Mulago Foundation

Quick Stats

• Annual Giving: $26 million
• Success Rate: 70% (fellowship to portfolio conversion)
• Decision Time: 2 years (fellowship period before portfolio decision)
• Grant Range: $100,000 - $750,000+
• Geographic Focus: International (focus on rural poor globally)

Contact Details

Website: www.mulagofoundation.org

Newsletter: Sign up for Mulago's Links to receive updates on when they are accepting referrals

Note: Mulago does not accept unsolicited proposals or direct applications

Overview

Founded in 1993 by Henry Arnhold to honor his late brother Rainer Arnhold, a San Francisco pediatrician who dedicated his life to improving children's health in developing countries, the Mulago Foundation operates as a philanthropic venture fund focused on scalable solutions to poverty and conservation challenges. Currently supporting 77 portfolio organizations and selecting 20 new fellows annually, Mulago distributed $26 million in funding in 2023. The foundation operates two fellowship programs—the Rainer Arnhold Fellows (poverty solutions) and the Henry Arnhold Fellows (climate and conservation solutions)—which serve as the exclusive pathway into their long-term portfolio. Led by CEO Kevin Starr since 1994, who established the fellows program in 2003, Mulago is known for providing unrestricted funding and demanding rigorous impact measurement from all funded organizations.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Rainer Arnhold Fellowship: $100,000 unrestricted grant

• One-year intensive program for early-stage founders with scalable poverty solutions
• Includes two week-long retreats, monthly peer coaching, and strategy training
• Approximately 60-70% of fellows convert to long-term portfolio funding

Henry Arnhold Fellowship: $100,000 grant (restricted to charitable purposes for for-profits)

• One-year intensive program for founders with scalable climate and conservation solutions
• Mirrors the Rainer Fellowship structure
• Same conversion rate to portfolio funding

Portfolio Funding: $50,000 - $750,000+ (varies by organization)

• Unrestricted, ongoing funding for organizations that graduate from fellowship
• Average grant around $50,000, with some organizations receiving $1 million+
• Continued funding "as long as they believe the organization is still on the path to impact at scale"

Priority Areas

Livelihoods: Primarily smallholder agriculture and economic opportunities beyond the farm for rural poor families

Health: Primary healthcare delivery and behavior change initiatives targeting underserved populations

Education: Primary education access and quality improvement in developing regions

Conservation: Environmental protection and climate solutions, particularly those benefiting rural communities

Water & Sanitation: Basic infrastructure solutions for impoverished communities

Nutrition: Interventions addressing malnutrition in vulnerable populations

Cross-cutting requirements:

• Solutions must address basic needs of the very poor
• Must be scalable with clear path to exponential impact
• Must demonstrate measurable outcomes
• Must be "Good Enough" (significant impact), "Big Enough" (meaningful problem-solving), "Simple Enough" (replicable), and "Cheap Enough" (sustainable funding model)

What They Don't Fund

• Organizations that don't measure impact ("flying blind")
• Solutions without clear scalability path
• Urban-focused interventions (primarily support rural poor)
• Projects without potential for exponential impact
• Organizations using vague language like "empowerment," "sustainability," "impactful," or "access" without concrete outcomes (these are on Mulago's office "banned word list")

Governance and Leadership

Kevin Starr, CEO: Led Mulago since 1994 after friend and mentor Rainer Arnhold died while working together in Bolivia. Established the fellows program in 2003. Former medical doctor from UC San Francisco. Known for blunt, strategic approach to philanthropy. Key quote: "We don't invest in anyone who isn't at least trying to measure their own impact. For us to invest in somebody who isn't measuring impact would be like investing in a company that doesn't have an accounting department."

Kristin Gilliss Moyer, COO & Head of Portfolio: Oversees portfolio management and operations

Avery Bang, Partner: Senior leadership team member

Senior Investment Principals:

• Rohit Gawande
• Sania Salman

Investment Principals:

• Kenichi Nozaki
• Liz Grubin

Sanat Daga, Principal: Investment team member

Nick Kaw, Senior Fellowship Manager: Manages fellowship operations

Alex Hughes-Smith, Communications Lead: Oversees external communications

Advisors:

• Laura Hattendorf, Senior Advisor
• Bernie Tershy, Senior Advisor

Philosophy from leadership: "If you want money from the Mulago Foundation, your mission statement has to be so precise it can't be more than eight words. That's a rule." - Kevin Starr

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

There is no public application process. Mulago does not accept or solicit unsolicited proposals. Organizations cannot directly apply for funding.

The fellowship is the only route into the portfolio. Access to fellowship consideration is through:

1. Referral network: Mulago relies on a referral network developed over 20 years from trusted funders and practitioners
2. Mulago's Links newsletter: Sign up to be notified when referrals are being accepted
3. Sourcing timeline: Check the foundation's website for annual sourcing windows (typically August-October)

Fellowship Selection Process (for referred organizations):

• Sourcing period (August-October): Extensive hunt for fellows; review thousands of organizations for ~20 fellowship spots
• Screening (October-January):
  • Short form application (estimated 30 minutes to complete)
  • Two team members independently review applications
  • Series of up to three learning conversations
• Selection (Early 2026 for current cycle): Approximately 20 fellows selected
• Site visits: Mulago rarely makes initial funding decisions without a site visit

Getting on Their Radar

Mulago's Links: The foundation operates a newsletter system where funders and practitioners can sign up to be notified when referrals are open. This is the primary mechanism for getting organizations into their consideration pool.

Network referrals: Mulago states that "thoughtful recommendations from peer funders are their lifeblood." Organizations should focus on building relationships with:

• Other foundations and funders in global development
• Existing Mulago fellows and portfolio organizations (250+ fellows community)
• Practitioners working on scalable solutions in health, livelihoods, education, or conservation

Specific process: When sourcing is open, those in the referral network can recommend organizations. The foundation conducts its own research and asks its own questions rather than relying on traditional proposals.

Decision Timeline

Fellowship stage:

• Application to selection: Approximately 4-6 months (October-January screening, decision in early February)
• Fellowship duration: 2 years (formerly 1 year, now extended)
• First retreat: May of fellowship year 1 (focus on design for impact and strategy)
• Second retreat: May of fellowship year 2 (iteration and communication refinement)
• Monthly peer coaching sessions throughout fellowship

Portfolio decision:

• Made at end of 2-year fellowship period
• Based on explicit criteria: mission, scalability, and ability to deliver
• Site visits required before portfolio funding begins

Portfolio funding:

• Ongoing as long as organization demonstrates progress toward impact at scale
• Foundation visits portfolio organizations every 2-3 years
• Quarterly "headlines" reports from portfolio organizations on milestones, achievements, and challenges

Success Rates

Fellowship selection: Approximately 20 fellows selected from thousands of organizations reviewed annually (less than 1% acceptance rate for initial review)

Fellowship to portfolio conversion: 70% of fellows enter the portfolio, reflecting the intensive two-year due diligence process

Total portfolio size: 77 organizations currently funded

Reapplication Policy

No specific information available about whether organizations previously declined can be referred again. Given the referral-based model, organizations could potentially be re-nominated by network members in future sourcing cycles.

Application Success Factors

What Mulago Specifically Looks For

The Eight-Word Mission Statement: "If you want money from the Mulago Foundation, your mission statement has to be so precise it can't be more than eight words. That's a rule." The mission must include a verb, target population, and concrete outcome—not vague aspirations.

Measurable impact: "We don't invest in anyone who isn't at least trying to measure their own impact." Organizations must demonstrate they know how to calculate cost-per-impact and can track progress toward scale.

Three core criteria:

1. Priority problem: Addressing basic needs of the very poor
2. Scalable solution: Must be Good Enough, Big Enough, Simple Enough, and Cheap Enough
3. Organization that can deliver: Demonstrated capacity to execute and scale

Trajectory over size: "Scale is a verb, not a noun: The trajectory and curve of impact are more important than the numbers." Mulago values momentum and steepening impact curves over static user counts.

Language and Approach

Avoid banned words: Mulago keeps a banned word list including: "empowerment," "sustainability," "impactful," "access." These words are too vague and don't demonstrate concrete outcomes.

Focus on unrestricted funding value: Organizations should demonstrate they can use unrestricted funds strategically. "Unrestricted funding drives innovation and growth and is the most useful for the organization and most leveraged for the donor."

Think like a venture fund: "We operate like a philanthropic venture fund where impact serves as an analog for profit, and cost-per-impact sits in for return on investment."

Recent Portfolio Examples

Organizations that exemplify Mulago's criteria include:

• One Acre Fund ($3.2M invested since 2007): Smallholder farmer support with training, seeds, fertilizer, credit, and market access
• Living Goods ($2.95M since 2007): Community health worker model
• Educate Girls ($2.1M since 2013): Mobilizing communities for female education inclusion in India
• Blue Ventures ($1.15M since 2012): Conservation solutions
• Noora Health, Digital Green, Kheyti: Recent additions demonstrating scalable models

Common Pitfalls

Based on Mulago's writings:

• Premature incorporation: Starting as a nonprofit when for-profit structure might scale better
• Size without strategy: Reaching many people without a plan to reach full potential (the chlorine dispenser example)
• Measurement avoidance: Not tracking impact rigorously
• Vague mission: Unable to articulate specific outcome for specific population
• Systems change language: Using "systems change" without demonstrating scalable solution

Direct Advice from Mulago

Kevin Starr: "Be accountable for impact. The fundamental reason why you should measure impact is because you're throwing your whole life's energy and your immense talents into this."

On funder accountability: "When funders aren't accountable for impact, it ruins the party for everyone."

On scaling: "If innovation matters, then high-impact innovations have to scale up enough to make a big dent in the problem."

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

• There is no application to submit: Focus energy on building relationships with Mulago's referral network—existing fellows, peer funders, and practitioners in global development who can nominate organizations
• Perfect your 8-word mission: This is non-negotiable and demonstrates strategic clarity that Mulago demands
• Measure everything: Impact measurement is not optional; have clear cost-per-impact metrics and be able to demonstrate trajectory toward scale
• Demonstrate scalability architecture: Show that your solution is Good Enough, Big Enough, Simple Enough, and Cheap Enough—not just that it works, but that it can reach exponential impact
• Think 2+ years ahead: The fellowship-to-portfolio process takes minimum 2 years; this is a long-term relationship, not quick funding
• Speak in concrete outcomes: Eliminate vague language; use specific verbs, populations, and measurable results
• Accept unrestricted funding philosophy: Be prepared to articulate how unrestricted funds will drive impact better than project-specific grants—this is core to Mulago's model

References

• Mulago Foundation official website: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/ (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "How We Fund" page: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/how-we-fund (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "Our Fellowships" page: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/our-fellowships (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "FAQs" page: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/faqs (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "Our Team" page: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/our-team (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "Our Story" page: https://www.mulagofoundation.org/our-story (accessed January 16, 2026)
• Kevin Starr interview, Denver Frederick (2021): https://denver-frederick.com/2021/07/28/mulago-foundation-ceo-on-mission-impact-scaling-and-more/
• "Getting to Scale: Size Matters, Shape Matters More": https://www.mulagofoundation.org/resources/getting-to-scale-size-matters-shape-matters-more (accessed January 16, 2026)
• "Ideas to Impact: Kevin Starr on How the Mulago Foundation is Transforming Philanthropic Funding," Alliance Magazine: https://www.alliancemagazine.org/interview/ideas-to-impact-kevin-starr-mulago/
• Kevin Starr biography, Stanford Social Innovation Review: https://ssir.org/bios/kevin_starr
• ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (Form 990 data): https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/946182697 (accessed January 16, 2026)
• Inside Philanthropy Mulago profile: https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/find-a-grant/grants-m/mulago-foundation (accessed January 16, 2026)
• Mulago Foundation Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulago_Foundation (accessed January 16, 2026)