Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) that have come up during previous application cycles for the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, as well as questions that we anticipate may arise as a result of recent revisions made to the application process. Please read these FAQs to assist you in understanding and completing your application.
- What is the process for applying for a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship?
- What are my organization's chances of being selected to receive an Award if I submit an application?
- Where can I learn more about social entrepreneurship and how the Skoll Foundation defines a social entrepreneur?
- What is the application and award cycle, and when will the Awards be announced?
- How will I know that my Online Application has been received?
- What happens to my application after it is submitted?
- How can I check on the status of my application?
- How can I set up an appointment to discuss my application?
- If my application is declined, can I get feedback about the reasons and how to make a future application stronger?
- Is there a budget size requirement for organizations applying for a Skoll Award?
- Can we include pro bono and in-kind contributions as part of our organization's budget?
- The guidelines say you will not support new or early-stage business plans or ideas. Can you provide clarity about that requirement?
- Can I apply for support of a new program or initiative if it builds on my organization's previous experience as a social entrepreneur in a related field?
- If I applied previously for a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and was declined, can I reapply now?
- I submitted an application prior to 2007. If I wish to reapply, do I need to fill out a new application?
- Can I submit more than one Online Application?
- Is there a deadline for applications, or is there an advantage to applying at a particular time during the year?
- Is it possible to submit the application in a language other than English?
- Does the Skoll Foundation have a formal nominating process for the Skoll Awards program?
- How can I learn what certain words and phrases mean in the application materials?
- Whom should I contact if I have questions?
1. What is the process for applying for a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship?
The application process involves the following stages:
a. The first stage is the Eligibility Quiz.
This tool is intended to help applicants assess their eligibility and potential competitiveness for a Skoll Award. At the end of the quiz, applicants will be given an invitation code that allows them to access the application. Applicants cannot move forward to the next phase until they have completed the Eligibility Quiz. However, you can view a preview of the application before taking the quiz.
b. The second stage is the Online Application.
After taking the Eligibility Quiz, applicants who feel that their organization is eligible can proceed to completing an Online Application that requests key organizational details and brief answers to 10 questions. Skoll staff will review all applications. Those that are less competitive or do not fit our criteria will be declined at this stage.
c. The third stage is an invitation to submit a Full Proposal. Applicants selected to move forward in the process will be contacted by a program officer and invited to submit a Full Proposal. We anticipate that between 25 to 35 applicants will be asked to submit Full Proposals each year.
d. The fourth stage is Due Diligence.
This process usually includes interviews, a site visit, reference checks, follow-up questions, an in-depth financial review and a discussion of grant objectives. We expect that approximately half of the organizations that are invited to submit Full Proposals will move on to the Due Diligence stage.
e. The final stage is the Selection of the Awardees,
which will take place on a year-round basis following completion of Due Diligence. We anticipate making eight to 12 Awards during each 12-month cycle.
2. What are my organization's chances of being selected to receive an Award if I submit an application?
The Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship are highly competitive. In the 2007 award cycle, 350 organizations submitted initial applications, of which approximately 25 were selected for detailed Due Diligence and 10 were ultimately chosen for Awards. We anticipate that future award cycles will be similarly competitive. You can review the characteristics of past organizations selected at http://www.skollfoundation.org/grantees/a-e.asp.
To help assess your organization’s chances of being selected, please go to the online Eligibility Quiz.
This tool provides guidance regarding the criteria used in selecting awardees. In order to compete successfully, an organization should meet all of the key criteria, by demonstrating leadership by a social entrepreneur, a well-developed theory regarding the potential for achieving equilibrium change in a critical issue area,
an innovation that has a track record of at least three years and tangible results.
3. Where can I learn more about social entrepreneurship and how the Skoll Foundation defines a social entrepreneur?
For a more in-depth discussion of social entrepreneurship, equilibrium change and examples of successful social entrepreneurs, we encourage you to visit the Skoll Foundation's Web site and read "Social Entrepreneurship: A Case for Definition."
4. What is the application and award cycle, and when will the Awards be announced?
Starting in August 2007, applications for Skoll Awards can be submitted throughout the year. Applications will be reviewed as they are submitted, and an invitation to proceed to a Full Proposal or a decline of interest will be provided to the applicant within six months of submission.
In previous years, the Skoll Awards for Entrepreneurship relied on a single annual application deadline for Skoll Awards that were announced in March at the yearly Skoll World Forum in Oxford. This single annual deadline no longer applies.
5. How will I know that my Online Application has been received?
Within 24 hours after you submit your application electronically, you will receive an acknowledgment via email that your application has been received
6. What happens to my application after it is submitted?
Your application will first be reviewed for completeness, eligibility and adherence to the application guidelines, including character limit. Please note that incomplete and ineligible applications will be declined without further review and that you may not apply again for 24 months.
Applications that meet eligibility criteria will be read and scored by at least two readers from the Skoll Foundation. Applications will then be ranked, relative to each other, by an internal staff committee that identifies social entrepreneurs and organizations most closely aligned with the foundation’s selection criteria. This multiple-step process will identify organizations that will be invited to submit a Full Proposal.
7. How can I check on the status of my application?
Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we receive, we are unable to respond to individual inquiries regarding the status of applications. Our goal is to notify you of the status of your application no later than four months after you submit an application.
8. How can I set up an appointment to discuss my application?
We regret that due to the volume of applications we receive, we cannot provide telephone consultations or meetings with individual applicants. We aim to provide clear guidance and advice through these FAQs, the guidelines and the Eligibility Quiz. If you have suggestions about how to improve these documents, please submit your ideas to grants@skollfoundation.org.
9. If my application is declined, can I get feedback about the reasons and how to make a future application stronger?
Due to the volume of applications we receive, we are not able to provide individual consultations regarding the reasons for declines. Information about the organizations selected to receive Awards will be available on the foundation’s Web site in April after the Skoll World Forum. We encourage you to review this information to understand the characteristics of organizations that are selected for Awards.
Many fine organizations apply for Skoll Awards that are not selected. This is an unfortunate reality of a highly competitive, open awards process. Our selections reflect our best assessment of the match between applications and our selection criteria. They do not reflect an assessment of the value of your organization’s work.
10. Is there a budget size requirement for organizations applying for a Skoll Award?
While the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship do not have an absolute budget threshold for eligibility, as a practical matter, organizations with annual revenues below (U.S.) $2.5 million that have activities primarily in developed countries and below (U.S.) $1 million that have activities primarily in developing countries tend to be at a disadvantage in the selection process.
The selection process prioritizes organizations based on their readiness to take their work to a significant scale and, hence, favors organizations above these budget thresholds. You may find it instructive to visit the Web sites of past Award recipients and note organizational budgets, numbers of partners, sites and beneficiaries, as well as the scope of activities.
Please note that organizations receiving a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007 with activities primarily in the developed world had a median revenue of (U.S.) $5 million, while those primarily in the developing world had a median revenue of (U.S.) $2 million.
11. Can we include pro bono and in-kind contributions as part of our organization's budget?
Yes, as long as you have documentation, you can include pro bono and in-kind contributions. Your documentation should show that you have made a routine practice of assigning a cash value to contributions that you include in your annual budget and audited financial statements. If your organization is invited to make a Full Proposal, this documentation will be required for the prior three years.
12. The guidelines say you will not support new or early-stage business plans or ideas. Can you provide clarity about that requirement?
The organization’s work should have at least a three-year track record that demonstrates proof of concept and measurable results.
A small number of Skoll Award recipient organizations were younger than three years at the time of the Award, but in these cases the organization was founded or reorganized after the work was piloted or incubated under a different umbrella. It is the program’s maturity and track record that we consider.
13. Can I apply for support of a new program or initiative if it builds on my organization's previous experience as a social entrepreneur in a related field?
Skoll Awards are intended to help organizations take initiatives to significant scale based on a track record of at least three years.
In general, new programs and initiatives will not meet this criterion. Any final assessment of this requirement will depend on your ability to show how your organization has achieved proof of concept and measurable results applicable to the new work.
14. If I applied previously for a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and was declined, can I reapply now?
Starting in August 2007, applicants that are denied will not be eligible to apply again for a Skoll Award for a period of 24 months. This criterion will not be applied retroactively, so if you applied before August 2007, you may apply again without waiting 24 months. Before preparing a new application, we ask you to take our Eligibility Quiz, as it is unlikely your new application will be successful unless your organization has made significant advances since your original submission. Because there will be a 24-month waiting period for declined applications, we encourage organizations to wait to apply until they are in a position to make a strong case for meeting our selection criteria.
15. I submitted an application prior to August 2007. If I wish to reapply, do I need to fill out a new application?
If you applied prior to August 2007 and wish to reapply, we request that you take the Eligibility Quiz and fill out a new application. We have made significant changes in the application process and have created a new Eligibility Quiz to aid you in determining if your application will be competitive. We anticipate it will help you determine if reapplying now is the best course of action for your organization. If you do apply and are declined, you cannot reapply for 24 months.
16. Can I submit more than one Online Application?
The Skoll Foundation will consider only one application from each organization during a 24-month period. Exceptions will be made for organizations applying as a fiscal sponsor for unrelated programs.
17. Is there a deadline for applications, or is there an advantage to applying at a particular time during the year?
Starting in August 2007, applications will be considered on a rolling basis and Skoll Awards will be granted throughout the year. Each year’s new awardees will be publicly celebrated at the subsequent Skoll World Forum, held in March in Oxford, England. There is no advantage to applying at a particular time nor to rushing an application before your organization is ready to make the best case for its match to our criteria.
18. Is it possible to submit the application in a language other than English?
While we have staff with a variety of language skills, we require that applications and any subsequent materials be submitted in English. Our selection process involves multiple reviewers, and we are not able to support this process in languages other than English.
On a related matter, it should be noted that part of the Skoll Foundation’s mission is to “connect” a community of social entrepreneurs through our annual Skoll World Forum and other events which are conducted in English, so that they can share experiences and learn from each other. We find that the community of Skoll Award recipients requires a common language to benefit from our connect initiatives and that social entrepreneurs who are not able to participate in this community do not get full value from the Award. If English is a barrier for the social entrepreneur who will attend these events, we encourage you to identify an appropriate source of translation assistance and include the associated costs in your plans and budget when you apply for the Award.
19. Does the Skoll Foundation have a formal nominating process for the Skoll Awards program?
No, the Skoll Foundation does not use a formal nominating process. Applicants must apply on their own behalf for a Skoll Award. The foundation does rely on an informal network of contacts to reach out to potential applicants, with the aim of extending our reach across issue areas and geographic location.
20. How can I learn what certain words and phrases mean in the application materials?
21. Whom should I contact if I have questions?
We regret that, due to the volume of applications we receive, we are not able to respond to individual questions and inquiries. It is our goal to provide clear guidance and advice through our FAQs, guidelines and application materials to help organizations develop competitive proposals. If you have suggestions about how to improve these materials, please submit your ideas to grants@skollfoundation.org.
Jump to:
Overview
Eligibility Criteria
How to Apply
Eligibility Quiz
Online Application and Instructions
FAQs
Glossary of Terms
Click here to learn about Skoll Award winners
Click here to download the guidelines in PDF format
 Core support
A core support grant is usually given as unrestricted, flexible funding that can be
used to cover any costs associated with an organization’s ongoing charitable activities,
provided the organization does not change its mission or alter any goals or objectives
negotiated as part of the grant. Grants given as restricted funding must be used for
a specific purpose or project.
Although the Skoll Foundation gives core support funding whenever legally possible,
it works with each Awardee to identify and commit to the achievement of specific core
organizational goals and objectives. Detailed program budgets and financial
reports are required for grants and loans governed by a fiscal sponsor or expenditure
responsibility agreements, including for-profit organizations and some foreign nonprofits.
All awardees, even those receiving core support, are required to report on a regular
basis on progress toward negotiated objectives.
Endowment
An endowment is a permanently reserved pool of funds intended to provide interest
and investment income for continued support of a not-for-profit organization. Similarly,
a board can designate a cash reserve to be held as an endowment or for an
emergency fund. Skoll funding cannot be used to fund an endowment or a cash reserve.
Equilibrium change
Equilibrium describes a stable state, generally economic or social, controlled by and
benefiting established entities. The social entrepreneur sees the limitations of an existing
equilibrium and offers a more efficient solution with the potential to benefit those not served
by the existing model. Skoll is seeking social entrepreneurs who have created and are
implementing new, large-scale approaches that can change the equilibrium by fundamentally
tranforming the lives of marginalized populations . The ultimate example of equilibrium
change would be to eliminate a problem by solving its root cause or to create global impact
by driving universal adoption of a new innovation by all individuals who address the same issue.
Expenditure responsibility
One way a private foundation can make a grant to an organization or individual not classified
by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a “public charity” is through an expenditure
responsibility (ER) process. The grantee will be required by U.S. law to provide assurance
that the funds will be used for the intended charitable purposes. ER grantees have special
restrictions, cannot receive general operating or core support, and must file special reports,
including detailed financial accounting for the grant funds received.
Fiscal sponsor
An organization or individual not classified by the IRS as a “public charity” will occasionally
establish an affiliation with an existing nonprofit organization for the purpose of receiving
grants. The nonprofit serves as the fiscal sponsor for the grant and assumes oversight
responsibility for ensuring that the grant is carried out and the funds are used as intended.
Issue area, critical challenge
The Skoll Foundation funds social entrepreneurs working to solve problems in the following
issue areas which have been selected because of their importance to addressing the critical
challenges of our time. Many applicants work in more than one of these areas. If you apply,
you will be asked to designate a primary, and if appropriate, a secondary area of focus.
Among the issue areas are:
• Tolerance and Human Rights, such as religious and racial tolerance, women’s rights,
sexual exploitation and human trafficking, torture and wrongful imprisonment, immigration, and
general tolerance and human rights issues
• Health, such as pandemics, disease control, access to health care and system problems,
pollution and toxins, population control and lifestyle
• Environmental sustainability, such as climate change, water scarcity, biodiversity and
depletion of natural resources, global
warming, oceans and waste (general and nuclear)
• Peace and security, such as conflict in the Middle East, nuclear proliferation, war, terrorism,
arms and drug trafficking,
government involvement, conflict resolution,
and sustainable
development and education
in conflict zones
• Institutional responsibility, such as unethical labor practices, bribery and corruption,
unethical government (e.g., executive pay), shareholder activism, business and the environment,
irresponsible marketing, unethical sourcing and procurement, and global media integrity
• Economic and social equity, such as poverty and distribution of wealth, drugs, crime and
violence, microfinance, homelessness and affordable housing, and education
Large-scale impact, systemic change
See also “equilibrium change.” Systemic social change delves behind immediate problems,
involves new ways of applying resources to underlying causes and results in tangible and
enduring benefits. Systemic change occurs when an outcome or goal has been attained and
the subsequent result either eliminates the cause of the problem or alters programs, policies,
funding streams and/or services to reduce the impact of the problem on a long-term basis.
Mezzanine stage
Mezzanine-stage funding is a venture capital term used to describe later-stage financing for a
company
that is between a startup (seed funding) phase and an initial public offering. We deem
a social
entrepreneurial organization to be at the mezzanine level if it has fully pilot tested its idea,
documented its outcomes and developed a written plan to scale up its innovations, but has
not yet achieved large geographic scale or had its idea widely adopted.
Proof of concept
Proof of concept is evidence which demonstrates that a model or innovative approach is
viable, feasible and capable of solving or diminishing a particular problem. It is drawn from
actual experience using an innovation in a real-world environment for a sufficient amount of
time to prove that the model:
• Is cost-effective and sustainable
• Provides the intended results
• Provides a measurable improvement over other existing models (or diminishes a problem
that no one else is addressing)
• Contains a system to continually refine the model based on evidence from the field
The most competitive applicants can show that they have assessed the effectiveness of the
proposed approach and have incorporated lessons learned in preparation for replication or
scaling up.
Program-related investment (PRI)
A program-related investment (PRI) is a loan or other mission-related investment made by
a foundation to another organization for a charitable project. Foundations often have
guidelines, applications and strategies for PRIs that are similar to their grant program;
however, PRIs are intended as loans (usually at a below-market interest rate) and must
be paid back on an agreed-upon schedule to the foundation.
Replicate, scale up
To replicate or scale up an innovation is to significantly expand its impact in size, amount or
extent. Scaling an innovation can occur in many ways, including growing an organization’s own
capacity, developing independent affiliates or franchising, encouraging widespread adoption
of the model by others, or through a combination of these approaches. The most competitive
applicants have a clear, achievable plan that leads to exponential growth of their innovation,
as opposed to slow, incremental growth over time.
For a better understanding of how other social entrepreneurs are working to expand their
impact, we encourage you to visit www.socialedge.org where you will find multiple discussions
and blogs about what it means to overcome the real-life barriers that social entrepreneurs face
as they seek to expand their impacts.
Sectarian
Sectarian groups are religious, political or ideological organizations whose services are
limited to a particular sect or who require recipients to adhere to a specific dogma, political
point of view or religious practice in order to receive services.
Seed money
Seed money is a grant or funding used to start a new project or organization. Seed grants
may cover salaries and other operating expenses of a new project.
Social entrepreneurs
Just as entrepreneurs change the face of business, social entrepreneurs act as the change
agents for society, seizing opportunities others miss by improving systems, inventing new
approaches and creating sustainable solutions to change society for the better. However,
unlike business entrepreneurs who are motivated by profits, social entrepreneurs are
motivated to improve society. Despite this difference, social entrepreneurs are just as
innovative and change oriented as their business counterparts, searching for new and
better ways to solve the problems that plague society.
Social entrepreneurs that meet Skoll's criteria for Awards can be characterized by their
ability to:
• Recognize an unjust equilibrium that leads to the exclusion, marginalization or suffering
of vulnerable
members of our society
• Identify an opportunity within this unjust equilibrium to change the existing system and,
through inspiration,
creativity, direct action, courage and fortitude, implement a better solution
• Demonstrate potential to scale up their innovation until they have replaced the old system
with a new, stable
equilibrium that
alleviates the suffering of the targeted group and
creates a better future
Sustainability
Sustainability for a social entrepreneurial organization is the ability to achieve and sustain
its impact for as long as there is a need for its intervention. Factors that contribute to long-
term sustainability include:
• Leveraging a broad array of resources over time and applying them in the most effective way
• Building the governance and staffing capacity necessary to create and maintain a strong
management
structure, high-quality partnerships, skill in communicating its model and the
ability to evaluate and
measure change
• Achieving large-scale impact through elimination of the root cause of the problem and/or
widespread
acceptance of an innovation and replication by others
Theory of change
A theory of change is a strategy or blueprint for achieving large-scale, long-term goals.
It identifies
the preconditions, pathways and interventions necessary for an initiative's
success. The term can refer
to a specific planning tool as well as to a more general
overview of how an organization intervenes in a
system to initiate and sustain positive
change. For more information, visit the Theory of Change site sponsored by
ActKnowledge
and the
Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change at http://www.theoryofchange.org/.
Track record
A track record is a documented history of actual, recognized accomplishments under
“real-world” conditions. The most competitive Skoll applicants can demonstrate:
• No less than three years of experience in implementing the proposed model or approach
• Documented results showing the actual impact resulting from their intervention
• Evidence that others in the field are aware of and acknowledge the validity of the
proposed innovation
U.S. public charity or 501(c)(3)
The section of the United States tax code that defines nonprofit, charitable, tax-exempt
organizations is 501(c)(3). After filing the required paperwork to document its nonprofit
mission, a 501(c)(3) designated charity will receive a confirmation letter and tax
identification number from the IRS. A foreign entity can apply for and receive a
U.S. 501(c)(3) designation provided it complies with U.S. laws and meets certain
requirements and restrictions.
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