The Skoll Foundation

What is The Skoll Foundation?

The Skoll Foundation is a family office headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States, dedicated to catalyzing transformational social change. They do this by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators who advance bold and equitable solutions to the world's most pressing problems.

Their approach involves identifying people and organizations with innovations capable of creating scalable positive impacts, often at their inflection point towards significant growth, offering a bet that these social entrepreneurs can transform unjust systems. The Skoll Foundation firmly believes in the power of community and innovative partnerships, acknowledging that social entrepreneurship is a team sport and scalable solutions require a collective effort.

They celebrate social innovation by providing support through the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, having backed 122 social entrepreneurs and 100 organizations across five continents. The stories of these innovators are used to inspire and show what is possible in the world.

The Foundation focuses on areas ripe for change with high-impact potential, supporting initiatives such as strengthening health systems, preventing pandemics, promoting effective governance, mobilizing action for a sustainable planet, creating inclusive and sustainable economies, pursuing justice, equity, and maintaining information integrity.

They partner with social innovators who have lived or learned experiences in the challenges they address, and their leadership includes philanthropist and social entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, the foundation's founder. The Jeff Skoll Group covers a portfolio of enterprises driving social change across sectors, united by Skoll’s values of humility and responsibility.