Recipients of Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship (F-Q)

Free The Children

	http://www.freethechildren.com Social Entrepreneurs: Craig and Marc Kielburger Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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Shocked by a newspaper article about the murder of a child laborer-turned-activist that he read when he was 12, Craig Kielburger started Free the Children with his brother Marc to fight poverty, exploitation and powerlessness among their peers. Their early classroom fund raisers have evolved into an international organization where more than 500,000 students have joined Youth in Action groups, serving 2,000 schools across the U.S. and Canada. Youth in Action groups sponsor community service events and activities that support overseas development projects. With Skoll funding, the organization plans to establish 800 more groups in the U.S. that will raise an additional $1.5 million per year by 2009.

Friends-International

	http://www.friends-international.org Social Entrepreneur: Sébastien Marot Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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While traveling through Cambodia, Sébastien Marot realized that handouts to child beggars only served to keep them on the streets. He started Friends-International to offer holistic services to street children that allow them to reintegrate into society and become productive citizens. He also established the ChildSafe campaign to encourage the wider community and businesses to be directly involved in protecting children. Sébastien and his team now devote their energy to developing an international network of organizations that provides services to more than 85,000 street children per year. With Skoll funding, they plan to involve 50 more partners in eight countries within five years, ultimately serving 500,000 children each year.

Fundación Paraguaya

	www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py Social Entrepreneur: Martin Burt Grant Amount: $515,000 over three years to help replicate its agricultural education and rural entrepreneurship program Award Year: 2005
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Martin Burt founded Fundación Paraguaya and brought an innovative microcredit program to Paraguay in 1985, while the country was under dictatorial rule that made citizen initiatives a particularly challenging and even dangerous undertaking. Over the years, Fundación Paraguaya has supported 47,000 microentrepreneurs who create 25,000 new jobs each year, and it has taken on innovative and entrepreneurial challenges through a Junior Achievement program that builds the skills of young entrepreneurs. Its agricultural school is breaking new ground by demonstrating that well-managed, sustainable agriculture can be profitable and by helping young people learn to think of themselves as rural entrepreneurs.

Global Footprint Network

	http://www.footprintnetwork.org Social Entrepreneurs: Susan Burns and Mathis Wackernagel Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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Mathis Wackernagel grew up with a vivid awareness of the potential for global ecological collapse and co-created the Ecological Footprint as part of his Ph.D. in regional planning. Susan Burns, an engineer, founded one of the first sustainability consultancies for businesses. The couple launched Global Footprint Network in 2003 to advance the Ecological Footprint, which tracks how much the human demand on nature exceeds what the planet can regenerate. This measure, applied by several countries, hundreds of cities and organizations across the world, has become a leading sustainability indicator. Global Footprint Network’s goal is to institutionalize the Ecological Footprint in at least 10 key nations by 2015.

Gram Vikas

	http://www.gramvikas.org Social Entrepreneur: Joe Madiath Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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Joe Madiath went to the state of Orissa, India, in 1971 to help communities ravaged by a cyclone and stayed on to help some of the poorest villages there. He founded Gram Vikas in 1979 to provide renewable energy and has transitioned its focus to encompass a holistic, community-based model of development. He believes every home must have running water and sanitation before villagers will collectively seek a better quality of life through education, job training, women’s rights and healthy practices. This model has been implemented in 361 villages, reaching 26,850 households. With Skoll support, Gram Vikas plans to bring water and sanitation to 100,000 families by 2010.

Half the Sky Foundation

www.halfthesky.org Social Entrepreneur: Jenny Bowen Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

Jenny Bowen learned first-hand the devastating effects of institutionalization of children when she and husband, Richard, adopted a toddler from a Chinese orphanage.  Almost two, the child could not walk or talk and was emotionally vacant.  In time, her new family’s loving attention enabled their daughter to blossom, and the idea for Half the Sky was born.  Half the Sky provides family-like nurturing care for thousands of orphaned children in 38 state-run orphanages across China, and in 2007, was invited by the Chinese government to expand its model to 300 institutions and beyond.  Half the Sky’s long-term strategy is for local governments in China to operate the life-changing programs themselves.

Health Care Without Harm

www.noharm.org Social Entrepreneur: Gary Cohen Grant Amount: $765,000 over three years Award Year: 2006

While writing a book on toxic chemicals, Gary Cohen felt compassion for families who were living near waste sites and were struggling to protect their children. He cofounded Health Care Without Harm in 1996 to inspire health care providers to adopt healthier products and practices. The organization has built a collaborative network of 435 groups in 52 countries. It has helped close more than 90 percent of medical waste incinerators in the U.S. and has virtually eliminated mercury medical products in U.S. hospitals. Plans call for a coordinated global effort to educate medical providers, change harmful practices and compel manufacturers to sell healthier products by demonstrating the efficacy and affordability of alternatives.

Institute for Development Studies and Practices

www.idsp.org.pk Social Entrepreneur: Quratul Ain Bakhteari Grant Amount: $450,000 over three years Award Year: 2006

Quratul Ain Bakhteari grew up in a refugee camp outside of Karachi, where she helped new refugees arriving in Pakistan gain access to basic health care and education. Frustrated by a lack of efficacy in internationally sponsored development projects, she created Institute for Development Studies and Practices (IDSP) in 1999 to train and inspire students to become involved in Pakistan’s social and economic development. The IDSP model, which cultivates trust in local communities, has been taken to 40 districts in the country and has graduated 1,200 students, 80 percent of whom help lead national community development organizations. IDSP plans to create a broader network of locally based learning institutions throughout Pakistan.

Institute for OneWorld Health

	www.oneworldhealth.org Social Entrepreneur: Victoria Hale Grant Amount: $615,000 over three years to develop effective, affordable medicines for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect people in the developing world Award Year: 2005
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In 2000, Victoria Hale used her own money to launch the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company that produces drugs and treatments for diseases that primarily affect people who live in developing countries. OneWorld uses existing drug research left untested due to lack of financial incentive and conducts clinical trials overseas. By partnering with manufacturers in the developing world, it brings drugs to market for a fraction of the usual cost. OneWorld is scaling up rapidly. With permission from the Indian government, it has begun production of its first drug, which will treat leishmaniasis, an often-fatal tropical parasitic disease transmitted by insect bites that afflicts more than 1.5 million people.

International Bridges to Justice

	www.ibj.org Social Entrepreneur: Karen Tse Grant Amount: $765,000 over three years Award Year: 2006
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A former public defender and ordained minister, Karen Tse moved to Cambodia in 1994 to train public defenders. After witnessing many violations of the rights of citizens, she founded International Bridges to Justice to promote systemic global change in the administration of criminal justice. The organization has dramatically improved and even saved the lives of everyday citizens by training and supporting criminal defense lawyers and establishing a network of Defender Resource Centers throughout China. IBJ has expanded in China, Vietnam and Cambodia, where programs are expected to reach critical mass due to public awareness and the creation of professional associations of trained advocates and judges.

International Development Enterprises (India)

	www.ide-india.org Social Entrepreneur: Amitabha Sadangi Grant Amount: $615,000 over three years to provide drip irrigation systems and other income-generating technologies to poor farmers in India and other developing countries Award Year: 2005
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Amitabha Sadangi’s vision is to empower the rural poor with affordable, sustainable agricultural technologies. He has been a leader in creating an Indian strategy and organization to disseminate technologies developed by the International Development Enterprises (IDE) network and others. Foot-treadle irrigation pumps and low-cost drip systems introduced by IDE India have helped 400,000 families double their income, a net gain of more than $40 million per year. A signature element of the IDE India strategy is development of a “supply chain” of local manufacturers, distributors and installers whose workers earn $10 million annually. IDE India has sold irrigation systems to the poorest families for as little as $1.

Kashf Foundation

	http://www.kashf.org.pk Social Entrepreneur: Roshaneh Zafar Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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A chance meeting with Muhammad Yunus inspired Roshaneh Zafar to quit her job and establish the Kashf Foundation in 1996. Ignoring warnings that a microfinance program focusing on women would not work in Pakistan, she enlisted the help of five women and used her own family’s funds to start microfinance centers. Kashf delivers collateral-free microloans, savings and life insurance products to poor women through branches that become sustainable within 18 months. Thirty-five percent of its clients move out of poverty within three years. Kashf made 228,603 loans during 2006, has 135,797 clients and maintains a recovery rate of 99.9 percent. It intends to expand operations to 600,000 clients by 2010.

KickStart (formely ApproTEC)

	www.kickstart.org Social Entrepreneurs: Martin Fisher and Nick Moon Grant Amount: $615,000 over three years to help expand the distribution of irrigation devices into new markets in developing countries Award Year: 2005
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Nick Moon and Martin Fisher founded ApproTEC (now called KickStart) in 1991 to promote sustainable economic growth and employment by offering people the technology that can be used to run profitable small-scale enterprises. Working in developing countries in Africa, KickStart introduced low-cost, human-powered irrigation pumps that enable farmers to grow more crops and sell produce in the dry season. Since its inception, the organization has helped farmers start 60,000 new businesses in Africa that have generated more than $65 million in new profits and wages. These revenues are equivalent to 0.6 percent and 0.25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product of Kenya and Tanzania, respectively.

Kiva

www.kiva.org Social Entrepreneurs: Matt Flannery and Premal Shah Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

After seeing first-hand in East Africa how a small loan could change the life of an entrepreneur in the developing world, Matt and Jessica Flannery co-founded Kiva.org in 2005 to enable individuals to loan as little as $25 to emerging businesses. Matt quit his job at TiVo to work full time as Kiva’s CEO and Premal Shah, a Product Manager at PayPal, joined Kiva as its President to help scale the idea.  In its first three years, over 148,000 internet lenders made $22 million in loans to 33,000 entrepreneurs in 40 developing countries.  Kiva aims to scale to one million internet lenders and over $100 million in loans by 2010.

Manchester Bidwell Corporation

	http://www.manchesterbidwell.org Social Entrepreneur: William Strickland Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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Bill Strickland was a struggling high school student in Pittsburgh when he met Frank Ross, who taught him about clay and introduced him to jazz and architecture. Bill founded Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and later added Bidwell Training Center to introduce youth in poor urban environments to arts and career education in beautiful surroundings with state-of-the-art equipment. The programs connect arts knowledge and skills with academic standards, citizenship and life disciplines. Under the aegis of the Manchester Craftsmen's Corporation, facilities in Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Cincinnati and Michigan serve nearly 5,000 youth and 800 adults annually. With help from Skoll, these programs will serve individuals in five additional communities by the year 2010.

Marine Stewardship Council

	http://www.msc.org Social Entrepreneur: Rupert Howes Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2007
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Influenced by conservationists like David Attenborough, Rupert Howes was determined to make the world more sustainable. His financial training and experience with nonprofit organizations convinced him “we must work with the grain of the market to shift our economic system to a more sustainable footing” to create a world that operates within ecological limits. As CEO of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), he focuses on reversing the decline in global fish stocks through MSC’s marine certification and eco-labeling programs. Today, 1,000 MSC-labeled products from 26 certified fisheries are sold in 36 countries. Skoll funding is helping MSC strengthen its presence in Europe and the U.S. and expand into the Asia-Pacific region.

mothers2mothers

www.m2m.org Social Entrepreneurs: Dr. Mitch Besser and Gene Falk Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

While pediatric AIDS has virtually been eliminated in the developed world, in Sub-Saharan Africa hundreds of thousands of babies are needlessly infected with HIV each year.  To confront this tragedy, long-time friends Mitch Besser, a doctor and medical researcher, and Gene Falk, a media executive and AIDS activist, developed mothers2mothers.  A grass-roots program for under-resourced health care systems, mothers2mothers trains and employs new mothers with HIV to provide education and support to their peers, empowering them to access lifesaving treatment for their babies and themselves. Currently operating in 160 locations in four countries, by 2011 mothers2mothers aims to support over 3.6 million women and children in more than 11 nations. 

Partners in Health

www.pih.org Social Entrepreneur: Dr. Paul Farmer Grant Amount: $2,000,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

When Paul Farmer founded Partners in Health in 1987 he wanted to prove that cost-effective, high-quality health care could be delivered in hopeless contexts. Focused on health care as a fundamental human right and believing in the power and potential of community-based healthcare systems, Paul and his team developed a highly effective model, first in Haiti with its “accompagnateur” model, that has gone on to change WHO policy. The program has grown from 60,000 patient visits in 2001 to 1.7 million in 2006. Partners in Health now operates in seven countries worldwide and expects to disseminate its model more broadly in the coming years.

PeaceWorks Foundation

www.peaceworks.net Social Entrepreneur: Daniel Lubetzky Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

The son of Jewish immigrants and a Holocaust survivor, Daniel Lubetzky began advocating and fostering entrepreneurial joint ventures between Arabs and Israelis in 1989 to bring stability to the Middle East through economic cooperation. He then founded the PeaceWorks Foundation in 2002 to encourage political moderates to build a new movement to unite for peace in the Middle East. The foundation’s OneVoice Movement reframes the debate into one that positions the vast majority – composed of moderates from both sides – against violent extremism. One Voice has trained 3,100 Palestinian and Israeli youth leaders and recruited more than 650,000 signatories to demand immediate uninterrupted negotiations towards the conclusion of a peace agreement.

Population and Community Development Association

www.pda.or.th Social Entrepreneur: Mechai Viravaidya Grant Amount: $1,015,000 over three years Award Year: 2008

As a young economist working for the government in Thailand, Mechai Viravaidya saw a link between rapid population growth and poverty.  He launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) in 1974 to distribute contraceptives and introduce sex education in rural communities and schools.  By 2005, the population growth rate dropped from 3.2 percent to 0.5 percent; during the 1990s, its aggressive campaign reduced new HIV cases by 90 percent.  The organization has enlisted private partners in over 450 Village Development Partnership programs that enable the poor to generate income without having to migrate to cities.  By 2011, PDA plans to expand the Partnership program to at least 100 more villages.