PND - RFPs - Skoll Foundation Announces Deadlines for Social Entrepreneurship Awards

The Skoll Foundation's mission is "to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs."

The foundation's Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship support social entrepreneurs whose work has the potential for large-scale influence on critical challenges of our time: environmental sustainability, health, tolerance and human rights, institutional responsibility, economic and social equity, and peace and security. Within these issues, the foundation is particularly interested in applications from social entrepreneurs working in five critical sub-issue areas that threaten the survival of humanity — climate change, nuclear proliferation, global pandemics, conflict in the Middle East, and water scarcity.

Skoll social entrepreneurs are innovators who have tested and proved their approach and are poised to replicate or scale up their work. The Skoll Awards provide later-stage, or mezzanine, funding, which is generally structured as a $1 million award paid out over three years. In most cases, the grant is provided for core support to help organizations expand their programs and capacity to deliver long-term, sustainable equilibrium change. The awards are not intended for new or early-stage programs or initiatives. Programs submitted for consideration should have a track record of no less than three years. In addition to core support, the foundation supports the participation of award recipients in the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a year-round basis, with successful applicants receiving initial funding installments shortly after decisions are made. Awards will be presented publicly at a ceremony at the Skoll World Forum, which occurs at the end of every March in Oxford, England. Please note the following upcoming deadlines for the awards: August 5, 2008; and November 4, 2008. Please note also that applicants who are not selected must wait 24 months before reapplying.

For an in-depth description of the foundation's eligibility criteria, the application process, FAQs, and application instructions, visit the Skoll Foundation Web site.

Primary Subject: Community Improvement/Development
Geographic Funding Area: National

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