Skoll Award for Social Innovation

Benefits & funding

• US$2 million per awardee organization, unrestricted, so the organization decides how to spend it to scale its work.
• Fewer than 10 awards each year; three organizations received the 2026 award.
• Public recognition at the Skoll World Forum awards ceremony in Oxford, held on 23 April 2026 at the New Theatre for the most recent round.
• Collaboration with the Skoll community of social entrepreneurs and innovators, plus access to media and fundraising opportunities and other resources the foundation provides.
• No stipend, salary or scholarship for individuals; the money goes to the organization.

Eligibility

• Open to organizations, not to individuals. Scholarships and other forms of personal financial support are excluded.
• The organization must be a legally incorporated entity. Nonprofits, for-profits and hybrid structures are all considered.
• Organizations without US 501(c)(3) public charity status, including organizations based in other countries, are asked for additional documentation later in the process.
• No nationality, country or residency restriction is stated; the 2026 awardees are based in Pakistan, South Africa and India.
• The work must reach beyond a single community, at sub-national, national, regional or global scope. Organizations whose mission focuses on one municipality, province or state are excluded.
• A demonstrated record of impact is required. New or concept-stage business plans and ideas are not supported.
• The organization should be at an inflection point where extra resources would let it scale.
• There is no absolute budget threshold, but the foundation says organizations with annual revenue below US$2.5 million (activities mainly in high-income countries) or below US$1 million (activities mainly in low- and middle-income countries) tend to be at a disadvantage.
• Also ineligible: programs promoting religious or ideological doctrine, lobbying beyond what the law allows charitable organizations, film financing, endowments, cash reserves or deficit reduction, public schools and school districts, institutions that discriminate on the basis of race, creed, age, gender or sexual orientation, event sponsorship, political campaigns, local offices of parent organizations, and specific programs inside a larger organization.
• An organization is eligible once every cycle, including organizations considered in an earlier round without success.

Application process

1. 1
   Check the organization against the criteria and the ineligible list published on the Skoll Awards page.
2. 2
   Note that there is no open call and no application form. Skoll identifies candidates over several years through direct engagement, referrals and nominations from its partner network.
3. 3
   Build the record the foundation looks for: results at the level of a system, the capacity to deliver at larger scale, and closeness to the problem being solved.
4. 4
   Be referred or nominated by a partner in the Skoll network. Nominators are asked to review the award criteria before putting an organization forward.
5. 5
   Go through assessment against the six criteria: potential for change, ability to deliver, impact record, inflection point, proximity, and Skoll additionality.
6. 6
   Supply additional documentation if the organization does not hold US 501(c)(3) public charity status.
7. 7
   Awardees are announced just before the Skoll World Forum and are recognized at the forum awards ceremony.

Program timeline

1. 2026 awardees announced: ChildLife Foundation, SmartStart and Indus Action

   Apr 7, 2026

2. 23rd Skoll World Forum, Oxford and online

   Apr 21, 2026 to Apr 24, 2026

3. Skoll Awards ceremony, New Theatre, Oxford, 5 to 6:30pm BST

   Apr 23, 2026

4. Skoll World Forum 2027; the next awardees are announced shortly before it

   Apr 6, 2027 to Apr 9, 2027

5. Year-round

   candidates are sourced through direct engagement, referrals and nominations, and no public application window opens