoll Conversations took us around the world to hear how frontline workers and community leaders are responding to the pandemic. Virtual…
199395
Connecting Inner and Outer Well-Being in Social Innovation Education
March 1, 2021
Why social innovation education programs need to develop students’ inner well-being alongside their knowledge of the field, and five principles to help lead the way. Rethinking how universities, nonprofits, and…
199190
EYElliance Brings Systems Change into Focus in Liberia's Schools 
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , February 23, 2021
Systems orchestrators are leaders and organizations who shape transformational social change behind the scenes by connecting people, providing resources and support, and mobilizing collective, unified efforts. At the Skoll Foundation, we…
199066
Testing for America Releases How-To Guide for Testing Programs to Reopen Schools Safely
February 18, 2021
Weekly testing can reduce in-school infections by 50 percent when combined with masking and distancing With support from The Rockefeller Foundation and the Skoll Foundation, new Covid-19 Testing Playbook is…
199041
Strengthening Mental Health and Wellness Support in COVID Response in São Paulo
Elena Crescia - TEDx , February 17, 2021
We all had to adapt and reinvent our plans and daily routines in 2020. For TEDx organizers around the world, this has been a challenge. While we realized we wouldn’t…
198878
Light Bearers of Port Harcourt, Nigeria Share Lessons from the Pandemic
Donald Okudu - I-AMVOCAL , February 10, 2021
At the most recent TEDxPortHarcourt event, we explored the theme “Light Bearer”, with an aim to highlight the discoveries and lessons learned during the pandemic—a dark time in history for…
198828
Nature, Wellbeing, and Social Change: A Conversation with Carlos Souza and Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins - Forest Trends Association , Carlos Souza, Jr. - Imazon , February 3, 2021
In 2010, Michael Jenkins and Carlos Souza each earned Skoll Awards for their innovative work to preserve forests and promote both conservation and sustainable development in South America and around…
198808
Surviving a Pandemic with Grit, Innovation, and Creativity in South Africa  
Kelo Kubu - Gamatong , February 1, 2021
TEDxJohannesburg explores the issues with local innovators and social entrepreneurs.   Many countries in Africa were not adequately equipped to withstand the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. While the continent was…
198734
Rebooting Community from the Frontlines in Bangalore
Sartaj Anand - TEDx , January 27, 2021
When I had the opportunity to reboot TEDxBangalore digitally as COVID-19 restrictions eased in India, I focused on the theme of "Living with the Pandemic." It was one that resonated…
198751
Equity and Storytelling: What We're Looking Forward to at Sundance This Year
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , January 26, 2021
For me, the end of January has for many years meant a visit to Park City, Utah for the annual Sundance festival where Skoll has partnered in the Stories Of Change…
198691
Eight Breakthroughs for Land Rights in 2020
Chris Jochnick - Landesa , January 21, 2021
2020 was a tough year on many fronts, and land rights were no exception. COVID-19 hindered land rights advocates from doing field research, meeting with government officials, prioritizing policy initiatives,…
198648
New Allies: How Governments Can Unlock the Potential of Social Entrepreneurs for the Common Good
Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , January 19, 2021
In our journey at the Skoll Foundation of supporting social entrepreneurs and other social innovators, we collectively seek paths to scale impact beyond the footprint of a single organization or…
198595
Renowned Social Entrepreneur Dr. Raj Panjabi Joins Skoll Foundation Board of Directors
January 11, 2021
  The Skoll Foundation Board of Directors and team is proud to announce Dr. Raj Panjabi, CEO of Last Mile Health and world-class social entrepreneur, as its newest Board member.…
198454
Unlocking Millions to Shore Up Private Sector Health Care in Africa
January 11, 2021
New Initiative Will Help Keep Doors Open for Estimated 1,600 Health Providers Offering Malaria Treatment and other Essential Health Services  As countries have shut down sectors of their economies and…
198508
How A Pandemic and Wellbeing Practices Honed My Leadership Skills 
Eleanor Allen - B Lab , January 6, 2021
If you could track my radius of movement since March 2020, I bet 98 percent of my footsteps were in my house. At first my new and small world DC (during COVID) was claustrophobic and oppressive. I felt I was under house arrest, “confined” to my home after years…
198458
Unpacking EYElliance’s Role as a Systems Orchestrator  
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , January 6, 2021
Social change is a team sport. We hear that a lot these days. The scope and scale of a problem that impacts billions of people demands deep, systemic collaboration and coalition building. Never will a single organization—or…
198413
Families and Workers Fund Raises Nearly $30 Million for Workers Hardest Hit by COVID-19
December 16, 2020
  The Families and Workers Fund, a collaborative philanthropic effort designed to support and empower workers, families, and communities devastated by the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19, is…
198368
Protecting Community Health Workers Through COVID-19 and Beyond
Alinafe Kasiya - VillageReach , December 14, 2020
No health worker should have to choose between treating their patients and keeping themselves and their families safe. However, as the global shortage and inequitable distribution of personal protective equipment…
198358
Reflecting on 2020: Social Enterprise Leaders’ Advice for Navigating Crisis
Ellen Martin - SoJo , Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , December 14, 2020
2020 has been a year filled with unprecedented challenges—a global pandemic, racial reckoning, deepening climate crisis, and more. And while 2020 comes to a close, we know that these will…
198337
Philanthropies Commit to Sustained Collective Action in Response to the Climate Emergency   
December 10, 2020
  On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, philanthropies including the Skoll Foundation have underlined and enhanced their commitment to investing into climate solutions.   In September 2018, 29 funders made a combined pledge to grant $4…
198313
Bipartisan Assembly of Governors Support Call to Action to Defeat COVID-19
December 10, 2020
  Governors represent 1 in 3 Americans Recommendations call for common, comprehensive action across states COVID Collaborative also released review of state vaccine distribution plans The nation needs a uniform…
198275
How Skoll Awardees Faced the Pandemic with Innovation and Resilience
Jude O'Reilley - Skoll Foundation , December 7, 2020
Facing the historic global challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Skoll Awardees and our larger portfolio of grantees have met this moment with empathy, determination, and innovation. “This is the moment…
198199
The Power of Collective Healing to Support Healthy People on a Thriving Planet
December 7, 2020
Healing collective trauma at the community level, and planetary health are now becoming part of the DNA of the healthcare system, and that gives me an enormous amount of hope.…
198221
Our Partnership with Echoing Green’s Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund
December 7, 2020
  Commitment signifies the continued importance of funding the racial equity movement The Skoll Foundation is proud to announce a significant partnership with the groundbreaking Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund launched…
198215
TEDx Skoll Conversations: Community-Driven Responses in a Global Pandemic
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , December 3, 2020
Never has listening to ideas that help us reflect about different points of view, our next steps, and our human condition been more necessary. -Elena Crescia, TEDxSãoPaulo The COVID-19 pandemic…
197909
Urgent Need of Our Time: Mission-Aligned Investments in Clean Water Combat Both COVID-19 and Climate Change
Alix-Ines Lebec - Lebec Consulting , Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , December 2, 2020
Climate change threatens the global water supply, particularly within lesser developed countries and emerging markets that have seen decades-long shortages in the investment of clean water infrastructure. With the onset…
198068
2020 Was the Year the Facts Fought Back
Claire Melamed - Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data , December 1, 2020
One of the themes of the last decade has been a frightening rise in misinformation and untruth. Social media platforms transmit falsehoods around the world with a single click. The…
198187
This is How to Harness the Power of Human Imagination for Social Change
December 1, 2020
If art could provide us with a way to look deeply into ourselves – our past and our present complexities – and if it could provide us with the tools…
198112
Noora Health Delivers Rapid Response in a Time of COVID-19
Ben Pyne - Skoll Foundation , November 18, 2020
COVID-19 Health Education and Caregiver support Reaches Millions The pandemic has reached all corners of the globe, hitting the world's most vulnerable populations hardest. India and Bangladesh were no exception.…
197794
Resilience Beyond COVID-19 in West Africa
November 6, 2020
  In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about big changes for Tostan, the West Africa-based organization that has partnered with communities at the grassroots for almost 30 years to…
197997
The Color of COVID-19: Disparate Impact, Inequitable Response
November 6, 2020
  “We may be in the same storm, but we are not in the same boat,” Don Gips, Skoll Foundation CEO, said as he convened a recent town hall discussion,…
197978
Lessons from My Journey of Serial Social Entrepreneurship
Chris Underhill - BasicNeeds , November 4, 2020
I lay back in the ambulance early in the morning as it rushed through the dark streets of London. In those days there were no sirens but instead there was…
197902
Why Philanthropy Must Center Equity, Trust, and Appetite for Risk to Meet This Moment
Cristina Yoon - Skoll Foundation , October 29, 2020
For far too long, injustice and inequity have disproportionately impacted underserved communities. The COVID-19 crisis and the killing of George Floyd, and many others, have laid bare the stark consequences.…
197789
Equity and Inclusion: The Roots of Organizational Well-Being
October 26, 2020
Although more and more organizations are taking steps toward greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace, people of color continue to consistently report feeling undervalued, unsafe, and exhausted from navigating…
197786
The Problem With Resilience As We Know It
October 26, 2020
Imagine you’re swimming in the sea. At first, the waves are manageable, enjoyable, even. But as you continue, you notice the currents getting stronger. You recognise the power of the…
203018
A Pandemic Surveillance System for the Planet
October 22, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it abundantly clear that the world is underprepared for the global spread of infectious diseases, but new technology is creating opportunities for the development of…
197690
States Charge Ahead on Climate Action 
Alli Gold Roberts - Ceres , October 20, 2020
States leading the fight on the climate crisis in the U.S. are ratcheting up their ambition. Governors across the country are rolling out sweeping new plans to slash greenhouse gas…
197709
Supporting Wellbeing in Resource-Scarce Environments
October 15, 2020
People working in social impact have had to deal with COVID-19 and its varying impact at two levels—on one hand, they have to manage themselves and their own lives in…
197706
Productivity at the Cost of Wellbeing
October 15, 2020
The mental health crisis we are seeing in India as a result of COVID-19 isn’t new—it’s just the old problem, in the new normal. Just as with every other aspect of the…
197665
Keeping Democracy Safe in the 2020 Election
October 13, 2020
  This year, American voters are more concerned with election security than ever before. Public confidence in an election process is integral to democracy, but what happened in 2016 left many questioning…
197656
How Radio Slowed COVID-19 in Burkina Faso
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , October 12, 2020
  In the first weeks and months of the pandemic, as the Skoll Foundation aimed to support COVID-19 response across sub-Saharan Africa, we made an early grant to Development Media…
197614
Deval Patrick on Reinventing a Nation True to Its Ideals
October 7, 2020
  Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has been on a listening tour over the past several months hearing folks’ answers to the question of what it means to be an…
203021
Doctors Fighting Deadly Climate Change
October 1, 2020
While still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, health professionals and hospitals are joining forces to respond to another global health emergency: climate change. An international coalition of more than 1,500…
197472
Democracy is at a Crossroads
September 30, 2020
196918
Karen Tse on How Justice Defenders Uphold Rule of Law for All
Karen Tse - International Bridges to Justice , September 30, 2020
Human rights lawyer Karen Tse is Founder and CEO of International Bridges to Justice, an organization that provides prisoners in 48 countries with access to justice and prevents torture as…
197512
The Politics of Mental Health and Wellbeing
September 30, 2020
The acknowledgement that wellbeing and mental health are affected by casteism and patriarchy is often missing. When I think of well-being, I don’t think of it as something that is…
197286
Ignorance is Not Bliss: Why We Should All Be Factivists       
Jennifer Oldfield - Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data , September 24, 2020
Let’s come together to accelerate progress in up-to-date data on the Sustainable Development Goals in an accessible and engaging way. Humans have a complicated relationship with facts—something we’ve seen clearly…
197263
The Best Antidote to COVID-19? A Collective Approach
Donald Gips - Skoll Foundation , September 22, 2020
Collaboration and coordination are the only way to overcome COVID-19, says Don Gips, CEO at the Skoll Foundation, a private foundation working to drive social change through innovation and social entrepreneurship. “I…
197241
Secure Land Rights: A Sustainable Solution at the Intersection of Climate Change and COVID-19
Rachel McMonagle - Landesa , September 20, 2020
COVID-19 and climate change are impacting all of us, but the dual disasters have a disproportionate impact on communities in emerging economies. These impacts are felt most acutely in rural…
197150
COVID-19 Action Agenda: Why Social Entrepreneurs Are Needed Now More than Ever
September 16, 2020
  As the massive scale of the COVID-19 pandemic became apparent, social entrepreneurs across the world, including many Skoll Awardees, have stood on the frontlines as first responders in this…
197121
Muzoon Almellehan on the Moral Imperative of Equality of Education Opportunity
Muzoon Almellehan - UNICEF , September 11, 2020
According the UNHCR, there are 25.4 million people currently registered as refugees, and over half of them are under the age of 18. These numbers will continue to grow as…
197042
Sherrie Westin on How Sesame Workshop Plants Seeds for Societal Change
Sherrie Westin - Sesame Workshop , September 11, 2020
Sherrie Westin is President of Global Impact and Philanthropy for Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street. She leads the Workshop’s efforts to serve vulnerable children through mass media…
197022
Forbes Reports Jeff Skoll Ranks Among Top U.S. Philanthropists
September 9, 2020
  While the Forbes 400, released this week, offers a sweeping view of individual wealth in the U.S., the real story is how it highlights the levels of philanthropic commitment…
197006
Art for Solidarity
Nancy Kapoor - The Wellbeing Project , September 9, 2020
Individuals working in social change are solving the most complex problems humanity faces, often in resource constrained environments. For many, this work takes a toll on their physical, mental, and…
196982
Skoll Foundation Announces Cheryl L. Dorsey to Join Board of Directors
September 9, 2020
  The Skoll Foundation is proud to announce Cheryl L. Dorsey, President of Echoing Green, as its newest Board member. Echoing Green is a global organization that finds and supports…
196899
YouthBuild’s Formula for Wellbeing
Dorothy Stoneman - Opportunity Youth United , September 3, 2020
Where does the concept of individual and universal “well-being” fit in the future society we aim to create?   It is, of course, central to both the goals and to the…
196742
Collaborate Not Replicate: How Skateistan Scales Through Open Source Partnerships 
Jessica Faulkner - Skateistan , September 3, 2020
It’s spring 2020 and, like much of the world, skateboarders are on lockdown. Around the world, there are over 200 social skateboarding projects, each aiming to empower young people and…
196633
Rebuilding to Prepare for the Next Water and Sanitation Crisis
Steve Metcalfe - Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor , September 1, 2020
The Covid-19 crisis has been a powerful reminder of the urgent need for improved water, sanitation and hygiene around the world. Particularly for people living in densely populated urban communities,…
196624
How Art Can Help us Heal and Make Sense of the World
August 31, 2020
Back in the early 1970s, artist John Baldessari did The Pencil Story. As he explained, his pencil was producing blurry and indistinct lines, but he revived it by sharpening it. He…
196621
Bringing Organizational Well-Being to Life
August 31, 2020
As the world faces the climate crisis, international protests for racial justice, a global pandemic, and an economic downturn, the social change sector is struggling. Organizations across the spectrum are…
196590
When the Phone Rang, Harambee Answered – Over 1 Million Times: Partnering with Government in Complex and Uncertain Times
Sharmi Surianarain - Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator , August 27, 2020
African governments have historically relied on face-to-face services as a key mechanism for supporting citizens. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with those services largely suspended, there was an…
196389
What to Do During a Pandemic in a World of Water Inequality
Rich Thorsten - water.org , August 25, 2020
Since the day COVID-19 arrived in your country, how many times have you washed your hands? It’s probably an impossible question. The 20-second interludes have become a part of life.…
195852
mothers2mothers Launches Virtual Mentor Mother Platform to Confront COVID-19 Health Disparities
August 6, 2020
  Today, we’re excited to share that mothers2mothers (m2m)—an African not-for-profit that trains and employs women living with HIV as frontline health workers has launched a new, interactive WhatsApp platform to provide…
195794
A Table for Two at Tostan: Organizational Wellbeing and Leadership Transition
Elena Bonometti - Tostan , Molly Melching - Tostan , August 3, 2020
For nearly three decades, Tostan has co-created and implemented human rights based-educational programs with communities across the African continent that inspire large-scale movements leading to dignity for all. Founder of…
195754
Answering the Call: How VillageReach’s COVID 411 Campaign Fights the Pandemic with Innovative Mobile Solutions
July 30, 2020
  At the end of June, the African continent had 400,000 COVID-19 cases, with local transmission increasing significantly. By the end of July, that case count had more than doubled. Health…
195767
Confronting Modern Philanthropy’s Role in Racial Injustice
Sibabalwe Mona - African Visionary Fund , Atti Worku - African Visionary Fund , July 29, 2020
The myth of the corporate American do-gooder is a thinly veiled attempt at upholding the capitalist systems that produce and entrench systemic injustice and inequality. The philanthropic community must—and can—change…
195762
Artist Lynette Wallworth Explains Why Finding Meaning is an Art and Making Meaning is Art
July 29, 2020
Artist and Crystal Award winner, Lynette Wallworth, describes how her work calls attention to moments happening on the periphery – such as individual moments of loss. The capacity to see…
195728
Seeing, Facilitating, and Assessing Systems Change: Insights from the Scaling Solutions Initiative
Edwin Ou - Skoll Foundation , July 24, 2020
More than three years ago, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors gathered a group of funders to ponder questions related to supporting promising solutions with the potential to transform or perhaps even re-imagine…
195712
How COVID-19 Has Forced the Overdue Adoption of Virtual Diplomacy
Karoliina Ainge - Independent Diplomat , July 24, 2020
When Estonia held the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council in May, it hosted the largest high-level gathering of UN Member States since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.…
195638
Integrating Individual and Organizational Well-Being
July 20, 2020
At a 2017 event hosted by The Wellbeing Project (TWP), Gabriela Gandel, executive director of the social entrepreneur network Impact Hub, expressed the need to address dysfunction and high rates of burnout across…
195576
Scaling Solutions toward Shifting Systems: Seeing, Facilitating, and Assessing Systems Change
July 15, 2020
  In a time of a global pandemic and a movement to end systematic racism, philanthropy aims to connect inefficiencies and use modern-day technological systems to help magnify and accentuate…
195595
Reckoning, Relief, Renewal: Nonprofits Respond to COVID-19
Kathara Green - Skoll Foundation , July 14, 2020
Kathryn Cross, executive director of communications at the U.N., recently conducted a virtual seminar with Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation; Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the UN…
195538
Sustainable Textiles and Vulnerable Communities: Thinking of Tomorrow While Managing Today
Tanushri Shukla - Intellecap , July 9, 2020
Ever since the pandemic touched our shores, we've been concerned about two broad things at the Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF). One, what happens to the members of the textile…
195558
COVID-19 in War Zones: A Peacebuilder's Perspective on the Pandemic
Liz Diebold - Skoll Foundation , July 9, 2020
Jess Murrey, advisor at Search for Common Ground (2006 Skoll Awardee), recently spoke with two peacebuilders, Shoqi Al-Maktary from Yemen and Ehsanullah Abrar in Afghanistan, to learn how countries torn…
195546
This is How Wellbeing Drives Social Change and Why Cultural Leaders Need to Talk About It
July 8, 2020
Social entrepreneurs suffer widely from burnout, limiting their potential to make change. A Schwab Foundation collaboration with the “Wellbeing Project”, explores the integral yet often overlooked link between wellbeing and…
195504
Social Change Starts with Personal Justice: Rhonda Magee on the Role of Self-Care in Movement Building
Annah Mason - Skoll Foundation , July 1, 2020
Across the globe, social change leaders are responding with urgency to Coronavirus and the human rights issues the pandemic has laid bare. The work of social change can be as…
195479
Funding Wellbeing is Investing in Social Change
June 23, 2020
Three steps to help funders actively support the well-being of their partner organisations. Mental health is still not well explored in India, and the discourse around well-being is only slowly…
195472
Addressing the Critiques of Well-Being
June 23, 2020
Social change leaders can better advocate and find funding for well-being initiatives by creating a more authentic and deeper understanding of what it looks like and the difference it can…
195448
Essam Daod on Why Mental Health Support in Refugee Crises is so Important—and Underfunded
Essam Daod - Humanity Crew , June 18, 2020
Essam Daod co-founded Humanity Crew in 2015 to provide first response mental health and psycho-social support for refugees and people in crisis. Journalist Ray Suarez sat down with Daod to…
195434
We Must Demand More of Ourselves to Combat Systemic Racial Inequity
June 16, 2020
  We at the Skoll Foundation are deeply shaken and angered by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Rayshard Brooks, and of so many other Black Americans. Injustice and…
195420
How Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs Harnessed Big Data to Map the Pandemic
Lucien Chan - The Audacious Project , June 15, 2020
The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE), a 2015 Skoll Awardee, is a pioneering NGO that developed the first public database of water pollution information in China and brought…
195400
The Story of Hem Moktan: 152 Million Children Around the Globe Labor in Bondage
Nina Smith - GoodWeave , June 11, 2020
To be a hero is to take a risk. Hem Moktan does this every day, facing his brutal past as an enslaved child. He is featured in the documentary film Hem…
195375
Missing Puzzle Pieces: How Structures of Patriarchy and Notions of Motherhood Shaped My Social Change Work
Quratul Ain Bakhteari - Institute for Development Studies and Practices , June 10, 2020
One of my first childhood memories is of a never-ending sea of small yellow rooms, sprawling across a desert with not a single tree. Many people wore the same kind…
195333
Impact in COVID-19 Era: Lessons from Social Entrepreneurs on “Scaling Through Mass Disruption”  
Elyssa Lewis - Skoll Foundation , June 8, 2020
How do social enterprises and the funders that support them achieve impact at scale even in times of acute crisis?  This is the question that prompted the Scaling Pathways partners—Skoll Foundation, Mercy Corps…
195348
Police Violence, Video, and Truth Telling at WITNESS
Sam Gregory - WITNESS , June 8, 2020
It’s been 55 years since police violence sparked the Watts rebellion. It’s been 28 years since the Rodney King arrest, beating, filming, and subsequent uprising in South Los Angeles. Today,…
195284
How Amazon Conservation Team Approaches COVID-19 Response With Vulnerable Indigenous Communities During the Worsening Pandemic
Isidoro Hazbun - Amazon Conservation Team , May 29, 2020
Marginal access to healthcare, limited hygiene resources, and weak government support in deterring potentially contagious intruders put even the most remote communities in the Amazon at risk of the spreading…
195248
African and global philanthropists team-up to manufacture COVID-19 medical equipment in Africa
May 27, 2020
  African and global philanthropists have teamed up in an effort to help African nations secure cost effective ventilators, breathing support devices and other medical equipment. Strive Masiyiwa co-founder of…
195224
Fragile Futures for Hidden Workers When Consumers Stop Buying
Nina Smith - GoodWeave , May 26, 2020
With demand for toilet paper and other household items in the headlines, the COVID-19 crisis has made supply chains news, highlighting what disruptions mean to consumers, companies, and workers. This…
195216
How Funders Can Support Individual Well-Being
May 21, 2020
A look at myriad ways funders can support the well-being and mental health of often understaffed and under-resourced grantees, and help foster healthier individuals and organizations. In another day and…
195089
Why Investment Decision Methodology Needs a Gender and Racial Lens Now More Than Ever
Bahiyah Yasmeen Robinson - VC Include , May 20, 2020
At VC Include, we’ve built a platform for diverse fund managers to develop relationships with and learn from investors who are interested in finding new market opportunities that align with…
195062
Emily Bancroft of VillageReach on What Health Equity Looks Like
Emily Bancroft - VillageReach , May 19, 2020
Emily Bancroft is President of VillageReach, an organization that works to transform health care delivery to reach everyone. VillageReach won the Skoll Award in 2006. Its initiative in Malawi, Chipatala…
195107
The Amazon Has Much to Teach Us—If We’ll Listen
Mark Plotkin - Amazon Conservation Team , May 14, 2020
Seven years ago, I was in one of the most remote places on the planet, hiking through the rainforest of the northwest Amazon, following an indigenous colleague clad in only a…
195127
COVID Near You: How You Can Fight the Pandemic in 30 Seconds from Your Home
Bruce Lowry - Skoll Foundation , May 13, 2020
How are you feeling? Before the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that was a simple question. Today, posed on the COVID Near You website, it’s a question with life and…
195103
How Covid-19 Clarifies the Need for Inner Wellbeing in Social Entrepreneurship
Debra Dunn - Stanford University , May 13, 2020
During the current lockdown, I like to join members of the wellbeing community in a weekly webinar where we spend an hour with a special guest–an 82-year-old Chinese Tai Chi…
195047
What it Takes to Be an ‘Abundant Leader’
May 6, 2020
Effective leadership goes beyond outward-facing skills such as managing people and growing organisations. What matters is mastering the ‘inner game’ of introspection. Here are some concrete ways to do so.…
195042
Self-Inquiry for Social Change Leaders
May 6, 2020
How the internal work of self-inquiry can meaningfully shift our perceptions and behaviors in ways that positively impact the outer world, and how leaders of social change are incorporating the…
194952
The Role of Urban Innovation in Africa's Emerging Cities in the Time of COVID-19
Emmanuel Adegboye - Andela , May 4, 2020
When we set out to organize an event on urban innovation in Africa as part of this year’s virtual Skoll World Forum week, we knew we wanted to draw attention…
195005
How Chinese Social Entrepreneurs Stepped up to Respond to COVID-19
Changkun Shen - TEDx , May 4, 2020
Last September, we held a TEDx Skoll Conversation in Chengdu, which brought together social entrepreneurs from different regions across China to demonstrate the positive role of social innovation in shaping…
194948
It Took a Pandemic to Show that Handwashing is a Lifesaver—and a Privilege 
Patrick Moriarty - IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre , Eleanor Allen - B Lab , May 4, 2020
It took a global pandemic to raise the world’s awareness of the importance of handwashing and access to clean water – basic services that over 2 billion people in the world still lack.   Many of us in the US and…
194992
New Alliance launched at the World Economic Forum to Help Social Entrepreneurs Overcome the Impacts of COVID-19
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , May 1, 2020
Geneva, Switzerland, 4 May 2020 –   Over 40 leading global organizations have united to launch the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, pooling knowledge, experience and responses to alleviate suffering…
194883
Skoll Foundation Announces New Gift of $100 Million from Jeff Skoll to Fight COVID-19
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , April 24, 2020
Gift Follows a Doubling of Current Grants to Total $200 Million Committed to Date  This week, Jeff Skoll made a new $100 million gift to the Skoll Foundation, which it…
194712
Mindfully, Measurably 10 Percent Better: How Meditation Changed my Life
Jim Fruchterman - Benetech , April 22, 2020
I have frequently heard about the life changing effects of meditation from enthusiasts. It often comes across with religious fervor and intensity. It often includes jargon that doesn’t make sense…
194694
Global Ecosystem Builders: How We're Responding to COVID-19
Anika Horn - Social Venturers , Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter - Social Capital Markets LLC , April 21, 2020
For several years, we both have actively supported entrepreneurial ecosystems in our respective regions. We are both what some call ecosystem builders. As ecosystem builders, we act as intermediaries, cheerleaders,…
194686
Collective Strength in a Time of Plague
April 21, 2020
This year during the first-ever virtual Skoll World Forum, Health Care Without Harm organized a session to explore the relationship between the coronavirus pandemic and the climate crisis. We had planned…
194542
Skoll Foundation Announces 2020 Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , April 15, 2020
The Skoll Foundation has announced the five winners of the 2020 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. “The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship shines a light on emerging leaders who fearlessly…
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Coronavirus and Air Pollution: A Deadly Link
Jane Burston - Clean Air Fund , Arvind Kumar - Institute of Robotic Surgery at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi , Josh Karliner - Health Care Without Harm , April 15, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic impacts millions across the world and brings economies to a grinding halt, there’s a lot of talk about how emissions from fossil fuel combustion have dropped…
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Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis
Donald Gips - Skoll Foundation , April 10, 2020
Note: On April 24, Jeff Skoll announced a new $100 million gift to the Skoll Foundation, which it will use to fight the COVID-19 pandemic globally. Learn more here: skoll.wf/covid-19/…
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What We Learned from Our First Virtual Skoll World Forum
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , April 9, 2020
As a global pandemic infiltrated daily life and halted any sense of normalcy, the 2020 Skoll World Forum morphed into an entirely online open-sourced experiment. With the enduring spirit and irrepressible…
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2020 Skoll Social Entrepreneurs Show the Power of Collective Strength in Solving Big Global Problems
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , April 2, 2020
In this unprecedented and uncertain era, it’s more important than ever to gather our collective strength and support and elevate groups that build a more sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous future…
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Skoll Foundation Announces 2020 Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , April 2, 2020
The Skoll Foundation has announced the five winners of the 2020 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. “The Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship shines a light on emerging leaders who fearlessly…
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Skoll Foundation Announces 2020 Global Treasure Award to The Elders
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , March 30, 2020
In July 2007, Nelson Mandela took to a stage in Johannesburg on his 89th birthday to introduce the world to a new alliance of senior statespeople dedicated to solving thorny…
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Join Us for a Week of Connecting as Skoll Goes Virtual
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , March 28, 2020
With incredible generosity and energy from our community, next week will be the largest and most globally diverse Skoll World Forum Week ever. This open-sourced experiment is a reimagined approach…
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Skoll Goes Virtual (With a Big-Hearted Assist from YOU)
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , March 25, 2020
Each year, I spend most of my time curating the Skoll World Forum program. We determine an overarching theme to provide connective tissue for the four-day program. We scope the…
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Shattered Inside: How My Work As a Social Entrepreneur and Anti-Trafficking Activist Was Built on Unaddressed Trauma
Ma. Cecilia Flores-Oebanda - Voice of the Free , March 24, 2020
I became a mother as I was leading the liberation movement in my home country of the Philippines. I hid in the mountains and the military ran an endless pursuit.…
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Check Yourself, Before You Wreck Yourself
March 21, 2020
The first in a series of articles dedicated to exploring the relationship between inner well-being for social change in the context of India, as well as other countries in the…
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Why We Must Tackle the Climate Emergency Through Improved Water Management
Steve Metcalfe - Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor , March 21, 2020
Climate change is water change. That's the message for this year's World Water Day, which takes place on Sunday. In the poorest parts of the world, the challenge of climate…
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Key Research Takeaways from Six Years of Work by The Wellbeing Project
Sandrine Woitrin - Wellbeing Project , March 18, 2020
The Wellbeing Project—co-created with Ashoka, Esalen, the Impact Hub, Porticus, the Skoll Foundation, and Synergos--focuses on catalyzing a culture of inner well-being for all change makers. As part of its…
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Connecting Individual and Societal Change
Aaron Pereira - Wellbeing Project , March 18, 2020
“There is a lack of knowledge around the early warning signs of burnout in frontline work. The question has been how do we get [frontline workers], not how do we…
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Tim Hanstad on 11 Lessons for Early-Stage Social Entrepreneurs and Nonprofit Leaders
Tim Hanstad - Chandler Foundation , March 9, 2020
Three decades ago, I started my journey in social entrepreneurship–like so many others—hungry for impact. I told Roy Prosterman, my early mentor and fellow co-founder of the nonprofit land rights…
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Sohini Battacharya on How Small Sparks of Change Turn the Tide on Gender-Based Violence and Discrimination
Sohini Bhattacharya - Breakthrough , March 6, 2020
Sohini Bhattacharya is the CEO and President of Breakthrough, a global human rights organization working to drive culture change to build a world where all people live in dignity, equality,…
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Anne-Marie Slaughter on How We Can Renew the Promise of America
Anne-Marie Slaughter - New America , March 2, 2020
As CEO of New America, Anne-Marie Slaughter, leads a think ​and action tank dedicated to renewing the promise of America. It focuses on a range of policy issues from national…
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Before You Grow Your Organization, Do This
Laura Weidman Powers - Echoing Green , February 24, 2020
I was at a cocktail party recently when I felt a tap on my shoulder. “I am ready to scale my venture. I hear you’re the person to talk about…
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Are You Scalable or Replicable?
Laura Weidman Powers - Echoing Green , February 24, 2020
One thing social entrepreneurs have in common is that we are motivated to tackle BIG problems: systemic problems, societal problems, global problems, environmental problems. But every social innovator starts with…
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How to Design Inclusive Convenings: Lessons from the Emerging Leaders Initiative
Elyssa Lewis - Skoll Foundation , February 13, 2020
The Emerging Leaders Initiative (ELI), a six-year partnership between the Skoll Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation, sought to support the next generation of rising social entrepreneurs. Between 2014 and 2019,…
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Taking Action at the 2020 Skoll World Forum
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , February 10, 2020
In 2019, we embarked on a journey to learn more about the impact  of the Skoll World Forum. We also investigated what we could do to increase, extend, and amplify…
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Gathering Our Strength to Drive Collective Action
Donald Gips - Skoll Foundation , February 10, 2020
Everywhere I turn in these first weeks of 2020, I’m struck by the need for urgency. With the scope and scale of the issues we’re facing across the globe, I…
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Funder Implications
Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , February 10, 2020
How can funders accelerate impact at scale? The social enterprises interviewed in Scaling Pathways have also shared ways in which funders can better support them in developing and accessing the…
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Global Commons Alliance: Why This Historic Moment Demands Radical Collaboration
Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , February 10, 2020
Hundreds of business, government, civil society, and other leaders recently weighed in on the most urgent threats confronting humanity and, for the first time in the Global Risks Report’s history,…
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Scaling Pearls of Wisdom
Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , February 4, 2020
One component of the Scaling Pathways series is Scaling Snapshots, which are glimpses into one organization’s scaling journey, including the strategies pursued, implications of those strategies and “Pearls of Scaling…
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Levers to Unlock New Capital
Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , February 4, 2020
What internal and external levers can social enterprises activate to finance impact at scale? Root Capital on the challenges of blending colors of money inside an organization: Willy Foote, the…
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Evolving Your Talent
Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , February 4, 2020
How do your talent needs evolve as you drive toward scale and how can you evolve with them? Health Leads on actively navigating talent through strategic shifts Alexandra Quinn, CEO…
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Leveraging Government Partnerships
Kimberly Bardy Langsam - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , February 4, 2020
How can social enterprises prepare for and successfully partner with government to dramatically accelerate the scale of impact? Code for America on understanding the whole government ecosystem before engaging Jen…
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Remembering Leila Janah, Founder of Samasource and Co-Founder of Samahope
Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , January 27, 2020
We are truly saddened by the loss of Leila Janah, Founder and CEO of Samasource, and LxMI. Leila also co-founded Samahope with Shivani Garg Patel, Chief Strategy Officer of the Skoll…
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Apopo's Lifesaving Rats Have Freed Over a Million People from Landmine Threat
Charles Richter - APOPO , Bart Weetjens - APOPO , January 23, 2020
For two decades, innovative social enterprise and 2009 Skoll Awardee APOPO, has researched, developed, and implemented detection rats technology for humanitarian purposes, most notably for demining operations. It has freed…
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We Closely Considered These 79 Organizations for This Year’s Skoll Award
Ben Pyne - Skoll Foundation , January 10, 2020
Every year, the Skoll Foundation has the privilege of managing the sourcing and selection of the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. The Skoll Award is an investment of $1.5 million…
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Vu Le on Ending the Nonprofit Hunger Games
Vu Le - Rainier Valley Corps , January 9, 2020
Vu Le is the former Executive Director of Rainier Valley Corps, a non-profit organization in Seattle that promotes social justice by developing leaders of color, strengthens organizations led by communities…
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How We're Improving Sustainability at Skoll World Forum 2020
Jill Ultan - Skoll Foundation , December 16, 2019
9,000 disposable cups used in a week! That’s the total used in our primary venue during the 2019 Skoll World Forum, despite the complimentary insulated tumbler given to each delegate.…
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#GoodNews December: Highlights from Social Entrepreneurs in 2019
December 9, 2019
As the end of 2019 approaches, we’ve gathered up the good news: the progress and accomplishments of Skoll social entrepreneurs, hard at work on the world’s thorniest problems. We are…
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Darren Walker on Justice-Based Philanthropy
Darren Walker - Ford Foundation , December 2, 2019
In the summer of 1965, a government worker walked up a dirt road and onto the yard of a shotgun house in rural East Texas and told a young Darren…
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Adolescent Girls and Young Women Are New Frontline of HIV/AIDS Epidemic: A Solution Lies Within Their Communities
Frank Beadle de Palomo - mothers2mothers , November 27, 2019
Dimakatso, 23, lives in Soshanguve, South Africa. Her father passed away a little over a year ago, forcing her mother to relocate to a neighboring town for work, and leaving…
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Ai-jen Poo on Her Vision for Universal Family Care
Ai-jen Poo - The National Domestic Workers Alliance , November 22, 2019
Ai-jen Poo is a leading labor activist and the founder of National Domestic Workers Alliance. The Alliance works to bring dignity and fairness to the growing numbers of workers who…
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Muhammad Yunus on the Power of Imagination to Create Change
Muhammad Yunus - Grameen Bank , November 21, 2019
In this video, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank imagines a future with “poverty museums” and shares his vision for creating change. “If we imagine today…
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How Mad Libs Helped Share Insights of Scaling Through Government
Upile Kachila - VillageReach , November 21, 2019
Last week as we prepared for a panel on transitioning health solutions to government, Skoll Principal Liz Diebold introduced me to the word game Mad Libs. While I’d never filled…
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Blue Carbon: A Pioneering Mangrove Conservation Project in Madagascar
November 1, 2019
In a remote corner of southwest Madagascar last month, local communities launched the world’s largest mangrove carbon conservation project, sequestering a huge amount of carbon and securing an ecosystem vital…
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James Mwangi on the Problem With Innovation
James Mwangi - Africa Climate Ventures , October 31, 2019
James Mwangi, Executive Director of the Dalberg Group, has spent decades designing and supporting innovative approaches to tackling the world’s most stubborn problems. His recent work has focused on helping…
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A Tech Bootcamp in Peru to Close the Gender Gap
Mariana Costa Checa - Laboratoria , October 30, 2019
When Mariana Costa Checa was bootstrapping a software development start-up with partners in Lima several years ago, finding the right talent for the team was a challenge. There simply weren’t…
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Why Women Farmers Deserve the Right to Identity
Shipra Deo - Landesa , October 14, 2019
On the 2019 International Day of Rural Women, Landesa’s Shipra Deo explores how land rights are an essential element for overturning misperceptions about the role of women in society and…
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Skoll World Forum: Toward a Greater Platform for Impact
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , October 11, 2019
At the Skoll Foundation, we’ve been on a journey over the last year to advance our understanding of the impact of our convenings, in particular the Skoll World Forum. As…
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TEDx Skoll Conversation Series Comes to Jakarta With Focus on Governance and Resilience
Florentina Niradewi - TEDx , October 7, 2019
Two major events loomed large for the TEDxJakarta curatorial team as we began to think about this year’s event. First, were the earthquakes and tsunami that hit Palu, Sulawesi in…
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Pioneering Spirit of Chengdu on Display in TEDx Skoll Series
Changkun Shen - TEDx , October 2, 2019
Last month, we successfully organized the TEDxChengdu 2019 annual event, and celebrated the TEDx Skoll Conversations series in Chengdu, one of the biggest city in western China, with its unique…
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UNGA Week Calls to Action Span Climate, Health, Education
September 30, 2019
  Climate and health took center stage at the 74th session of the UN General Assembly last week in New York—the annual gathering of nearly 200 world leaders with a…
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Why Financial Inclusion is Critical to Meet Sustainable Development Goals
Robert Annibale - Citigroup, Inc. , September 27, 2019
Bob Annibale is the Global Director of Inclusive Finance for Citigroup and leads their partnerships with global, national, and local organizations to support inclusive finance and community development through economic…
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Mohamed Nasheed on Beating the Odds Against Climate Change
Mohamed N Nasheed - , September 26, 2019
Former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, recently made a triumphant return to his home country as head of the national parliament after several years of exile in the UK.…
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Skoll Foundation Announces James Mwangi to Join Board of Directors
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , September 24, 2019
The Skoll Foundation is proud to announce James Mwangi, Executive Director of the Dalberg Group, as its newest Board member. The Dalberg Group comprises a collection of impact-driven businesses that…
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CollaborAction: Lessons from Latin America in Sustainable Development
Sean McKaughan - Fundación Avina , September 23, 2019
Sean McKaughan chairs the board of Fundación Avina, which focuses on sustainable development through collaborative change processes in Latin America with the aim of large-scale positive impact. He recently published…
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International Aid Reimagined: Participatory, Community-Driven Change
Degan Ali - African Development Solutions , September 23, 2019
Degan Ali is the director of Nairobi-based Adeso, an organization that’s trying to change the way people think about and deliver humanitarian aid. Adeso envisions an Africa not dependent on…
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Bringing Community Healthcare to the People
September 19, 2019
There is an urgent challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: people are dying from treatable illnesses like malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. The traditional model is that families find their way to a…
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2019 Social Progress Index: Measuring Real Things That Matter
Michael Green - Social Progress Imperative , September 18, 2019
We’re 43 years behind schedule in our progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. That’s the sobering takeaway from the recently released 2019 Social Progress Index (SPI). The report gauges social…
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Prescription for a Healthy Planet
Josh Karliner - Health Care Without Harm , September 10, 2019
Every year, human civilization churns out ever more dangerous quantities of greenhouse gases. Every day we see and feel the increasing effects of a growing climate crisis that impacts people’s…
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Edgar Villanueva on Systemic Change Toward Decolonized Philanthropy
Edgar Villanueva - Schott Foundation for Public Education , September 4, 2019
While philanthropy is no stranger to criticism, it has weathered some sharp critiques in the past year, helping to catalyze an opportunity for introspection, reassessment, and redesign. Edgar Villanueva, author…
188293
After the Amazon Fires, What's Next for Stopping Deforestation?
Carlos Souza, Jr. - Imazon , September 2, 2019
More than 26,000 fires have raged throughout Brazilian Amazon in August alone—the fastest rate of destruction since record keeping began. President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned with a promise to open the…
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Why Water and Sanitation are the Foundation for Sustainable Development
Eleanor Allen - B Lab , August 26, 2019
Water For People's goal is clear and ambitious: lasting quality water services for every family, clinic and school—forever. When people have access to clean water all the time, their lives…
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Unsettling Nonprofit Filmmaking
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , August 24, 2019
I have a dream job. I get to travel the world making films about inspiring change makers doing incredible work on many of the world’s thorniest problems: environmental degradation, human…
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Saving Rainforests with Indigenous Rights-Based Conservation
Suzanne Pelletier - Rainforest Foundation US , August 22, 2019
Suzanne Pelletier is the Executive Director of the Rainforest Foundation US which partners with indigenous peoples in Central and South America to help them assert their rights and conserve their…
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Tapping Small Loans for Toilets and Safe Water Unleashes Women’s Potential
Zehra Shabbir - Water.org , August 21, 2019
Women who lack access to life’s basics know exactly what they need. And they’re getting it. As different as everyone’s life may be, there are a few basic human functions…
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Tara Houska on Building Justice and Equality in Era of Climate Change
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , August 1, 2019
In late 2016, Tara Houska called Morton County North Dakota home for six months—she stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the frontlines at Oceti Sakowin, the gathering of Indigenous Nations at Standing Rock…
188105
How Five Dangerous Myths Keep Water and Sanitation from 883 Million People
Neil Jeffery - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , August 1, 2019
What does it mean to give one person access to clean water or safe sanitation? For them and their family, it means the world: dignity, health, more time to work, study,…
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It’s Time for a New Myth of the Social Entrepreneur
July 23, 2019
The organizations in the Skoll Foundation portfolio are a leading corps of global change makers. We receive awards, funding, and celebratory fanfare at the annual Skoll World Forum on Social…
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Towards a Culture of Humility, Introspection, and Partnership in Philanthropy
Nguhi Mwaura - Dalberg , July 17, 2019
What would it take, in terms of both financial and human resources, to achieve your goals? That was the final question Don Gips asked a group of Skoll Foundation Awardees…
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States Step Up to the Climate Challenge With Innovation and Ambition
Alli Gold Roberts - Ceres , July 15, 2019
The results of the 2018 midterm elections made it clear that American voters are ready for climate action. Across the country, we saw victories for many candidates who support bold…
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Don Gips on Designing New Systems and Innovative Multi-Sector Partnership
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Donald Gips - Skoll Foundation , July 1, 2019
Don Gips joined the Skoll Foundation in early April, taking over leadership responsibilities from Interim President and COO, Richard Fahey. Don brings a wealth of experience in both the public…
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Five Questions for Former Secretary Madeleine Albright
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , July 1, 2019
The two “mega-trends” that occupy much of Secretary Madeleine Albright’s attention these days are globalization and technology and their intersection. “Globalization is not a four-letter word,” she told a small…
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Can Liberia Teach Us How to Create a Universal Healthcare System That Works?
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , May 21, 2019
In the wake of a long and brutal civil war, Liberia had one of the world’s worst shortages of doctors—51 physicians to serve the entire country. The health of millions…
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What Does "Large-Scale Change" Look Like? We Partnered With Freethink to Find Out
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , May 20, 2019
At the Skoll Foundation, our north star is to drive large-scale change by supporting the work of social entrepreneurs and other innovators. "Large-scale change" is a very high bar for…
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Community Entrepreneurship: Solving Problems and Weaving Society Back Together
Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , May 13, 2019
“The idea of ‘social entrepreneurship’ has struck a responsive chord. … Though the concept of ‘social entrepreneurship’ is gaining popularity, it means different things to different people. … The language…
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Balancing Power Dynamics in Philanthropy
Atti Worku - African Visionary Fund , May 1, 2019
Imagine the impact if the untapped, underfunded, and underappreciated talent and tenacity of leaders from developing countries was fully utilized. At the 2019 Skoll World Forum, my co-facilitators and I…
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Solving Talent Challenges to Successfully Scale
Amanda West - Mercy Corps , Erin Worsham - Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship , May 1, 2019
“People are at the heart of everything we do. Hiring, retaining, and developing staff is our most important calling as an organization, because having adequate people resources is a crucial…
187402
The Promise and Peril of ‘Tech for Good’
Grace Mzumara - Saïd Business School , April 24, 2019
How would you explain the world today, to the world that was, a hundred years ago? I imagine my wide-eyed self, sharing the marvels of modern day transportation and music from the…
187377
Lessons from the Oxford Foundry Fail Faire
Tulsi Parida - Saïd Business School , April 23, 2019
The much anticipated Fail Faire at the Oxford Foundry during Skoll Week brought out stories of the biggest challenges faced by social entrepreneurs. Earlier in the week I was at…
187357
Rewriting the Rules for an Economic System that Serves All
Bruce Lowry - Skoll Foundation , April 23, 2019
Few issues generate more debate today than economics. Occupy Wall Street, the 99 vs. 1 percent, unequal development, and other impacts of globalization have spawned bestsellers, undergirded contentious political campaigns,…
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A Youth Refugee Crisis Response Centered on Education and Emotional Development
Annah Mason - Skoll Foundation , April 22, 2019
There are more than 25 million people registered as refugees today, displaced by conflict, volatility, or climate change. Of this community, half are children under 18. Their lives have been…
187338
Accelerating Systems-Level Change
Kathryn Harrison - Skoll Foundation , April 22, 2019
As we face a looming 12-year deadline on climate change, increasing threats to democracy, and a global refugee population of unprecedented size, effecting social change at a systems level has…
182106
How Big Data Helps Ma Jun Fight for Blue Skies and Clean Rivers in China
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , April 22, 2019
Long before he founded the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), Ma Jun was a trailblazing investigative environmental journalist in China. His groundbreaking reporting on the mounting environmental crisis…
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Ignore and Report Social Media, E-Mail, and Phone Scams
April 18, 2019
Several email-based scams claiming to be from or associated with the Skoll Foundation and/or CEO Don Gips and other staff members are circulating. We have learned that people are receiving…
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2019 Skoll World Forum: Facebook Live Conversations
Robyn Park - Skoll Foundation , April 8, 2019
At the 2019 Skoll World Forum, we hosted a series of live conversations—led by award-winning journalist Emily Kasriel—with social entrepreneurs, innovators, and thought leaders on Facebook Live, off the main stage.…
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Financing Myanmar’s Smallholder Farmers With Patient Capital
Connor Macdonald - Proximity Designs , April 3, 2019
We’re sometimes asked why we work in farming. Why, of all the many things we could task ourselves with, did we choose the incomes of smallholder farmers? The answer is…
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What Systems Change and Starfish Have in Common
Tim Hanstad - Chandler Foundation , April 3, 2019
As we gather in Oxford to discuss how humanity can accelerate a future that is fair, inclusive, and sustainable at this year’s Skoll World Forum, it is helpful to remember…
186015
Meet the 2019 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , April 1, 2019
We are delighted to announce the five winners of the 2019 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, one week before we head into the 16th Annual Skoll World Forum: Crisis Text Line, Harambee  Youth Employment Accelerator, mPedigree, mPharma, and Thorn. …
185905
The College Cheating Scheme and the Broken Mirror of Philanthropy
Edgar Villanueva - Schott Foundation for Public Education , March 26, 2019
You would be hard-pressed to pick up a newspaper, scroll through an online media platform, or check social media without being bombarded with stories on the U.S. college admissions scandal.…
185389
Towards Transformational Impact: Two Approaches to Donor-Led Innovation
Rachel Flynn - Skoll Foundation , March 20, 2019
In recognition of the complexity and interconnectedness of so many of the world’s most pressing challenges, institutional funders have been thinking deeply—and collaboratively—about how to create more transformational impact. Two…
185281
Our Vision for a 21st Century Water Service Provider
Neil Jeffery - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , March 20, 2019
There’s nothing more important to human life than clean, reliable water. It’s the first, and most basic of needs, something we cannot live without for more than a few days.…
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Introducing Our 2019 Skoll World Forum Emerging Leaders
Erin Harrington - Rosewood Family Advisors , Ariane Campbell - MasterCard Foundation , March 19, 2019
As we look forward to next month’s Skoll World Forum, the Skoll Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation are honored to introduce our 2019 Emerging Leaders! Launched in 2013, the Emerging…
185302
TEDx Skoll 2018 Conversation Series Makes its Mark on São Paulo
Elena Crescia - TEDx , March 19, 2019
Our TEDxSãoPaulo event in October 2018 explored the theme "Innovation + Impact" with the goal to attract many social entrepreneurs and people already engaged in social impact. Our events have…
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Six Books for Your Reading List by 2019 Skoll World Forum Speakers
Kathara Green - Skoll Foundation , March 18, 2019
Looking for the perfect bedside reading as you prepare for the Skoll World Forum? Whether you’re joining us in Oxford or engaging through the Digital Pass, there are plenty of great reads by Forum speakers to expand…
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Storytelling That Paints a Vision of Possibility: Q&A with Lindsay Branham of NOVO
Annah Mason - Skoll Foundation , Lindsay Branham - Novo Media , March 7, 2019
Lindsay Branham is the founder of NOVO, a non-profit incubator for art and technology that recently produced a slew of virtual reality (VR) films meant to increase human connection. Her projects use film…
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Watch: Video Orientation for First Time Skoll World Forum Delegates
Vanessa Wai - Skoll Foundation , Jill Ultan - Skoll Foundation , March 4, 2019
Attending the Skoll World Forum for the first time can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be. We hold video orientations to share advice for first time Forum delegates…
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How We Curate Possibility into the Skoll World Forum
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , March 4, 2019
What does it mean to Accelerate Possibility? We had been mulling over this concept in the fall, when suddenly the concept became very real in my personal life. My second…
184012
Introducing the 2019 Skoll World Forum Speakers!
March 1, 2019
We're thrilled to announce CNN's Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour; domestic rights activist Ai-jen Poo; Amnesty International Secretary-General Kumi Naidoo; actor, writer and producer, Chiwetel Ejiofor; futurist and filmmaker Anab…
183340
Andrew Youn on Putting Farmers First to Beat Africa's Hunger Crisis
James Nardella - Last Mile Health , February 28, 2019
In May 2015, a group of ambitious philanthropic collaborators, including the Skoll Foundation, pledged to make a measurable dent in Africa’s hunger crisis through a catalytic $100 million investment to…
183085
Proximity Meets Possibility: Skoll World Forum Fellowship
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , February 22, 2019
The Skoll World Forum brings together a global network of change agents to discuss, collaborate, and celebrate social progress. We curate invitations each year to convene 1,200 delegates—about a third of whom are social entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders, a third are funders spanning philanthropic to commercial, and a…
182956
The Skoll Foundation Announces New CEO Donald H. Gips
February 12, 2019
  The Skoll Foundation Board of Directors today announced the appointment of a new CEO: former Ambassador to South Africa Donald H. Gips. With a diverse career spanning public service,…
182897
Stories of Change: Unlocking the Imagination
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , February 6, 2019
The Stories of Change initiative, now into its second decade, connects independent storytellers with social entrepreneurs. It fosters the enhancement of story skills and networks between these communities and supports…
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Accelerating Possibility at Skoll World Forum 2019
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , February 4, 2019
Every summer, soon after the frenzy of the Skoll World Forum has passed, we begin to think about what thematic elements will guide the next Forum. We read the news.…
182555
Raj Panjabi on Health Inequity and Lasting Systems Change
James Nardella - Last Mile Health , January 29, 2019
During West Africa’s devastating Ebola epidemic in 2014, the Liberian Ministry of Health and Last Mile Health—an organization that delivers primary health care to some of the most remote corners…
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Co-Impact Announces First Funding Round: $80 Million for Health, Education, Economic Opportunity
January 15, 2019
  Back in the fall of 2017, the Skoll Foundation joined several other funders—Richard Chandler, Bill and Melinda Gates, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Rohini and Nandan Nilekani—to commit $500 million for…
182522
Will Artificial Intelligence End Global Poverty?
Shashi Buluswar - Skoll Foundation , January 14, 2019
In short, no—at least when it comes to lower-income countries and populations, and not in time for the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even worse, it can be a major…
182330
How Social Entrepreneurs Brought Hope to 2018
Robyn Park - Skoll Foundation , December 21, 2018
Much of the news from 2018 doesn't paint a pretty picture of the world. But we won't dwell on that. Instead, we'd like to wrap up the year by turning…
182262
Can Storytelling Help Solve the Problem of Health Disparities?
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Alexandra Quinn - Health Leads , December 19, 2018
Those without enough income to keep the heat on and food in the fridge are more likely to get sick than those with sufficient resources to meet these essential needs.…
182234
Access to Markets: The Elephant in the African Entrepreneurial Room
York Zucchi - Global SME Movement , Anke Schaffranek - Global SME Movement , December 13, 2018
The abbreviation for "Access to Markets" (ATM) makes for a great parallel to the actual challenge for most small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)—without clients there’s no cash to run…
182201
Secure Land Rights for Climate Resilience
Karina Kloos - Landesa , December 4, 2018
The world’s attention this week has turned to Katowice, Poland, where leaders and advocates have gathered to discuss the global climate change agenda at the COP24 United Nations Climate Change…
182072
2018 TEDx Skoll Conversation Series Comes to Lima
Michael Barclay - TEDx , November 15, 2018
Sometimes great ideas can hide in plain sight—innovative solutions are far too often overlooked. Even social entrepreneurs with the most passion and ingenuity can be missed. TEDx events are one…
182148
How Search for Common Ground Made the Case for Peacebuilding
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , November 15, 2018
In 1993, political tension in Burundi ignited and quickly engulfed the country in violent conflict. Long-simmering tensions born of colonial divisions quickly ignited into bloody massacre. Hutus and Tutsis who…
182112
2018 TEDxGlobalDay Brought Solutions to the Streets
Hailey Reissman - TEDx , November 14, 2018
On September 25, “We the Future,” featured a day of TED talks exploring some of our most difficult collective challenges—as well as emerging solutions and strategies for building bridges and…
182081
Now Is the Time to Chart a Path for AI in Education
Stavros Yiannouka - World Innovation Summit for Education , November 13, 2018
The world is both fascinated by and fearful of artificial intelligence (AI). Very few of us understand the technology behind it and even fewer can clearly articulate the implications of…
182069
Festivals Around the World Screened Skoll Awardee Films in 2018
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , November 12, 2018
In 2018, we elevated and amplified the stories of Skoll awardees in more than 50 cities and 11 countries, showing audiences all over the world that change is possible. Here's…
182015
Lessons From a Social Impact Bond: The Good, Bad, and Ugly
Michelle Green - Futuregrowth , Kathrin Schmitz - mothers2mothers , November 1, 2018
Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are an outcomes-based (pay-for-success) model where private investors contribute debt capital to fund projects with social goals. If the projects achieve their targets, the investment capital,…
181889
A Vision for Change: How VisionSpring Found Scale Through Partnerships
Ann Mei Chang - Individual , October 30, 2018
Want to dramatically increase your impact and scale? A new book, Lean Impact by Ann Mei Chang, offers a practical guide to social innovation with inspiring examples drawn from her…
181988
As 2018 Elections Approach, States and Business Must Drive Climate-Smart Policy
Alli Gold Roberts - Ceres , October 29, 2018
With the 2018 elections right around the corner, states and business continue to lead the move toward clean energy and clean transportation solutions to accelerate a low-carbon economy. Recent legislative…
181974
How Fundación Capital Co-Creates with Government for Scale
Elyssa Lewis - Skoll Foundation , Ana Pantelic - Fundación Capital , October 24, 2018
Partnering with governments is an increasingly popular pathway for social entrepreneurs seeking to scale their impact. But as the new Scaling Pathways report shows, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. It…
181730
Babban Gona Turns Potential Fighters into Productive Farmers
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , October 16, 2018
The quiet agricultural revolution that Kola Masha has sparked in north central Nigeria has its roots in the early 20th century fields of South Dakota where his grandfather banded together…
181938
Food Security and Climate Resilience Require Land Rights Reform
Karina Kloos - Landesa , Andy Currier - Landesa , October 15, 2018
For communities across the Global South, the impacts of climate change are not abstract projections but concrete realities that threaten their land and food security. In the wake of the…
181845
Purpose and Progress: 2018 TEDx Skoll Conversations Continue in Bangalore
Sartaj Anand - TEDx , October 1, 2018
When I had the opportunity to convene my community for a TEDxBangaloreSalon event last month I immediately thought of the underrepresented narratives. I tried to think of those so busy…
181825
Does Social Innovation Actually Drive Gender Equity?
Emma Davies - Palladium International , David McGinty - Palladium International , October 1, 2018
The rapid development and diffusion of innovation, including digital technologies, is challenging the systems and capacity of traditional international development partners. Testing and scaling of innovation and technology require agile…
181776
Scaling Pathways: Leveraging Government Partnerships for Scaled Impact
Elyssa Lewis - Skoll Foundation , Liz Diebold - Skoll Foundation , September 26, 2018
The question for many social entrepreneurs is not whether to work with government, but how. Partnering with government offers enormous potential to scale a product or service across regions or…
181737
How to Spend a Billion Bucks? The Global Water Crisis
Gary White - Water.org , September 25, 2018
How would you spend a billion dollars? Gary White knows what he will do. The Water.org CEO and co-founder says his organization has reached the $1 billion milestone in its…
181778
Scaling Solutions Toward Shifting Systems: How Funders Can Do Better
Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , September 24, 2018
Last year, the Scaling Solutions Toward Shifting Systems initiative—led by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and a Steering Committee of which the Skoll Foundation is a member—reflected on what more funders could…
181757
Health Care in the House at the Global Climate Action Summit
Josh Karliner - Health Care Without Harm , September 21, 2018
September 2018.  It’s been a momentous month. A massive hurricane stormed across the Atlantic Ocean. A super typhoon simultaneously traversed the Pacific. Both wreaked havoc—displacing more than a million people…
181749
Measuring for Impact in Human Rights: What, Why, How, and For Whom?
Kimberly Hogan - Skoll Foundation , September 20, 2018
“If you don't account for your impact properly, you have no right to call yourself a social anything” – Alex Nicholls.  Measuring impact: it’s a challenge all social entrepreneurs face. Is…
181651
Why Fixing Malawi’s Water Crisis Depends on Participatory Development
Joseph Magoya - Water For People , August 29, 2018
It’s become clear that the participation of local people and community organizations in the design and implementation of service delivery models is critical for success. Top-down, technocratic development often fails.…
181623
Spotlight on Vibrant Lagos in First of 2018 TEDx Skoll Conversation Series
Mercy Akamo - TEDx , August 29, 2018
With TEDxLagos this year we wanted the event to embody the essence of our vibrant, diverse community, one of the major business hubs of Africa. Under a theme of “Spotlight,”…
181626
How to Improve Sanitation Across an Entire City: the Case of Visakhapatnam
Neil Jeffery - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , August 29, 2018
Half of the one billion people in the world who still defecate in the open live in India. Poor sanitation in India is not just a rural issue: at least…
181372
How a Mapping Technology Helps the Poor Convert Wasteland to Thriving Commons in India
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , August 27, 2018
In India, some 50 million hectares of land, an area the size of Kenya, is classified as "wastelands and degraded lands"—a holdover from a colonial land management philosophy that fails…
181506
Why Farmer-Centered Design Demands Deep Knowledge, Intentionality, and Trust
Elyssa Lewis - Skoll Foundation , August 13, 2018
The big problem is clear. With a global population expected to reach more than 9.7 billion by 2050 and ambitious goals to end poverty, hunger, and food insecurity by 2030, agricultural production will need to nearly double. This increase in productivity must…
181466
Safeena Husain on Breaking the Cycle of Illiteracy
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , August 3, 2018
Educate Girls, an Indian NGO working to enroll out-of-school girls and increase learning for girls and boys, recently reached a major milestone: completion of the world’s first Development Impact Bond…
181345
Announcing 2018 TEDx Skoll Conversations in Lagos, Bangalore, Lima, and São Paulo
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , July 25, 2018
In partnership with TED, we support the TEDx network of curators and conveners who strengthen community and civic discourse in more than 170 countries. This year, we’re teaming up with…
181387
Bloodiest Year on Record (Again) for Environmental Defenders
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , July 24, 2018
It was nearly noon on an early December day when the shooting started. The small indigenous community near Lake Sebu in the Philippines had again come under attack. "The soldiers came…
181332
The Biggest Challenge to Ending AIDS by 2030 Isn’t What You Think
Kathrin Schmitz - mothers2mothers , July 10, 2018
End AIDS by 2030. This is one of the headline-grabbing targets laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals. Later this month, more than 15,000 people from the international HIV/AIDS community…
181306
How to Get to SDG 6: Invisible Barriers to Urban Water and Sanitation
Neil Jeffery - Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor , July 5, 2018
What do you think of when you think about improving water and sanitation? No doubt the first thing that springs to mind is a tap; probably followed close after by…
181268
Exploring Power and Privilege in the Funding Landscape: A Personal Reflection
Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , June 18, 2018
If I have your ear for long enough, you’ll eventually hear me grumble about the philanthropic sector. I usually start by claiming that, contrary to recent assertions by Steven Pinker…
181210
Marine Stewardship Council Labeling and the Future of Sustainable Fisheries
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , June 8, 2018
For hundreds of years, the Grand Banks cod fishery was one of the world’s most productive, providing a dietary staple to millions of people. Drop a basket over the side…
181196
Rural Women and Girls Catalyzing Change in the Climate Crisis
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , June 7, 2018
With World Environment Day this week, we're thinking a lot about the intersection of climate change and injustice, a place where many of our Awardees work daily. Climate change deepens…
181164
Emerging Technologies: Shifting the Path from Poverty to Prosperity?
Bruce Lowry - Skoll Foundation , May 24, 2018
Neither technology determinists nor tech skeptics would have been wholly satisfied with the Skoll World Forum session, “Emerging Technologies: Shifting the Path from Poverty to Prosperity.”  But it was a…
181145
Democracy in Crisis? Populism, Polarization, and Civic Engagement
Ruth Norris - Resources Legacy Fund , May 22, 2018
In the last several years, a wave of populist leaders have risen—and in many cases taken office—around the world. As a globalized economy and the automation of work catapults winners…
181032
Lindsey Spindle Joins Skoll Foundation Board of Directors
May 2, 2018
We're thrilled to announce that Lindsey Spindle, President of The Jeff Skoll Group, will join the Board of the Skoll Foundation. Working for global change-maker and renowned entrepreneur Jeff Skoll,…
181027
Sally Osberg Reflects on Her 17 Years of Leadership
May 1, 2018
As we mark an important milestone—the Skoll Foundation’s first CEO transition—we believed it important to capture the aspirations, values, and ways of working that constitute the DNA of the Foundation…
180541
Passing the Torch
April 30, 2018
Over the past nearly two decades, the Skoll Foundation and its partners and community have navigated unexpected outcomes, new challenges, and major shifts in the landscape. With each upheaval, we…
180544
Investing and Connecting Social Entrepreneurs: Skoll Awards and 15 Years of Skoll World Forum
April 30, 2018
Every year since 2004, the Skoll Foundation has convened its community for a transformative week in Oxford at the Skoll World Forum. Change-makers and thought leaders come from all different…
180798
Social Entrepreneurship as a Discipline: The Skoll Centre
April 30, 2018
The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship was launched in 2003 at Oxford’s Saïd Business School to promote the advancement of social entrepreneurship worldwide. The Skoll Foundation provided what was at…
180537
Supporting Social Entrepreneurs
April 30, 2018
The Skoll Foundation helps bring to scale models and approaches that move the needle on injustice and human suffering. There are many labels affixed to results-oriented approaches to philanthropy—venture philanthropy,…
180532
Defining Social Entrepreneurship
April 30, 2018
In the first chapter of the Skoll Foundation, the term “social entrepreneur” hadn’t yet emerged, but the core concept and all of the elements were there. The Foundation’s objective was…
180524
Telling the Stories of Social Entrepreneurship
April 30, 2018
Storytelling is woven throughout the Skoll Foundation’s DNA—central to the mission since its inception because of Jeff’s firm belief in the transformative power of a story well-told. Telling the stories…
180831
Highlights from the 2018 Skoll World Forum
April 30, 2018
In a world transformed by immediate digital connectivity, physical nearness—proximity—has never been more critical to crafting solutions and creating lasting social change. "Problems are not solved in isolation," Stephan Chambers…
180700
Introducing the Skoll World Forum Fellowship
Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , April 10, 2018
I am thrilled to announce the Skoll World Forum Fellowship in partnership with Johnson & Johnson. A platform for global voices, the inaugural Fellow cohort includes 50 incredible local leaders…
180425
The Power of Water Micro-Lending as Income Enhancer
Vedika Bhandarkar - Water.org , April 4, 2018
Her smile is truly as warm as the tea she prepares each morning to sell from her home in Mysore, Karnataka, India. Past the mint and chamomile drying in the…
180111
Meet the 2018 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship
April 2, 2018
As we prepare to head to Oxford for the 15th Annual Skoll World Forum, we are delighted to introduce you to our 2018 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship! The Skoll…
179924
Field Notes: Foundation for Ecological Security and the Greening of Rajasthan
Lucien Chan - The Audacious Project , March 29, 2018
High in the hills above Udaipur, Rajasthan, I recently walked through a lush landscape with a healthy watershed, an expanse of vibrant green that less than 20 years ago had…
180158
From Direct Action to Advisory Services: A Pathway to Scale for Social Entrepreneurs
Sarah Miers - Mulago Foundation , March 27, 2018
A central question for any social entrepreneur with a proven, effective innovation is how to scale its impact. For many organizations and funders, the answer to this question is elusive.…
180018
From Theirs to Ours: Proximity and the Power of Relationship
Alinafe Kasiya - VillageReach , March 26, 2018
Izizi ndi Zathu Zomwe. This is ours. That’s the name my team of adolescent researchers has given a groundbreaking public health initiative—a close study of their peers’ needs, behaviors, and…
179833
2018 Skoll World Forum Curation: Reflecting the Power of Proximity
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , March 22, 2018
Proximity is powerful. It’s a value that I’ve shaped my career around: bringing people from disparate places together, in person, to connect. While we live so much of our lives…
179426
How We Assess an Organization’s Financial Health: A Step-by-Step Guide to Decoding the Numbers
Sarah Miers - Mulago Foundation , March 19, 2018
Financial health is critical to understanding the overall health and sustainability of an organization and is a consistent consideration for any funder or nonprofit manager. But assessing financial health can…
179473
Sustainable Solutions at the Base of the Supply Chain: The Case for Cocoa
Paul Macek - World Cocoa Foundation , March 16, 2018
When you think of chocolate, you probably conjure up thoughts of hot chocolate after skiing or memories of a favorite person who offered you a box of Belgian truffles on…
179456
Introducing Our 2018 Skoll World Forum Emerging Leaders
Erin Harrington - Rosewood Family Advisors , Ariane Campbell - MasterCard Foundation , March 15, 2018
As we look forward to next month’s Skoll World Forum, the Skoll Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation are proud to introduce our 2018 Emerging Leaders. Launched in 2013, the Emerging…
178828
The Power of Proximity: Closing Distance, Celebrating Difference
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , March 6, 2018
178957
How Kickstart is Mobilizing an Irrigation Movement in Sub-Saharan Africa
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , March 6, 2018
Irrigation: that’s the key to lifting sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty, according to Martin Fisher. He traveled to the region on a Fulbright scholarship in 1985, and shortly after he…
178574
Skoll Foundation Board Names Richard Fahey Interim President
February 27, 2018
  The Skoll Foundation Board of Directors has named Richard Fahey, Skoll Foundation Chief Operating Officer, to the role of Interim President. The Board decided to temporarily suspend the search…
177458
How to Stop a Practice Harmful to Three Million Women and Girls This Year?
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , February 7, 2018
Some 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital cutting (FGC). Every year, three million more women are violated with FGC—a massive, mostly invisible health and human…
176816
A Decade of Stories of Change: How a Partnership With Sundance Institute Harnessed Storytelling for Social Impact
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , January 26, 2018
Stories of Change, a decade-long initiative of the Sundance Institute and the Skoll Foundation, marries the power of storytelling with the impact of social entrepreneurship. This initiative connects and engages…
176224
Sustainable Health Solutions for the Last Mile: VillageReach Builds Them and Lets Them Go
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , January 12, 2018
Access to quality healthcare for all communities in a scalable and sustainable way—that is at the heart of VillageReach’s mission. VillageReach (2006 Skoll Social Entrepreneur) focuses on the lowest levels…
175961
How Collective Action Will Amplify Impact of Community Health Worker Models
James Nardella - Last Mile Health , January 3, 2018
We know that large-scale social change is a team sport—no one social entrepreneur can create a new status quo on her own. This reality is evident in the global effort…
175766
The Power of Proximity: Envisioning a Shared Future
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , December 19, 2017
The end of a year always makes me stop and think about where that year began. For social entrepreneurs, funders, and frankly anyone in the social change space, it’s been a…
175537
#GoodNewsDecember: Impact Highlights from Social Entrepreneurs in 2017
Robyn Park - Skoll Foundation , December 18, 2017
After a year marked by natural disasters, refugee crises, and political turmoil, it can be a challenge to not become discouraged. But take a closer look, and you'll see the progress…
175571
How Building Markets Brings Syrian Refugee Entrepreneurs Out of the Shadows in Turkey
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , December 13, 2017
Building Markets (2010 Awardee) started in 2004 with a deceptively simple mission: to reduce poverty in crisis-impacted countries by championing local entrepreneurs. Building markets connects small and medium sized enterprises…
175493
A Seed of Maize: Kickstart on Storytelling for Impact
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Chevenee Reavis - Water.org , December 7, 2017
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 million people who rely on smallholder agriculture have improved their yields and income with the help of a single, simple piece of technology: a human-powered water…
175303
My Health, My Right: Turning an HIV-free Vision into Reality
Frank Beadle de Palomo - mothers2mothers , November 30, 2017
In 2006, Juliet was 26 years old and six weeks pregnant when her feelings of joy sank into anxiety and fear. The HIV test she had taken during an antenatal…
175248
We Stand #WithRefugees
Robyn Park - Skoll Foundation , November 29, 2017
Today, we are committing to standing #WithRefugees. By the end of 2016, more than 65.6 million people had been displaced by conflict or fled human rights violations—22.5 million were refugees,…
175182
Benetech Partners with Health Leads to Repair Bay Area Social Safety Net
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , November 22, 2017
We love to see our awardees enter into partnerships that leverage collective strengths to affect large-scale change. It’s even more satisfying when those partnerships are formed by organizations within the…
175077
New $500 Million Co-Impact Fund Leverages Collaborative Philanthropy for Systems Change
November 15, 2017
  System-level change requires collaboration across a range of partners—social entrepreneurs know this well. It's become clear that a collaborative approach among funders is also a critical piece of the…
174999
How Business Advocacy Pushed California’s Progressive Climate Policy
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , November 10, 2017
On a windy morning this past July, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to extend that state’s historic cap-and-trade program to 2030, doubling down on climate action just months…
174918
Why We Joined the Principles for Responsible Investment
Richard Fahey - Skoll Foundation , November 9, 2017
The Skoll Foundation recently became a proud signatory of the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment. The PRI are a set of six voluntary and aspirational principles that offer a menu…
174895
Join Us for Skoll Week in Oxford, April 9-13, 2018
November 2, 2017
  In five months, our global community of social entrepreneurs and innovators will convene for the 15th Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship. Each year, we invite new and returning…
174803
10 TED Talks by Women that Provoke, Empower, and Challenge the Status Quo
November 2, 2017
We’re excited to be in New Orleans for this year’s TEDWomen, where women from all over the world have convened to hear from innovative thinkers giving talks centering on the…
174357
From Forlorn Wastelands to Thriving Commons in India
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , October 30, 2017
Years ago, early in Jagdeesh Rao Puppala’s career, he ran into some trouble with the law in rural western India. He had just returned from a small event where some…
174704
What Will it Take to Free 40.3 Million Slaves?
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , October 16, 2017
Slavery is a modern scourge of shocking proportions. Some 40 million people live in slavery today, according to a report released last month from the U.N. affiliated International Labor Organization…
174629
Jeff Skoll Awarded Carnegie Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Philanthropy
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , October 4, 2017
Every two years, the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy  is awarded to philanthropists who have shown outstanding and innovative leadership in strategic giving. Yesterday, Jeff Skoll was awarded this honor at the…
174543
We The Future Spotlights Bold Models for Sustainable Development Agenda
Lindsey Powers - Skoll Foundation , Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , September 29, 2017
Last week, a group of social entrepreneurs, corporate pioneers, and policy innovators gathered at the TED Theater in New York during Global Goals Week for We The Future: Accelerating Sustainable…
174496
Moving Clean Energy Policy One State at a Time
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , September 21, 2017
More than half the U.S. states have policies that require utilities to power their grid with a certain amount of renewable energy and for that amount to increase over time.…
174478
Supply Chain Transparency and Climate Mitigation in China
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
China, the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter, is experiencing massive health costs due to pollution, with some 1.6 million premature deaths attributed to air pollution annually. China is also leading…
174469
Arresting Tropical Deforestation: Complementary Approaches in the Amazon
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
In addition to moving from an economy powered predominantly by fossil fuels to one powered by clean energy, an important piece of the climate change mitigation puzzle is arresting deforestation.…
174493
Revived and Resilient: Locally Managed Marine Areas in Madagascar
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
Oceans provide livelihoods and protein-rich food to more than 3 billion people, cover nearly three quarters of the earth’s surface, and are home to a diverse community of a million…
174489
Designing for Resilience in an Era of Water Stress
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
Erratic rainfall, extreme droughts and floods, and deterioration in water quality brought on by climate change will intensify existing water stress and water allocation challenges. By 2025, absolute water scarcity…
174501
Building Resilience With Climate Smart Agriculture
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
The agriculture sector is highly dependent on consistent climatic conditions to produce food. The roughly 475 million smallholder farmers in developing countries, who rely largely on rain-fed rather than irrigated…
174482
Climate Solutions Investment Beyond Core Grantmaking
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , September 21, 2017
The Skoll Foundation is deeply committed to broad action against climate change, action that exceeds our core grantmaking through the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship. The innovations and global consensus…
174474
Restoring Common Lands to Enhance Rural Resilience and Mitigate Climate Change
Anna Zimmermann Jin - Skoll Foundation , September 21, 2017
India’s commons—collectively owned land administered by the government—make up as much as 25 percent of the nation's territory. The government legally owns these lands, but lacks the reach, incentive, and…
174465
Our Commitment to Urgent Climate Action
September 21, 2017
From water resource management and food production, to disease and conflict: climate change exacerbates underlying vulnerabilities. As the severity of these impacts increase over the coming decades, poor communities in…
174413
Scaling Solutions Toward Shifting Systems: A Call to Action
September 19, 2017
  Impact: that's the north star for funders in the social entrepreneurship space. Many foundations are unwavering in their attention to measuring how a grantee moves the needle. Increasingly though,…
174380
A Detailed Guide to Public Sector Funding for Social Entrepreneurs
September 18, 2017
  Social entrepreneurs rely on a diverse ecosystem of funding flows to sustain and scale their work, and public sector institutions play a key role in supporting these social enterprises with…
174348
Team Rubicon in Houston: A Lean, Nimble Approach to Disaster Relief
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , September 12, 2017
  Jake Wood, former Marine sniper, believes there’s a better way to do disaster relief. While giant bureaucratic organizations like the Red Cross have come under increasing scrutiny for mismanaged…
174315
The Unfinished Social Entrepreneur: Lived Experience, Empathy, and Asking the Right Questions
Tabitha Mpamira-Kaguri - Edja Foundation , September 5, 2017
As a Rwandan who grew up in Uganda as a refugee and later moved to the U.S.A as a teenager, I spent most of my young life trying to figure…
174232
How Public Private Partnerships are Making a Crappy Market Safe Across Bangladesh
Sarah Miers - Mulago Foundation , Lucien Chan - The Audacious Project , August 30, 2017
In Bangladesh, nearly half of 55 million urban residents lack the sanitation infrastructure to properly process human waste. The result: massive amounts of raw waste is unsafely dumped, fouling the…
174221
Toward Fierce Collaboration: No One Can Solve the Global Water and Sanitation Crisis Alone
Kim Lemme - Water For People , August 27, 2017
The global water and sanitation crisis is one of the world’s most intractable problems–and one that has been addressed by the development, public, and private sectors since the dawn of…
174259
The Far-Reaching Economic Impacts of Child Marriage
Lakshmi Sundaram - Girls Not Brides , August 25, 2017
Every minute of every day, 28 girls under age 18 are married off against their will. Child marriage has broad and devastating impacts, and a new study from the World Bank…
174190
How VisionSpring Experiments with Distribution to Expand Its Reach
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , August 24, 2017
VisionSpring began with the guiding principle, “If you can’t see, you can’t work.” Since then it has evolved to include “If you can’t see, you can’t be safe”, and “If…
174155
Why I Changed Course From Wall Street to Return Home and Launch B-Lab East Africa
Olivia Muiru - B Lab East Africa , August 7, 2017
In 2008 I sat in the offices of a big Wall Street firm for a job interview as an investment researcher. This was just as the financial crisis had begun.…
174098
World’s First Development Impact Bond for Education: What Educate Girls Has Learned
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , August 1, 2017
Two years into a pioneering three-year development impact bond (DIB), Educate Girls—which tackles gender inequality in India’s educational system, is showing promising results. With a DIB, a service provider receives…
174113
Human Trafficking: Where's the Progress and What Comes Next?
Hannah Darnton - Skoll Foundation , July 28, 2017
Some 20 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, and nearly 70 percent of those are trapped in forced labor. The International Labour Organization reports that this dark…
174081
The Future of Learning: Personalized and Curiosity-led
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , July 27, 2017
Imagine that you only learned how to swim 75 percent? Or that you only learned how to ride your bike 75 percent? Or as a pilot, you only learned how…
174065
Al Gore: Turtle on a Fence Post | Climate Reality Project
July 26, 2017
Al Gore recently stopped by the offices of Skoll and we had the opportunity to hear his take on the fight against climate change in the wake of the U.S.…
173875
Sir Ronald Cohen: Unlocking Capital Markets for Social Change
July 24, 2017
Sir Ronald Cohen arrived in London as an 11-year-old refugee from Egypt. He eventually earned an Oxford scholarship, attended the Harvard Business School, and co-founded a venture capital firm. He…
174010
EcoPeace Middle East and a Breakthrough Israeli-Palestinian Water Deal
July 21, 2017
A water deal between Israelis and Palestinians reached earlier this month will ease the chronic shortages that have threatened to become a public health risk for the Palestinian people, particularly…
174003
Reaching the Unbanked: Citi Inclusive Finance Wins Euromoney Award
Edwin Ou - Skoll Foundation , July 19, 2017
One in four people in the world is unbanked, leaving them completely outside the system of formal financial services which can serve as bridge out of poverty and unlock opportunities…
173883
Emerging Leaders Initiative: The Next Generation of Social Entrepreneurs
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , Erin Harrington - Rosewood Family Advisors , July 19, 2017
For the fourth year in a row at the Skoll World Forum, we teamed up with the MasterCard Foundation to convene in Oxford a dozen emerging leaders from the growing…
173958
Record Number of Land and Water Rights Defenders Killed in 2016
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , July 17, 2017
Global Witness released a damning report late last week that shows it has never been deadlier to stand up against corporations seizing land and destroying the environment, tallying 200 deaths over the…
173846
Skoll World Forum 2017 Reflection: The Catalyzing Power of Systems Entrepreneurship
Kimberly Hogan - Skoll Foundation , July 14, 2017
The problems that social entrepreneurs seek to solve—from failed school systems to infectious disease—are too big and tangled for any single organization to address, no matter how innovative or well-funded.…
173910
Reflection from Aspen Ideas Fest: Collective Action in the Land of Rugged Individualism
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , July 11, 2017
Like many on the coasts, I’ve been guilty of engaging in ‘armchair anthropology’ these past months, and my recent trip to the Aspen Ideas Festival allowed me the opportunity to…
173835
8 Things I Learned at the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training
Jude O'Reilley - Skoll Foundation , July 5, 2017
Last week I joined Al Gore's team in Seattle for their 35th Climate Reality Leadership Corps training. The community is an international one, including strong representation from India, Europe, and sub-Saharan…
173797
Bending the Arc: Setting the Bar High for Social Change
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , July 5, 2017
Thirty years ago, as horrific disease like AIDS and tuberculosis ravaged much of the world, three remarkable young people—Jim Yong Kim, Paul Farmer, and Ophelia Dahl—came together in a squatter…
173433
Field Notes: Inside a Pratham Classroom in Karnataka
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , June 23, 2017
In rural India, half of village children can’t read or understand math at a level appropriate to their age and grade. This disparity in education creates ripples through society; it…
173684
2017 Social Progress Index Reveals Actionable Insights for Decision Makers, Social Entrepreneurs, and Engaged Citizens
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , June 20, 2017
Today marks the release of the 2017 Social Progress Index, a tool that uses key indicators in the areas of basic human needs, foundations of well-being, and opportunity to measure…
173660
On World Refugee Day: A Historic Crisis Without a Historic Response
Hannah Darnton - Skoll Foundation , June 20, 2017
Every minute of the day, conflict and persecution forces 20 people from their homes. By the end of today’s World Refugee Day, nearly 30,000 people will find themselves displaced. 2016…
173565
The Story of Gulafsa and Ruksar: Two Child Laborers Now Out of the Shadows
Nina Smith - GoodWeave , June 15, 2017
Millions of children are forced into labor each year. Consumers at the end of the supply chain often know nothing of the lives of those who made the product; it's…
173548
Scaling Pathways: Three Case Studies on Impact Growth in Social Enterprise
Gurpreet Singh - Skoll Foundation , June 13, 2017
What does it take to scale social impact? That’s one of the fundamental questions for social entrepreneurs anywhere. As they seek to create solutions to widespread, seemingly intractable problems, such…
173504
We Are Still In: States, Cities, and Businesses Renew Clean Energy Commitments in Wake of Paris Withdrawal
Alli Gold Roberts - Ceres , June 8, 2017
With President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, it’s become even more clear how critical the leadership of investors and companies are in tackling climate change and pushing for clean…
173466
Raj Panjabi’s TED Wish and the Power of Storytelling for Social Change
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , June 1, 2017
No condition is permanent. That’s the refrain of tough-minded optimism that Raj Panjabi, founder of Last Mile Health, grew up with in Liberia. It’s the mantra often repeated by his…
173447
Leadership Development: A Proactive Approach to Succession Planning
Lindsey Waldron - Bridgespan Group , Michael Etzel - Bridgespan Group , May 30, 2017
Leadership transition—particularly founder transition—is top of mind among many social entrepreneurs within the Skoll community. In fact, almost half of Skoll Awardee organizations have already weathered such a milestone. Some…
173389
What Next in a Global Labor Landscape in Flux?
Kimberly Hogan - Skoll Foundation , May 22, 2017
“I see aspirations converging all over the world and I’m really worried about it because unless we move more quickly in fighting poverty, unless we move more quickly in creating…
173370
The Case for Creative Coalitions in a Time of Turmoil
Nick Martlew - Crisis Action , May 18, 2017
Imagine a country’s Olympics team getting all mixed up. The swimmers end up in the sprint and the cyclists are handed javelins. There’s a wrestler on a horse and a…
173312
Michael Franti and Bono Celebrate Our 2017 Skoll Awardees
Jill Ultan - Skoll Foundation , May 11, 2017
Invest. Connect. Celebrate. This is the Skoll Foundation’s mission and deep commitment to the field of social entrepreneurship. The Skoll World Forum is one of our greatest opportunities for the 'celebrate'…
173274
Sally Osberg Reflects on 16 Years of Building the Field of Social Entrepreneurship
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , May 4, 2017
After 16 years at the helm of the Skoll Foundation, Sally Osberg announced plans to step down as President & CEO. She will continue to lead until her successor is…
173200
Highlights from the Social Progress Imperative 2017 Summit
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , May 1, 2017
“What if sociologists had as much influence as economists?” That’s the provocation with which Bjarni Benediktsson, Iceland’s 46-year-old Prime Minister of Iceland, set the tone for recent global summit of…
173178
Skoll World Forum 2017 Reflection: Global Health, from Innovation to Implementation
Ruth Norris - Resources Legacy Fund , April 27, 2017
"Global health is a marathon, not a sprint."  -- Barbara Bush, Global Health Corps The race often starts with great excitement over big breakthroughs: new vaccines and treatments, new technologies…
173130
The Skoll Foundation Approach to Visual Storytelling
April 22, 2017
Invest. Connect. Celebrate. That’s the Skoll Foundation mission in a nutshell, and the ‘celebrate’ part of that triad is where Skoll’s storytelling resources take center stage with the medium of…
173078
Highlights from Skoll World Forum 2017
April 21, 2017
The annual Skoll World Forum was, as always, an inspiring, energizing, and at times dizzying week of conversations and celebrations in the hallowed halls and cobblestoned streets of Oxford. Stephan Chambers…
173049
Sally Osberg, CEO of the Skoll Foundation and Leader of the Social Entrepreneurship Field, Intends to Step Down
April 18, 2017
Employee #1 of the Skoll Foundation Unleashed Social Impact Felt in Every Corner of the Globe Palo Alto, CA – After 16 years of dedicated leadership, Sally Osberg announced her…
173041
Anatomy Of A Tiger: With all Eyes on Myanmar, See How Land Reform Shaped Asia's Tiger Economies
Roy Prosterman - Landesa , April 17, 2017
Asia’s Tigers, the collection of booming economies that emerged in the East following World War II, are often hailed as economic miracles. There was, though, no “secret sauce” behind that sustained…
173023
Skoll World Forum 2017 Reflection: Civil Society Under Fire
Ruth Norris - Resources Legacy Fund , April 13, 2017
In the past five years, 70 countries have passed restrictive laws controlling civil society organizations, with more than half of them restricting foreign funding. There is a crisis of effectiveness…
172811
Skoll Awardee Kola Masha of Babban Gona on His One Regret
April 5, 2017
Kola Masha was unable to attend Oxford's New Theatre in person this evening, because he was waiting for the imminent arrival of his second child. Appolo Goma, Babban Gona Executive…
172861
A 360° VR Experience: 2017 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship
April 4, 2017
These four short films situate you right in the center of the landscape where each of our 2017 Skoll Awardees make lasting impact on the world’s most pressing problems: Nepal…
172762
10 Signs of an Impending Global Land Rights Revolution
Chris Jochnick - Landesa , April 1, 2017
The development community has experienced various ‘revolutions’ over the years – from microfinance to women’s rights, from the green revolution to sustainable development.  Each of these awakenings has improved our…
172662
Fear Doesn’t Live Here: Fighting Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
March 30, 2017
By: Fiona Mavhinga, Founder, Camfed’s CAMA alumnae network “I have seen girls suffer,” Mary told me. “And I knew I had to speak for them.” Mary was born poor and grew…
172538
The Inner Path to Become a Systems Entrepreneur
March 27, 2017
By: Katherine Milligan and Nicole Schwab As the world grapples with increasingly complex and seemingly intractable challenges, a new answer is gaining momentum: systems change. But what is systems change?…
172070
Meet the 2017 Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship
March 27, 2017
PALO ALTO, CA, MARCH 27, 2017 —Kicking off next week’s 14th Annual Skoll World Forum, the Skoll Foundation announced the four recipients of the 2017 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.…
172364
Seeding Serendipity at the Skoll World Forum
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Claire Wathen - Skoll Foundation , March 24, 2017
Skoll World Forum delegates often talk about the “magic” that happens in Oxford; an ineffable quality turns a gathering of some thousand people into an experience of unquantifiable value. We’ve…
171989
How We'll Get Universal Access to Safe Water in Latin America
Mark Duey - Water For People , March 22, 2017
Universal access to safe water in Latin America? How is this possible to achieve in a region where some of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the world have signs…
171694
Creating Common Ground in an Era of Division
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , March 15, 2017
On January 21st, my daughter and I joined the sea of citizens marching in solidarity down Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. Humanity in all colors, ages, and genders jostled along,…
171316
Introducing Our 2017 Skoll World Forum Emerging Leaders
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , March 9, 2017
In 2014, Isaac Jonas had left his small village in Zimbabwe to study for a master’s degree in food and resource economics at the University of British Columbia, Canada. The…
171212
How to Measure Impact of Women Social Entrepreneurship and Amplify What Works
Brittany Boettcher - Skoll Foundation , March 8, 2017
Several years ago I embarked on a learning journey to better understand why Skoll was experiencing what we refer to as the “mezzanine melt” in finding female social entrepreneurs poised…
171081
When Crisis Strikes a Skoll World Forum
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , March 6, 2017
On an unusually mild Sunday in mid-April of 2010, June Cohen stood on a London stage and welcomed a disoriented crowd. “How many of you are stranded here?” she asked.…
170584
Behind the Scenes of Skoll World Forum Programming: Q&A with Jessica Fleuti
Zach Slobig - The Bridgespan Group , Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , March 1, 2017
Curating the programming of the annual Skoll World Forum is a monumental undertaking. Planning for the next year begins soon after the delegates leave Oxford, and often is ongoing right…
169916
Skoll World Forum 2017: A Bigger Tent
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , February 16, 2017
When people come to the Skoll World Forum for the first time, there’s often a moment when something clicks, and they say, “I’ve finally found my tribe.” To share a…
168804
Survey of Social Entrepreneurship Community Reveals Emerging Trends
Jess Fleuti - Skoll Foundation , February 1, 2017
Last summer, the Skoll Foundation surveyed our Board, partners, and Awardees about trends and issues influencing the work of social entrepreneurs and other change agents. As a curator of the…
167190
Why I March: A Personal Message from Sally Osberg
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , January 20, 2017
Friends, Over my lifetime, the course of human events here in the US has always found its way forward. While far from perfect, our union has been characterized by its…
166879
Pat Mitchell Joins Skoll Fund Board
January 6, 2017
The Skoll Foundation is delighted to announce that Pat Mitchell has joined the Board of the Skoll Fund. “Over the years, Pat has been a deeply valued advisor to the…
166522
Citibanamex: Inclusive By Design
Ernesto Torres Cantu - Citibanamex , Robert Annibale - Citigroup, Inc. , December 20, 2016
  Kim Hogan, Skoll Foundation Citigroup makes strides towards systems change in the financial inclusion space by investing $1 billion in Citibanamex as the government of Mexico launches its National…
166325
Reflections From Standing Rock
Gabriel Diamond - Skoll Foundation , December 8, 2016
At the Skoll Foundation much of the work we support—and the stories we seek to tell—has to do with organizations and movements seeking to protect the environment and indigenous land…
166217
Getting Beyond Better Syllabus: Being a Social Entrepreneur Is a Way of Seeing and Being in the World
Roger Martin - Martin Prosperity Institute , Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , December 5, 2016
Since the 1990s, demand from students for social entrepreneurship courses has mushroomed. Why? Because as the world started to realize that social progress is essential to the wellbeing of individuals,…
166211
Teaching the Thinking of Social Entrepreneurship: How We Designed the Getting Beyond Better Syllabus
Nogah Kornberg - Joseph Rotman School of Management , December 5, 2016
Just over a year ago, Sally Osberg and Roger Martin asked if I would help them design a post-secondary course syllabus to accompany their book Getting Beyond Better: How Social…
166034
Bill Drayton and Sally Osberg on Growth and Transformation of Social Entrepreneurship
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , Bill Drayton - Ashoka , November 30, 2016
What are social entrepreneurs? What are the unique ways in which they work to achieve lasting solutions to the enormous problems facing humankind? What makes social entrepreneurship different from other…
166089
#StandWithMe: Empathy Builds Gender-Inclusive Safe Spaces
Sonali Khan - Sesame Workshop India , November 24, 2016
I was moderating an open discussion at a program on “safety in public transport” in a college in the state of Haryana, India. The students had heard about how girls…
166053
COP22: Reactions from Social Entrepreneurs
November 23, 2016
Last year in Paris, nations forged a historic agreement on halting climate change. The Paris Agreement called for zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the second half of this century,…
166061
COP22 Climate Negotiations Deliver Optimism and Resolve on Low-Carbon Transition
Mindy Lubber - Ceres , November 23, 2016
Despite the long shadow from the US election, the COP22 climate negotiations in Morocco, which wrapped on November 18, were a remarkable feat of global optimism, resolve and concrete action…
165959
Africa’s Economic Promise
Peyton Fleming - Ceres , November 21, 2016
The Africa that I visited recently was very different from what I had read about in U.S. newspapers. Instead of terrorist attacks and marauding gangs, I saw economic vitality, world-leading…
165970
Why R&D Matters for Social Entrepreneurs
Charlotte Sagan - Individual , November 21, 2016
Most entrepreneurs can agree that research and development (R&D) are key to innovation. Take the mobile phone, which weighed 2.4 pounds when invented in 1973. Today, the iPhone clocks in…
165942
Businesses Send a Clean Energy Message to President-elect Trump
Richard Fahey - Skoll Foundation , November 18, 2016
  Richard Fahey, Skoll Foundation It took only a few days for more than 365 of America’s largest companies and leading brands to assert that the transition to clean energy…
165837
Social Entrepreneurs Putting Data at the Heart of Systems Change
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , November 7, 2016
An emerging theme among Skoll Foundation Awardees is the strategic use of data to inform and influence decision-making by governments, corporations, consumers, and communities. While all organizations use data on…
165770
Toilets, Taps, and Triumph for Women
Eleanor Allen - B Lab , October 20, 2016
I met Maria when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. She was three years old—smiley, pudgy, and fun. I lived with her grandparents. We spent a…
165752
Want to Help the Poor? Why There’s Not Always an App for That
Benjamin Geyerhahn - BeneStream , October 14, 2016
Silicon Valley is a hub of innovation, but it also lives in a bit of a bubble. Many startups’ design decisions are based on assumptions that simply don’t apply or…
165746
Colombia: Referendum Result Presents Opportunity for Dialogue
Catalina Cock Duque - Fundacion Mi Sangre , October 14, 2016
After more than four years of negotiations, the referendum to ratify the final peace agreement that would end the armed conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas was held on October 2, 2016. It…
165723
FREE chapter: Introduction to Getting Beyond Better
October 12, 2016
What do Andrew Carnegie, steel magnate and one of America's first philanthropists, and Vicky Colbert, founder of Escuela Nueva, have in common? Check out the free Introduction of Getting Beyond…
165703
UNDP is Walking the Talk Towards Greener Healthcare Procurement
Rosemary Kumwenda - United Nations Development Programme , October 10, 2016
Public health is the core of medicine. It entails that we, as health care professionals, need to ensure public goods are delivered in a safe and sustainable way. Public procurement…
165686
Investment Needed to Fix Global Mental Health Crisis
Natasha Abraham - BasicNeeds , October 10, 2016
A major traumatic experience changed Muhammad’s life and he grew increasingly bitter, angry, and paranoid. Things escalated to the point where his family life began to suffer. Muhammad had been…
165691
“One of the Most Extraordinary Things That Has Ever Happened in Diplomacy”: Independent Diplomat’s Carne Ross on the Paris Climate Negotiations
James Nardella - Last Mile Health , Carne Ross - Independent Diplomat , October 7, 2016
  Social entrepreneurs work in proximity to entrenched social challenges, come to know these challenges deeply, and work wholeheartedly to bring about a new status quo. Few challenges are as…
165643
Introducing the Task Force for Global Health at Hilton Humanitarian Symposium
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , September 30, 2016
At the Hilton Humanitarian Symposium in New York on September 30, 2016, Skoll Foundation President & CEO Sally Osberg had the honor of introducing David Ross, President & CEO of…
165615
Social Entrepreneurs Build Coalitions to Win Fight Against Poverty
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , September 27, 2016
In a 2015 article, New York Times writer Eduardo Porter, noting that one in 20 Americans fall below the poverty line, deftly summarized the poverty research of Harvard sociologist Matthew…
165059
Universal Access to Sanitation: How Do We Get There?
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , August 31, 2016
In honor of World Water Week: a look at water and sanitation and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article was originally posted in September, 2015. The world achieved the…
165421
Bryan Stevenson’s Blueprint for Racial Justice Inspires Aspen Changemakers
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , August 31, 2016
In July I attended the Aspen Institute’s Resnick Aspen Action Forum in Aspen, Colorado, along with a number of Skoll Awardees. The Skoll Foundation sponsors this annual four-day event, where…
165334
Advancing Women Social Entrepreneurs: Strengths and Challenges
Brittany Boettcher - Skoll Foundation , August 25, 2016
As Skoll Foundation CEO and President Sally Osberg says, “social entrepreneurs are cracking the code of some of the world’s most pressing problems.” The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship are…
165322
One More Look at Rio: The Necessity and Complexity of Systems Change
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , August 24, 2016
Over the course of the 2016 Olympics in Rio, we’ve delved into some of the challenges facing Brazil. We began with the Social Progress Index’s (SPI) assessment of Brazil’s performance…
165267
“The Progress We Are Making is Undeniable”: A Conversation With Venture Capitalist Nancy Pfund
Peyton Fleming - Ceres , August 23, 2016
Ceres’ Clean Trillion campaign aims to increase clean energy investments globally by $1 trillion a year, in order to minimize the damaging impact of climate change. Part of that campaign…
165252
We Mourn the Passing of a Dear Friend, Colleague, and Community Leader Who Changed the Way Silicon Valley Thinks About Giving
August 22, 2016
PALO ALTO, August 22, 2016—The Skoll Foundation community is heartbroken to have lost our brilliant colleague and founding member of our Board of Directors, Peter Hero, to cancer yesterday. Peter…
165235
The Growth of the WE Movement: From Our Living Room to Yours on August 28th
Craig Kielburger - WE , August 20, 2016
When a group of twelve twelve-year-olds gathered in my parents’ living room 20 years ago to draft a petition to end child labor, we felt strong together, but alone in…
165199
“Visibility is the First Stepping Stone For All Our Other Rights”: How WITNESS is Using Video to Fight Abuses in Rio
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , August 17, 2016
Social entrepreneurs aim at the root causes of social problems. For WITNESS, one of the main reasons human rights abuses persist is a lack of visibility. WITNESS empowers citizens to…
165142
We Honor Pamela Hartigan
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , August 15, 2016
My dear colleagues, friends, and fellow travelers, I write to let you know that we lost our beloved Pamela Hartigan on August 12th, valiant to the end, but as she…
165133
“During The Olympics, There is Great Joy Among Us”: An Interview with Rio Social Entrepreneurs
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , August 15, 2016
At the Skoll Foundation, we have seen time and again the importance of the deep connection and inspiration social entrepreneurs get from working with and staying close to people and…
165102
No Small Feat: How a Social Entrepreneur Helped Defeat One of the World’s Worst Diseases
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , August 11, 2016
This week The Task Force for Global Health was awarded the 2016 Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Hilton Humanitarian Prize, an inspired choice for this wonderful award. Since its inception in…
165075
As Rio Olympics Kick Off, SPI Data Shows Uneven Social Progress in Brazil
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , August 5, 2016
The opening ceremony for the 2016 Summer Olympics kicks off today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Both the city and the country have been mired in controversies in the lead-up…
165066
South Asia: Skoll Awardees Drive Change in Health and Gender Equality
Shivani Garg Patel - Skoll Foundation , August 5, 2016
Last month I traveled to Nepal and India to meet with Skoll Awardees and partners and learn about their progress in deploying mobile health solutions, fighting gender bias, and expanding…
165026
Disease Surveillance App Wins Converts in Thailand
Erin Harrington - Rosewood Family Advisors , July 29, 2016
Recently I joined the pandemics team from the Skoll Global Threats Fund (SGTF) in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to spend a week learning about disease surveillance and how it’s used to detect…
164987
Communications as Critical Change Agent
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , July 27, 2016
During the July 2016 AWNY Stages Summit in Chicago, the Skoll Foundation’s Director of Public Engagement & Communications Suzana Grego delivered a speech about her experiences working in human rights…
164969
New Hope That Water Can Be a Bridge to Mideast Peace
Hilik Bar - Israeli Knesset , Gidon Bromberg - EcoPeace Middle East , July 21, 2016
Israelis and Palestinians often play the blame game on the crucial issue of water. Palestinians scream “water apartheid” and Israelis respond with accusations of a “sewage intifada.” But recently there…
164901
"Social" Takes Center Stage at President Obama's Global Entrepreneurship Summit
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , June 30, 2016
As President Obama said in his address to hundreds of Global Entrepreneurship Summit attendees at Stanford’s Memorial Auditorium last week: “Entrepreneurship is the engine for growth….You [entrepreneurs] are the bridge,…
164896
Tackling the Access Gap: Nonprofessional Workforces Expand the Reach of Basic Services  
Joony Moon - Skoll Foundation , June 30, 2016
Comparing the recently-launched 2016 Social Progress Index to prior years, we can see what many already know—social progress takes time. As developing countries struggle to provide equitable access to important…
164885
SPI and Social Entrepreneurs Provide Practical Knowledge For Tackling Global Problems
Ehren Reed - Individual , June 30, 2016
The Skoll Foundation is a partner and passionate supporter of the Social Progress Imperative because their work advances our knowledge of how the world is currently faring, based on comprehensive…
164876
Health Sector Revolution: Changing What Counts as Healthcare
June 28, 2016
Today, the US healthcare sector is no longer debating the connection between patients’ unmet social needs—like shelter, heat, employment, and food—and poor health. It’s widely recognized that just 10 percent…
164805
Promising Innovations for Tackling the Refugee Crisis
Hannah Darnton - Skoll Foundation , June 20, 2016
The world’s eyes are fixed on one of the most pressing social crises of our time—the refugee crisis unfolding across Central Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. Driven…
164786
Technology’s Role in Driving Social Progress Continues to Grow
Kimberly Hogan - Skoll Foundation , June 17, 2016
This is part of a series of articles about the 2016 Skoll World Forum, which took place April 13-15 in Oxford, England. Even though the social sector is one of…
164763
Our Odyssey: What Winning the Skoll Award Has Meant for Blue Ventures
Vik Mohan - Blue Ventures , June 14, 2016
In 2015 Blue Ventures won the highest award in our sector, the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. A year later, has anything changed? Can winning a major award really be…
164749
Lessons in "Leading Through Adversity" from the Skoll World Forum
Pat Mitchell - Pat Mitchell Media , June 11, 2016
This is part of a series of articles about the 2016 Skoll World Forum, which took place April 13-15 in Oxford, England. In April, I had the privilege of moderating…
164744
Saving Lives Sustainably
Rosemary Kumwenda - United Nations Development Programme , June 10, 2016
Standard medical ethics dictate “primum non nocere” (first do no harm). The health sector provides an indispensable service to the public, playing an essential role in human development as the…
164737
Ending Child Labor: The Dirty Business of Cleaning Up Supply Chains
Nina Smith - GoodWeave , June 10, 2016
Made by Children. Instead of Made in China or Made in India, what if this was the label inside the neatly stacked sweaters on a department store shelf? For most…
164683
Investors Must Keep Pressuring Oil Majors on Climate Risk
Mindy Lubber - Ceres , June 6, 2016
Annual general meetings at the world's largest fossil fuel companies are usually a time for reflecting on strategies to increase revenues for the coming year, global energy outlooks, and governance.…
164633
Fix Mideast Water Crisis to Advance Peace Process
Nader Al Khateeb - EcoPeace Middle East , Munqeth Mehyar - EcoPeace Middle East , Gidon Bromberg - EcoPeace Middle East , May 27, 2016
Despite continuing disputes over settlements, Jerusalem, borders, and refugees, there is at least one problem on which Arabs and Israelis can still make progress—water. Much hard work lies ahead. The…
164614
NGOs Should Offer Business Support to Grow Impact Investment in Frontier Markets
Mark Wallace - Cambridge Judge Business School , Agustin Belloso - Cambridge Judge Business School , Henning Ringholz - Small Foundation , May 26, 2016
Lack of access to finance and business development services are key obstacles to growth for social enterprises operating in frontier markets. While there has been a rise in investment in…
164569
An Inconvenient Truth: Letter to the Community
Rachel Kraus - TakePart , May 21, 2016
When Participant Media and Skoll Foundation founder and chairman Jeff Skoll, Vice President Al Gore, and Davis Guggenheim premiered An Inconvenient Truth on May 24, 2006, the effect was immediate…
164497
Disrupting the Wealth Inequality Paradigm
Cindy Chen - King Philanthropies , May 12, 2016
This is part of a series of articles about the 2016 Skoll World Forum, which took place April 13-15 in Oxford, England. In recent years, wealth inequality has been passionately…
164294
2016 Skoll World Forum Highlights
May 9, 2016
More than 1,000 social change agents converged on Oxford, England, to explore fierce compassion as a driver of social progress at the 2016 Skoll World Forum. Here are some highlights…
164420
Conscious Social Change: Investing in Mindfulness for Fierce Compassion and Social Impact
Gretchen Steidle - Global Grassroots , May 9, 2016
“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” –Rumi Those of us working towards a more just society…
164150
Join the Virtual Reality Revolution: How To Make Your Own VR Film
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , April 26, 2016
With sales of virtual reality (VR) gear set to take off this year, we are on the cusp of a new media revolution. The New York Times shipped more than…
164090
Meet the Social Entrepreneurs Defining the Future of Healthcare
Meera Patel - Ashoka , Ellen Goodman - Ashoka UK , April 25, 2016
There is a global crisis in healthcare; the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one billion people lack access to basic care, and a further 100 million are pushed into…
164041
Skoll, Ford, and BRITDOC Launch Flex Fund to Expand Impact of Storytelling
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , April 14, 2016
Every social entrepreneur dreams of telling the perfect story, the one that inspires not just people who see the potential of their vision, but also those so deeply entrenched in…
164020
Getting Global Social Entrepreneurs to the Next Level
Min Pease - Echoing Green , April 13, 2016
Echoing Green provides seed funding and technical assistance to emerging social entrepreneurs. Over the last few years we’ve seen a significant increase in innovative enterprises making social change through for-profit…
163999
Refugees in Turkey Must Be Allowed to Find Their Own Solutions
Adam Lent - Ashoka , April 13, 2016
Fadwa, Mahmoud, and Yasser have three things in common. They all live in Istanbul, but not by choice. They are there because their lives in Syria became too dangerous or…
163989
Seizing the Future: Why Empowering Young People Will Build a Better World
Rob Wilson - Toast Ale , Ellen Goodman - Ashoka UK , April 13, 2016
The world is changing, and it’s changing fast—much faster than our education system has so far been able to keep up. In his TED talk titled “Do schools kill creativity?”…
163914
Wellbeing Project Reveals Changemakers' Need for Personal Support
Aaron Pereira - Wellbeing Project , April 12, 2016
In 2008 I was talking to social entrepreneur Vera Cordeiro of Saúde Criança—a Skoll Awardee and, like me, an Ashoka Fellow. I was in the midst of a sabbatical, and…
163600
Announcing the 2016 Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
April 11, 2016
OXFORD, April 11, 2016—Kicking off this week’s 13th Annual Skoll World Forum, we are pleased to announce the six recipients of the 2016 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. The Skoll…
162742
Land Rights: Intangible Assets Bring Tangible Benefits
Tim Hanstad - Chandler Foundation , March 17, 2016
When we think about global development, we generally picture tangible improvements like bridges, hospitals, and schools. When it comes to agriculture, people think of improved seeds, fertilizer, and irrigation. But…
162726
Virtual Reality Offers Social Entrepreneurs the Power of Being There
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , March 17, 2016
As human beings, our brains are wired for stories. It’s how we expand our knowledge, and experience going places we’ve never gone, doing something perhaps we’d never even thought to…
162716
Gore and Figueres Talk Urgency and Optimism at Skoll-hosted TED Climate Breakfast
Bruce Lowry - Skoll Foundation , March 17, 2016
The Jeff Skoll Group had the honor of hosting a breakfast event at the recent TED2016 conference in Vancouver, featuring two leaders in the fight against climate change—Christiana Figueres, the…
161258
Ceres Translates Climate Ambitions Into Reality  
February 24, 2016
The climate deal agreed on by 196 countries at COP21 in Paris this past December is extraordinary in its ambitions—a 1.5° C limit on warming, and net zero emissions in…
161059
Unleashing Young People’s Potential to Build a Culture of Peace
Catalina Cock Duque - Fundacion Mi Sangre , February 22, 2016
Catalina Cock Duque is the director of the Mi Sangre Foundation, founded in 2006 by Juanes, the Grammy Award-winning Colombian musician and social activist. Juanes will perform at the 2016…
160449
Field Visit: Camfed Succeeds Through Community Solidarity
Cindy Chen - King Philanthropies , February 13, 2016
Raymond Guthrie and I are in Zimbabwe visiting Camfed, one of our early Skoll Award winners (class of 2005), to learn more about their work within rural communities to support…
160368
Virtual Reality, Real Empathy
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , February 9, 2016
The Sundance Film Festival this year celebrated 10 years of its New Frontier program, which highlights the intersection of technology and storytelling. One such feature was a virtual reality experience…
160317
Blended Finance in a Nutshell
Laura Mecagni - International Finance Corporation , February 5, 2016
Also read the Skoll perspective from principal Eric Cooperström. Worldwide, roughly 450 million smallholder farmers scrape out a living by working two hectares of land or less. Figuring out how…
160121
Course Syllabus based on Getting Beyond Better
January 4, 2016
Released in October 2015, Roger L. Martin and Sally R. Osberg's Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works explores how social entrepreneurs transform society. This free syllabus uses Getting Beyond…
160001
COP21: What Does Climate Deal Mean for Social Entrepreneurs?
Skoll Foundation - , December 14, 2015
The two-week UN Climate Change Conference wrapped up last weekend in Paris. COP21 was the latest international meeting to follow the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the…
159923
Five Ways to Build Better Online Communities
Robin Toal - APOPO HeroRats , November 27, 2015
Building an online community is a priority for most non-profit organizations. Active and engaged online communities create a wealth of opportunities: to attract volunteers, increase fundraising revenue, expand reach, or…
159915
Conversations about Getting Beyond Better
November 25, 2015
With the launch of Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works, co-authors Sally Osberg and Roger Martin led a number of lively discussions on the road about how social entrepreneurs…
159912
The Giving Tower Holiday Challenge, designed by CrowdRise, starts Nov. 24
November 25, 2015
Twenty-one recipients of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship will be participating in the Challenge and will have the opportunity to win $250,000 in prizes from the Skoll Foundation, in…
159760
Disastrous Effects of Gold Mining in the Amazon
Eric Cooperström - The Nature Conservancy , November 17, 2015
Skoll Awardee Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) just launched a new website called Amazon Gold Rush: Gold Mining in Suriname. The site offers a rich, interactive user experience that tells the story…
159831
We Honor the Memory of Soraya Salti
November 11, 2015
The Skoll Foundation mourns the loss of Soraya Salti, founder of INJAZ al-Arab. Last week, Soraya and her sister, Jumana, both died tragically and unexpectedly. Soraya was an outstanding leader and…
158951
Deforestation in the Amazon: Seeing Both the Forest and the Trees
Eric Cooperström - The Nature Conservancy , October 9, 2015
Global forest loss is a complicated and multi-dimensional problem, and the signals of progress (or regression) can be confusing. On the one hand, a recent study by Global Forest Watch…
158950
The Lynchpin to Women and Girls’ Well-Being
October 9, 2015
Women and girls make up two-thirds of the world’s 774 million illiterate adults and more than two-thirds of the 130 million school-age children not enrolled in school. By missing out…
158220
Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works
Roger Martin - Martin Prosperity Institute , Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , October 1, 2015
Who drives transformation in society? How do they do it? In this compelling book, Roger Martin and Sally Osberg describe how social entrepreneurs target systems 
that exist in a stable…
158159
Malala Yousafzai: “Education Is Mightier than Guns”
September 30, 2015
Malala Yousafzai grew up in the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan. From the age of 10, she has campaigned for the rights of girls to receive an education. At 15,…
158156
Sanitation for all: The Other Side of the Global Health Coin
September 30, 2015
The world achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water in 2010—ahead of schedule. But progress towards sanitation…
157950
Q&A with Sally Osberg & Roger Martin
September 29, 2015
JEFF KEHOE, SENIOR EDITOR AT HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW PRESS, spoke with co-authors Sally Osberg and Roger Martin about their new book, Getting Beyond Better, during the 2015 Skoll World Forum.…
157948
Shifting an Equilibrium
September 28, 2015
A system is in equilibrium when it is balanced and stable. Such systems tend to be pervasive, self-reinforcing, and persistent, even if they are not reasonable, just, or fair. As…
159190
5 Ways Social Entrepreneurs Can Make Their Content Go Viral—from an editor at Upworthy
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , August 17, 2015
Adam Mordecai is editor-at-large at Upworthy. When he’s not trying to get millions of page views (300 million to date) on issues like racial justice, climate change and economic inequality,…
159195
Five Mistakes That Social Entrepreneurs Make When Crafting Their brands
Anne Miltenburg - The Brandling , August 12, 2015
As a brand developer, I’ve met countless social entrepreneurs all over the world: people with an extreme passion for social or environmental impact. They have a lot to master in…
159191
Prioritize, Capitalize, Right Size and More: 5 Insights from the Skoll Foundation on Monitoring and Evaluation
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , July 28, 2015
Ehren Reed, the Skoll Foundation’s Director of Evaluation, was recently asked what matters when he is looking at the measurements social entrepreneurial organizations use. “Organizations have the power to achieve…
159636
What 5 Experts Think of the Millennium Development Goals
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , July 12, 2015
The United Nations just released its 2015 Millennium Development Goals report, so we thought it was a good time to share the thoughts of five experts who joined the United Nations’ Tomas…
159470
Doing the Unexpected: How One Social Entrepreneur Changed Paths
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , June 30, 2015
Jenny Bowen thought her work was almost done. After 17 years of running OneSky (formerly known as Half the Sky), she had helped transform China’s child welfare institutions, and she could “see…
159474
Social Entrepreneurship in 1960s Singapore: The Story of My Mother
Jack Sim - World Toilet Organization , June 29, 2015
I was born in a slum in Singapore in 1957. Except for the British, almost everyone else was poor. My father worked in a grocery shop and his salary as…
Blue Ventures Study Shows Marine Management Pays
Alison Gilbert - Skoll Foundation , June 17, 2015
Velvetine, a local fisher from a village on the coast of Madagascar, reports: “Before we started doing octopus closures, we were only catching two or three octopus in a day,…
159629
New Educate Girls Case Study Documents Use of Measurement, Scale
Skoll Foundation - , June 8, 2015
Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation in India, wrote a case study on Educate Girls affirming of the importance of investing in measurement. Here’s more from Dasra’s Divya Pamnani and Arjav Chakravarti: “Dasra worked closely with…
159459
5 Lessons of Hope from a Social Entrepreneur Who was Jailed
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , May 21, 2015
Cecilia Flores-Oebanda and some of her children were jailed for four years for fighting against the Marcos regime of the Philippines. (Former President Ferdinand Marcos was removed from power in 1986). Her…
159631
The Outsourcing Sector’s Shift to Impact Sourcing as the New Norm
Alison Gilbert - Skoll Foundation , May 18, 2015
In a recent Huffington Post blog Skoll Awardee Jeremy Hockenstein—co-founder and CEO of Digital Divide Data (DDD)—posits, “Nowadays, almost every major company and institution outsources business processes offshore. Imagine the…
159192
One Social Entrepreneur Shares How He Gets Media Coverage
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , May 11, 2015
Jim Fruchterman founded Benetech in 2000. Since then, his organization has been featured in numerous publications, such as Barron’s, The New York Times, and public radio station KQED. At the…
159457
Sally Osberg, Roger Martin on Stamina and Tough-Minded Optimism
Skoll World Forum - , May 4, 2015
At the Skoll World Forum last month, Jeff Kehoe of the Harvard Business Review Press led a conversation about how social entrepreneurs are transforming society’s unjust equilibria. Skoll Foundation President and CEO Sally Osberg and strategy…
159451
Song, Laughter and Art at the Skoll World Forum Closing Plenary
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , April 18, 2015
We sang. We saw images of war. We saw beautiful art that inspired a little boy who eventually became president of a large foundation. We heard a musician from Mozambique…
159448
Skoll Awards Ceremony 2015 Highlights
Skoll Foundation - , April 17, 2015
There is no better way to open an Awards Ceremony than with the Soweto Gospel Choir dancing down the aisles. So began the 2015 Skoll Awards Ceremony. Yesterday, Skoll Foundation…
159453
16 Speakers Give Sneak Peeks to the Skoll World Forum
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , April 5, 2015
The Skoll World Forum is coming up very soon (in fact, most of the Skoll Foundation staff is heading to Oxford this week!) so here are some highlights from 16 new…
159472
New Perspectives at the Global Innovation Summit
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , March 12, 2015
The Global Innovation Summit – one of a seemingly endless number of meetings in the Bay Area with the name “innovation” in the title – might well serve its namesake. …
159205
Spreading the Social Progress Index Across the World
Paula Kravitz - Individual , February 25, 2015
I just wrapped up a 1.5 day training seminar at MIT in Boston with individuals from around the world who are adopting, adapting and running social progress networks in their cities, countries…
159633
Experiencing the Global Innovation Summit—with “Scorecards”
Sarah Zak Borgman - Skoll Foundation , February 24, 2015
The Global Innovation Summit – one of a seemingly endless number of meetings in the Bay Area with the name “innovation” in the title —  might well serve its namesake. …
159196
Audience Engagement: Beyond the 'Like' Button
Michael Skoler - Public Radio International , February 16, 2015
In 1994 I was a foreign correspondent covering the genocide sweeping Rwanda. My radio stories shared the voices of people — Hutus and Tutsis alike — who were caught up…
159659
Supercharged Stories of Change: A Sundance Summary
Skoll Foundation - , January 30, 2015
Sundance, so glitzy on top, is constantly and astonishingly substantive underneath. The best films are often documentaries and the best conversations, at least last week, were about social entrepreneurship not…
159647
“Social” Shines at Sundance
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , January 26, 2015
Snow-covered mountains, celebrities, and long lines in the streets of Park City can only mean one thing: the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The Skoll-Sundance partnership is a natural one. The…
159663
Skoll Foundation/Sundance Stories of Change film Open Heart nominated for an Oscar
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , January 11, 2015
It’s official – the Skoll Foundation/Sundance Stories of Change short film OPEN HEART has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Short category. Here’s a synopsis: Open…
159210
Five Ways to Tap the Crowd to Drive Change
Suzana Grego - Skoll Foundation , December 20, 2014
On December 5th, the second annual Social Entrepreneurs Challenge, hosted on CrowdRise, came to an end. And what an ending it was! The goal was for social entrepreneurs to raise…
159197
For-Profit or Non-Profit? How Hybrid Tension Yields Success
Kirsten Bunch - Independent , November 30, 2014
Years of hard work building a thriving social enterprise are starting to pay off for VisionSpring. This year, we expect to generate an estimated $1.6 million in earned income from the…
159198
Skoll Awardee Visit: Cecilia Flores-Oebanda
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , October 13, 2014
Every so often, we have the pleasure of a visit from a Skoll Awardee. One of our most recent was Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, founding president and executive director of the Visayan…
159638
SPI Promises Big Benefits in Fight Against Poverty
Martin Burt - Fundación Paraguaya , September 2, 2014
Last year, the government of Paraguay adopted a new way of measuring the state of the nation, called the Social Progress Index (SPI). Both government and business leaders were concerned…
159661
“Revolutionary Optimists” Nominated for an Emmy
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , July 16, 2014
“The Revolutionary Optimists,” a film which was part of the Skoll Foundation/Sundance Stories of Change, was nominated for a 2014 Emmy in the category “Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting, Long Form.”…
159455
Blogs from the Skoll World Forum
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , April 29, 2014
We recently shared some top media coverage from the 2014 Skoll World Forum—here are some highlights from major blogs. Kimberly Sedmak, executive producer of Jane Pauley’s AARP show, focused on…
159171
Reflections from Sundance: The Power of Data versus Story
Tim Hanstad - Chandler Foundation , January 30, 2014
I’ll Tell You a Story A week spent at the Sundance Film Festival usually includes photo opportunities in your best mountain chic, mingling with celebrities, and getting a sneak peak…
162779
Beyond The Screens at Sundance: Filmmakers and Social Entrepreneurs Explore the Power of Story
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , January 28, 2014
The Sundance Film Festival is best known as the land of filmmakers and celebrities, mountain chic clothing and glamorous parties. But over the last few years, there’s been a new…
159652
Jeff Skoll in Forbes: “On The Power Of A Good Story”
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , November 13, 2013
Our founder, Jeff Skoll, just wrote an essay on Forbes reporter Kerry Dolan’s page about the power of a good story. An excerpt: “When I was a kid, I read…
159193
10 Tips for Social Entrepreneurs: How to Talk to a Problem Employee
Judy Parkman - Skoll Foundation , October 7, 2013
In my time as a human resources director at the Skoll Foundation, I have talked many social entrepreneurs and one question that seems to come up often is: How do…
159199
David Rothschild’s Trip to Brazil: Seeing Deforestation Solutions Firsthand
David Rothschild - Nia Tero Foundation , June 12, 2013
I just returned from Brazil, where I visited partners in the Amazon states of Para and Mato Grosso.  Before I get into the nitty-gritty, let me reflect on the big…
159656
Skoll Foundation Goes to the Oscars
Sandy Herz - Sobrato Family Foundation , March 6, 2013
I just returned from the Oscars, where a film we funded, “Open Heart,” was up for an Academy Award. The film did not win, but the impact has already been…
159200
Staff field report on visit to World Health Partners, new winner of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship
David Rothschild - Nia Tero Foundation , January 7, 2013
Our team bounced along the dirt road in Samistipur district in rural Bihar, India, who knows how far from the nearest paved road, until we finally arrived at the beautiful and peaceful…
159201
Powerwashing: Kristin Gilliss’ Trip to Ghana with Camfed
Kristin Moyer - Mulago Foundation , November 13, 2012
I spent last week in Ghana with Camfed, learning more about the return on investment to girls’ education and young women’s economic empowerment. On a hot afternoon near Tamale, as…
159202
What is Empowerment? Our Principal’s Visit to Fair Trade USA in Colombia
Skoll Foundation - , August 1, 2012
We often hear the term empowerment, but wonder what it really actually means. When I recently visited Skoll Awardee Fair Trade USA in northern Colombia, I saw it firsthand. Landless…
159194
Twitter Tips for Nonprofits by Our Very Own Phil Collis
Phil Collis - Skoll Foundation , May 21, 2012
At a 2012 Giving Pledge learning series event called “Connecting for Good: How Social Media is Driving Social Good,” our very own senior manager of digital technology Phil Collis (third from…
159203
Sally Osberg’s Thoughts After The Elders Meeting in Oslo
Sally Osberg - Skoll Foundation , May 15, 2012
The idea was appealing from the start:  convene a group of older but far from doddering global leaders, women and men justly renowned for their integrity and achievement, and ask…
159462
A Surprise Video by Some Awardees: We Love It!
Sally Kassab - Skoll Foundation , April 23, 2012
Reflections from Skoll 2011 Alumni from Water For People on Vimeo.  Surprises are always fun. Unbeknownst to us, last year’s Skoll Awardees created a “reflections” video for us at the…
159204
A Visit to the Middle East
Jeff Skoll - Jeff Skoll Group , August 24, 2009
I am honored to be a part of The Elders delegation visiting Israel and the Palestinian Territories from Aug 24-28.  We are meeting with a number of civil society and business leaders, as…
159468
Sally Osberg Writes on the White House Social Innovation Event
Bruce Lowry - Skoll Foundation , July 1, 2009
Skoll Foundation CEO Sally Osberg writes from Washington after attending the social innovation event yesterday at the White House: Pretty great day—for social entrepreneurship, community-based solutions, what works! A great…