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Skoll Foundation

Annual Giving
$96.0M
Grant Range
$2000K - $2.0M
Decision Time
13mo
Success Rate
3%

Skoll Foundation

Quick Stats

  • Combined Assets: $1.779 billion (2024)
  • Annual Giving: $96 million in grant payments (2024)
  • Success Rate: <5% (estimated; 4-6 awards from hundreds of candidates)
  • Decision Time: Multi-year sourcing process
  • Grant Amount: $2 million per awardee (unrestricted)
  • Geographic Focus: Global (five continents)

Contact Details

Website: https://skoll.org

Address: 250 University Ave, Suite 200, Palo Alto, CA 94301-1738

Phone: Not publicly listed for general inquiries

Note: The foundation does not accept unsolicited grant proposals. All potential grantees are identified through referrals and nominations from the foundation's network of partners.

Overview

Founded by entrepreneur Jeff Skoll in 1999, the Skoll Foundation is one of the world's premier supporters of social entrepreneurship. With combined assets of $1.779 billion (as of December 2024) between the Skoll Foundation and the Skoll Fund, the organization has invested more than $1.2 billion worldwide across 425 organizations on five continents. The foundation drives large-scale change by investing in, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs and other innovators dedicated to solving the world's most pressing problems. The foundation's current strategic priorities focus on Climate (preventing deforestation), Global Public Health (community health workers), and Economic Opportunity (smallholder agriculture and girls' education). The Skoll Foundation awarded $96 million in grant payments in 2024, primarily through its flagship Skoll Awards for Social Innovation program, which provides substantial multi-year funding to social entrepreneurs at critical inflection points.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Skoll Awards for Social Innovation (SASI)

  • Award Amount: $2 million in unrestricted funding per organization
  • Number of Awards: 4-6 organizations selected annually (fewer than 10 total)
  • Application Method: Invitation only through referrals and nominations from the foundation's network of partners
  • Award Timeline: Winners announced in spring (typically March) and celebrated at the annual Skoll World Forum in Oxford, UK

The 2025 Skoll Award winners included: Pacto pela Democracia (Brazil), Community Health Impact Coalition (United States), EarthEnable (Rwanda), Healthy Learners (Zambia), and Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (United States).

Priority Areas

The foundation focuses on organizations that:

  • Address societal problems through novel or reimagined solutions contributing to lasting, systemic social change
  • Work on issues including climate change, health and pandemics, inclusive economies, effective governance, and racial justice
  • Demonstrate transformational, system-level impact by disrupting power dynamics, changing behaviors, or improving policies
  • Operate above community level with credible plans for long-term growth
  • Are led by innovators "most proximate to the challenge they work to address"

Current Strategic Focus Areas:

  • Climate: Preventing deforestation
  • Global Public Health: Community health workers
  • Economic Opportunity: Smallholder agriculture and girls' education

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly excludes:

  • Individual scholarships or fellowships
  • Concept-stage ideas without proven track records
  • Religious doctrine promotion
  • Film production financing
  • Endowment building
  • Public schools
  • Discriminatory institutions
  • Organizations focused on a single municipality
  • Organizations with annual revenues below $2.5 million (high-income countries) or $1 million (low/middle-income countries) face significant disadvantages in selection

Governance and Leadership

Founder: Jeff Skoll, first president of eBay and film producer, established the foundation in 1999

The foundation operates through two entities:

  • The Skoll Foundation (private foundation, EIN: 11-3659133)
  • The Skoll Fund (supporting organization associated with Silicon Valley Community Foundation)

Leadership emphasizes a learning orientation and strategic approach to philanthropy, focusing on catalyzing transformational social change through carefully selected investments in social entrepreneurs at critical inflection points.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public application process. The Skoll Foundation only accepts referrals and nominations from its network of partners and uses a multi-year sourcing process to identify potential grantees. Organizations cannot apply directly for funding.

The foundation identifies candidates through:

  • Direct engagement with organizations on their radar
  • Referrals from their network of partners
  • Nominations from previous Skoll Award recipients and the broader social entrepreneurship ecosystem

Eligibility Quiz: While there is no open application, the foundation provides an eligibility quiz on their website to help organizations assess whether they might be competitive if nominated.

Getting on Their Radar

Attend the Skoll World Forum: The annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship takes place each April in Oxford, UK. Attendance is curated by invitation, but free virtual participation is open to everyone. This is the primary networking venue for the Skoll ecosystem and provides opportunities to connect with current awardees, foundation staff, and partners who might later nominate organizations.

Connect with Current Skoll Awardees: Building relationships with organizations that have received Skoll Awards can be valuable, as they are part of the foundation's referral network. The foundation values deep networking within the social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The Skoll Centre Events: The Skoll Centre hosts ecosystem events alongside the official Forum programming that are open to the public, offering opportunities to engage with the broader Skoll community.

Demonstrate Readiness: Organizations are often on the foundation's radar for extended periods before receiving awards. Demonstrating consistent impact, strong leadership, and readiness to scale significantly increases the likelihood of being considered when nominations occur.

Decision Timeline

The foundation employs a multi-year sourcing process, meaning organizations are typically identified and tracked long before formal consideration begins. Once an organization enters serious consideration, the process includes:

  1. Eligibility Assessment: Initial review of organizational readiness and alignment
  2. Full Proposal: Selected organizations are invited to submit detailed proposals
  3. Due Diligence: Several months of interviews, site visits, reference checks, follow-up questions, in-depth financial review, and discussion of grant objectives
  4. Board Review and Final Selection: Final approval and selection
  5. Award Announcement: Winners announced in spring (March-April) and formally recognized at the Skoll World Forum Awards Ceremony in Oxford

Total Timeline: From initial identification to award can span multiple years due to the foundation's long-term sourcing approach.

Success Rates

The Skoll Awards are among the most competitive philanthropic awards globally:

  • 4-6 awards made annually
  • Hundreds of candidates considered through the multi-year sourcing process
  • Estimated success rate: Well below 5%
  • The foundation has made 170 awards since inception (as of 2023)

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable, as there is no formal application process. Organizations that have been considered but not selected may remain on the foundation's radar for future consideration as their work evolves and opportunities arise.

Application Success Factors

Proven Impact with Room to Scale

The foundation explicitly seeks "organizations that have already demonstrated impact, and that are at an inflection point where additional resources would enable them to catalyze transformational social change." Organizations must have a track record of at least three years with documented results and measurable outcomes, along with a clear plan for reaching scale.

System-Level Change, Not Just Service Delivery

The foundation defines social entrepreneurship as "addressing a societal problem by applying a novel or reimagined solution that effectively contributes to lasting and systemic social change." Competitive organizations demonstrate potential for transformational impact by disrupting power dynamics, changing behaviors, or improving policies—not just providing direct services.

Strong Organizational Capacity

Selection criteria emphasize "strong leadership, sound finances, and strategic partnerships." Organizations must demonstrate they are key actors capable of influencing their ecosystem, with the infrastructure and governance to manage significant growth.

The Right Timing

The foundation looks for organizations at a critical "inflection point" where "the timing must be critical—the system and organization must be positioned for accelerated impact right now." Additional resources must have the potential to catalyze a step-change in impact.

Proximity to the Problem

The foundation shows preference for "innovators most proximate to the challenge they work to address," valuing lived experience and deep understanding of the issues being tackled. This includes community-level leaders as well as global orchestrators, but always with authentic connection to the challenge.

Budget Thresholds Matter

While not absolute requirements, organizations with annual revenues below $2.5 million (in high-income countries) or $1 million (in low/middle-income countries) face significant disadvantages in selection. The foundation seeks organizations ready to deploy substantial resources effectively.

Skoll Additionality

Beyond just the funding, selection considers whether "the award should uniquely catalyze the organization's vision through access to Skoll's network, media opportunities, and fundraising resources." Organizations must demonstrate how connection to the Skoll ecosystem would accelerate their impact beyond the financial award alone.

Examples of Recent Awardees

The 2025 class of winners demonstrates the foundation's range:

  • Pacto pela Democracia (Brazil): Preserving democratic rule and stability
  • Community Health Impact Coalition (United States): Ensuring salaries globally for community health workers
  • EarthEnable (Rwanda): Sustainable construction and livelihoods in East Africa
  • Healthy Learners (Zambia): Healthcare and education for children
  • Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (United States): Finance for employee-ownership

These examples show the foundation's interest in "social entrepreneurs, movement builders, system orchestrators, and global coalitions driving collective action."

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No direct application possible: You cannot apply to the Skoll Foundation. Focus networking efforts on getting onto their radar through their partner ecosystem and current awardees.

  • Multi-year relationship building required: The foundation uses a multi-year sourcing process. Getting on their radar early and demonstrating consistent progress over time is essential.

  • Scale and proven impact are non-negotiable: Organizations must have at least three years of demonstrated results and be genuinely ready to scale significantly. Early-stage concepts will not be competitive.

  • Think systems change, not services: The foundation seeks transformational, system-level change. Frame your work in terms of how you're disrupting power dynamics, changing policies, or shifting behaviors—not just delivering services.

  • Budget size matters: Organizations with budgets below $2.5 million (high-income countries) or $1 million (low/middle-income countries) face significant disadvantages. Build organizational capacity before seeking Skoll consideration.

  • Attend the Skoll World Forum: Virtual participation is free and provides access to the foundation's ecosystem. This is your best opportunity to understand their culture and connect with potential nominators.

  • The award is about more than money: Selection emphasizes whether the Skoll network, media platform, and convening power would uniquely catalyze your vision. Articulate how ecosystem access would amplify impact beyond the $2 million grant.

References

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