The Skoll Foundation created in 1999 to pursue a vision of a sustainable world of peace and prosperity. Led by CEO Sally Osberg since 2001, our mission is to drive large scale change by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs and the innovators who help them solve the world’s most pressing problems. Social entrepreneurs are society’s change agents, creators of innovations that disrupt the status quo and transform our world for the better. By identifying the people and programs already bringing positive change around the world, we empower them to extend their reach, deepen their impact and fundamentally improve society.
We are now one of the leading foundations in the field of social entrepreneurship. Over the past 13 years, we have awarded more than $358 million, including investments in 97 remarkable social entrepreneurs and 80 organizations on five continents around the world who are creating a brighter future for underserved communities. In addition to our grant-making, we fund a $20 million+ portfolio of program-related and mission-aligned investments. In 2003, we partnered with the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford to launch the first academic center dedicated to social entrepreneurship, the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. We also support and partner with many pioneers and innovators in the field, organizations such as Ashoka, Acumen Fund and Duke University’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship. As the field has matured and we enter our second decade, we are focusing our strategy. We are developing a deeper understanding of the issue areas where our social entrepreneurs operate so we can apply more resources at critical moments to maximize our collective impact. Learn more about our approach.
Beyond investments and partnerships, we also operate programs that foster collaboration such as the Skoll World Forum which is the premier conference on social entrepreneurship and now a year-round online platform where executive audiences can learn about the latest news and innovative approaches in a variety of focus areas (e.g. deforestation, education and economic opportunity, or healthcare access and treatment), and engage with the world’s leading thinkers and doers of social change on key questions, challenges and opportunities.
Co-produced by the Skoll Foundation and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School, the Forum shines a spotlight on best practices, new innovations and connecting leaders to one another to further global social progress. Forum delegates represent nearly 65 countries and participate in a range of interactive events in inspiring Oxford locations. We provide a unique platform for delegates to openly share, collaborate, innovate and ultimately, advance social entrepreneurship.
Past participants have included:
- Kofi Annan, Former United Nations Secretary-General
- Mary Robinson, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice
- Mohammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
- Marina Silva, Marina Silva Institute
- Michael Porter, Harvard Business School
- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond M. Tutu
- Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan
- Al Gore, Nobel Laureate, Former Vice President of the United States
- Peter Gabriel, Activist & Musician
- Jimmy Carter, Former President of the United States
- Robert Redford, Sundance Institute
- Jeff Skoll, The Jeff Skoll Group
- Her Majesty Queen Rania
…and the list goes on.
We also share the stories of social entrepreneurs through partnerships with leading film and broadcast organizations such as the PBS NewsHour and the Sundance Institute, which help drive public awareness of social entrepreneurship and its potential to address the critical issues of our time.
