The Skoll Foundation

The Skoll Foundation Powering social entrepreneurs to transform our world.

The Skoll Foundation seeks to catalyze transformational social change by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators who together advance bold and equitable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first President of eBay, created the Skoll Foundation in 1999 to pursue his vision of a sustainable world of pea

ce and prosperity for all. The Foundation is part of the Jeff Skoll Group, which helps oversee, connect, and drive strategic initiatives across the family of Jeff’s organizations, which includes the Capricorn Investment Group.

This is what it looks like to cultivate local identity and voice within a global conversation.For the second year in a r...
06/17/2026

This is what it looks like to cultivate local identity and voice within a global conversation.

For the second year in a row, our partners at and Profile hosted Impact Connection, an intimate gathering of Brazil-based social entrepreneurs, changemakers, and other innovators to continue the dialogue that began at the .

With engagement from several of our incredible local Skoll Fellows and other community members, the gathering created a unique opportunity for leaders in Brazil to come together, exchange ideas, learn from one another, and apply lessons from the Forum’s visionary speakers to their local context.

What makes the Forum special is the extraordinary people who comprise the ecosystem that surrounds it, whether in Oxford in April, or around the world throughout the rest of the year. Let’s keep the conversation flowing.

Wonderful recognition in Devex this month of the remarkable work by our partners at Sidebar to expand the social change ...
06/16/2026

Wonderful recognition in Devex this month of the remarkable work by our partners at Sidebar to expand the social change ecosystem by creating more seats at the table.

Led by a longtime friend of the Foundation, Seth Cochran, Sidebar exemplifies our shared commitment to proximate voices and leadership, locally driven solutions, and inclusive dialogue as essential ingredients for lasting, global systems change. We are honored to have supported The Sidebar’s tireless work in Oxford since the beginning, and look forward to seeing the magic they cook up next.

And they’re not alone: our longtime partners at Marmalade Festival and newer partners at Fusion Arts' House of Creativity have also shown extraordinary vision in designing engaging, community-driven programming that does more than simply complement official Forum events. Together, these three organizations amplify and enhance the vibrancy, depth, and breadth of conversations and connections during the week, extending the limited reach of the to as many people as possible.

They’re each a core component of the Oxford experience, and we are grateful for their partnership.

Read the feature story here: https://www.devex.com/news/how-the-fistula-guy-is-taking-on-global-development-s-access-problem-112631

Philanthropy cannot fill the gaps left by sovereign aid, “but what we can do is set the table.” - Marla Blow, Skoll Foun...
06/15/2026

Philanthropy cannot fill the gaps left by sovereign aid, “but what we can do is set the table.” - Marla Blow, Skoll Foundation CEO and President

That means inviting partnerships with other foundations and with the private sector, as well as “finding ways to activate all of our levers—not just our grantmaking, but also our investments.”

At the Future of Philanthropy summit convened by Semafor last week, Marla joined a panel with Richard R. Buery, Jr. of Robin Hood, to explore philanthropy’s evolving role in responding to society’s most pressing challenges.

Their conversation explored how funders can best support our partners to weather political challenges to continue driving systems change in an increasingly polarized world.

(Photo credit: Semafor/Eleanor Kaufman)

06/12/2026

In South Africa, 15,000 women are running home-based preschools that reach 160,000 children every week. These women are educators, caregivers, and community anchors. And for 2026 SmartStart South Africa, they are the model.

Founder Matlhape Grace Matlhape learned early on that women often serve as the community glue, uplifting others while still finding ways to advance their own families—and themselves.

SmartStart’s network harnesses that strength at scale, investing in women to lead the solution to early education access challenges. In so doing, they’re creating pathways to prosperity that ripple across generations.

Watch Grace share her personal inspiration at this year’s : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTY_-1IWMxE

06/10/2026

No child should die because of where they were born.

That conviction drives 2026 ChildLife Foundation and CEO Ahson Rabbani to continue strengthening Pakistan’s public health system to ensure every child is within 30 minutes of lifesaving care. How are they doing it? Through modernized emergency room facilities and a nationwide telemedicine network that connects even the most rural villages to pediatric specialists.

To hear incredible stories of ChildLife’s impact, watch Ahson’s full award acceptance speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2wMee2MjFk&pp=0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv

06/09/2026

Millions of India’s most vulnerable citizens are legally entitled to benefits like scholarships, labor protections, and maternity care—but navigating the systems that distribute those benefits can be nearly impossible.

Tarun Cherukuri founded Indus Action to close that gap, making entitlements real and accessible at critical moments.

For the 2026 , good design is the difference between a policy that exists on paper and one that transforms lives.

Watch Tarun share what drives him to continue the work and how he plans to scale his impact across the country: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCVw8BfNZUU

As mission-driven organizations explore how to adapt to a changing sector, radical candor deserves a seat at the table.A...
06/08/2026

As mission-driven organizations explore how to adapt to a changing sector, radical candor deserves a seat at the table.

At the 2026 , Cheri-Leigh Erasmus of the Accountability Lab made the case for leaning into difficult topics early on in exploratory conversations about restructuring the work. That candor, she argued, is what allows organizations to move forward with clarity and kindness, both internally and with the communities they serve.

Watch the full conversation from her session, “State of the Pivot: Adapting Organizational Models for a New Era”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hdw4m7PbcM

New takeaways from : “Real economic progress at the individual level requires cohesive systems working in tandem, fro...
06/03/2026

New takeaways from : “Real economic progress at the individual level requires cohesive systems working in tandem, from workforce training to climate resilience, capital flows to women’s access to opportunities.”

Featuring lessons from Angeline Murimirwa, John Mundy, Reema Nanavaty, and Angela Gichaga and examples from 2026 SmartStart, Indus Action, and ChildLife Foundation, the new piece explores ideas for ensuring economic mobility is within reach for communities around the world, using levers including health care, education, smallholder agriculture, and more.

Link in bio for the full article.

06/02/2026

Culture and policy are intertwined. That is why Alessandra Orofino is dedicated to influencing the climate conversation through popular media.

As the founder of Peri Productions, she works at the intersection of climate justice, storytelling, and democratic transformation by crafting stories that spark action, shift worldviews, and expand the collective imagination of a just future.

In this clip from the stage, Alessandra shares why shifting narratives through culture is an essential input in enacting climate-positive policies.

Watch her whole talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXfzpP9BQrg

Human, animal, and planetary health are deeply interconnected.At a 2026 session “One Health in Action,” panelists shar...
05/28/2026

Human, animal, and planetary health are deeply interconnected.

At a 2026 session “One Health in Action,” panelists shared how their organizations are advancing approaches to climate change, biodiversity loss, and human disease that acknowledge the need for integrated solutions across all aspects of health.

In practice, that looks like:

1. Integrating gorilla conservation, community health, and alternative livelihoods in Uganda (Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka of Conservation Through Public Health)

2. Farmers being the eyes and ears of the public health system, using mobile tools to flag animal-borne diseases before outbreaks spread (Patipat Susumpao of Opendream)

3. Training 96,000 health champions across Nigeria and reframing the relationship between health systems and the people they serve (Oluwatoni Akinola of DRASA - Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh Health Trust)

And while these solutions are attracting increased attention, Luiz Cláudio Lopes da Silva of Amazon Conservation Team reminded attendees that for Indigenous communities, “one health” has been a way of life for generations.

These communities have much to teach the rest of the world about cultivating resilience across interconnected systems.

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