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TransFair USA Receives Skoll Award for Social Entreprenuership - Fair Trade Certification Leader Recognized For Its Innovative Approach to Addressing Social Issues

PALO ALTO, Calif.—March 17, 2005—The Skoll Foundation announced today that it has awarded nearly $9.5 million to 22 organizations that support social entrepreneurs using innovative approaches to address social issues in communities around the world or help build the social sector’s infrastructure and effectiveness.

Thirteen of the organizations are receiving $7.3 million in Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship (SASE) through an open competitive process that identifies social entrepreneurs who have piloted innovative programs and are ready to take the next steps toward systemic social change. In addition, the foundation is renewing its support of the Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology in the amount of $400,000.

The competitive SASE awards will be presented on March 31 at the second annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University in England, where some of the world’s leading practitioners and thought leaders in social entrepreneurship will convene to set the future agenda for visionaries who want to transform society.

The Skoll Foundation has awarded nearly $1.8 million to eight organizations through its Skoll Social Sector Program, which also has an open application process. This program supports projects and organizations that build and activate networks, develop philanthropic tools and facilitate the flow of resources to the social sector. It is based on the Skoll Foundation’s belief that a healthy social sector ecosystem is critical to the success of social entrepreneurs.

The organizations receiving Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship through the open competition are receiving funding for a three-year period. They are Appropriate Technologies for Enterprise Creation (ApproTEC), San Francisco, $615,000; Barefoot College (Social Work and Research Centre), Rjasthan, India, $615,000; CAMFED, Cambridge, England, $505,000; Citizen Schools, Boston, $615,000; Committee for Democracy in Information Technology, Rio de Janeiro, $615,000; EcoLogic Finance, Boston, $465,000; Fundación Paraguaya, Asunción, Paraguay, $515,000; Institute for OneWorld Health, San Francisco, $615,000; International Development Enterprises (India), Delhi, $615,000; Rugmark Foundation USA, Washington, D.C., $440,000; Sonidos de La Tierra, Asunción, Paraguay, $465,000; TransFair USA, Oakland, Calif., $615,000; and Witness, New York, N.Y., $615,000.

The organizations receiving grants through the Skoll Social Sector Program are Action With Borders, New York, N.Y., $100,000; Aspen Institute, Washington, D.C., $150,000; Civic Ventures, San Francisco, $75,000; Community Foundations of America, Louisville, Ky., $425,000; Give2Asia, San Francisco, $75,000; Independent Sector, Washington, D.C., $75,000; Philanthropic Research, Inc., Williamsburg, Va., $500,000; and Share Our Strength, Washington, D.C., $375,000.

The Skoll Foundation’s mission is to advance systemic change benefiting communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs, who are individuals dedicated to creating new solutions that result in lasting improvements to complex social problems.

“We have cast our net far and wide to find the world’s best social entrepreneurs,” said Sally Osberg, President and CEO of the Skoll Foundation. “Each organization in our portfolio of Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is tackling a complex social problem in order to promote healthy, sustainable communities. And each one is poised to expand that model to a new level. Together, these organizations represent an incredibly powerful force for systemic social change.

“In addition,” she said, “the Skoll Foundation is helping to develop the 21st century infrastructure for social entrepreneurship, philanthropy and the social sector, both nationally and internationally, through the Skoll Social Sector Program.”

Barbara Kibbe, Vice President of Program and Effectiveness for the foundation, said “We were pleased to learn that there is a very rich pool of social entrepreneurs around the world. It makes us very hopeful to see the army of people rising up to make positive change.”

Sandy Herz, the foundation’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications, added, “Not only are we finding great people doing great work, we are also identifying social entrepreneurs across fields around the world. By observing their success, we hope to identify promising new business models and operations for advancing systemic change.”

For more information about the winners of the Skoll awards, visit here. To learn more about the Skoll Foundation, visit www.skollfoundation.org.

About the Skoll Foundation

Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first employee and first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change benefiting communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs, who are individuals dedicated to pioneering new solutions that result in lasting improvements to complex social problems.

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs. The foundation connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org, and via the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as a four-part public television documentary called “The New Heroes” that will be broadcast in 2005. For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.

DESCRIPTIONS OF 2005 SKOLL GRANTEES

The organizations receiving Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship through the open competition are:

• Appropriate Technologies for Enterprise Creation (ApproTEC), based in San Francisco, which promotes sustainable economic growth and employment by developing and promoting technologies, such as human-powered irrigation pumps, that can be used to run profitable small-scale enterprises in Africa - $615,000 over three years to expand distribution into new markets in Eastern Africa. Social entrepreneurs: Martin Fisher and Nick Moon
• Barefoot College (Social Work and Research Centre), based in Rjasthan, India, which has trained 750 rural villagers in 13 Indian states over the past 30 years through a self-help model that respects local knowledge and promotes community decision-making - $615,000 over three years for replication in Africa and Asia of village-managed, controlled and owned development in solar electrification and rooftop rainwater harvesting in school programs. Social entrepreneur: Bunker Roy
• Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology (BAYCAT), based in San Francisco, educates and inspires underserved youths and adults to become productive citizens and improve the quality of life for themselves and their communities through education, arts, culture and enterprise - $400,000 over two years to help BAYCAT expand and serve more youths and adults. Social entrepreneur: Bill Strickland of Manchester-Bidwell Corp., which inspired the creation of BAYCAT
• CAMFED, based in Cambridge, England, which works to eliminate barriers that keep girls in developing countries from attending school and encourages them to become leaders in their communities - $505,000 over three years to expand in Africa. Social entrepreneur: Ann Cotton
• Citizen Schools, based in Boston, which changes the trajectory of low-income youths, preparing them for academic achievement and college by transforming out-of-school time into enriching learning experiences - $615,000 over three years to expand its national network of after-school programs. Social entrepreneur: Eric Schwarz
• Committee for Democracy in Information Technology (CDI), based in Rio de Janeiro, which helps residents of disadvantaged communities in Latin America, South Africa and Japan use computers to improve their communities and their lives - $615,000 over three years for expansion and global replication of its schools. Social entrepreneur: Rodrigo Baggio
• EcoLogic Finance, based in Boston, which provides low-interest loans to agricultural cooperatives and other producer organizations in transition from unsustainable to “green” production practices in environmentally sensitive areas - $465,000 over three years to expand in Latin America and East Africa. Social entrepreneur: William Foote
• Fundación Paraguaya, based in Asunción, Paraguay, which started a microcredit program that has helped 30,000 small entrepreneurs in Paraguay create 19,000 new jobs - $515,000 over three years to help replicate its agricultural education and rural entrepreneurship programs. Social entrepreneur: Martin Burt
• Institute for OneWorld Health, based in San Francisco, a nonprofit pharmaceutical company developing affordable medicines to treat diseases that disproportionately affect people in the developing world - $615,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Victoria Hale
• International Development Enterprises (India), based in Delhi, which empowers subsistence farmers to increase income with affordable, sustainable agricultural technologies, such as irrigation pumps and drip systems - $615,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Amitabha Sadangi
• Rugmark Foundation USA, based in Washington, D.C., which seeks to end child labor in the carpet industry by educating consumers and creating demand for rugs without child labor - $440,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Nina Smith
• Sonidos de La Tierra, based in Asunción, Paraguay, which supports community-led philanthropic societies that have helped 1,700 young people learn the discipline, self-esteem and teamwork involved in studying music - $465,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Luis Szarán
• TransFair USA, based in Oakland, Calif., which helps small farmers in 48 developing countries by certifying that their products (coffee, tea and cocoa) are “fair trade,” meaning the producers are paid fairly and meet employment and environmental standards - $615,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Paul Rice
• Witness, based in New York, N.Y., which puts video cameras into the hands of human rights activists, trains them in communications techniques and has become a major international resource for the media and the human rights field - $615,000 over three years. Social entrepreneur: Gillian Caldwell

The organizations receiving grants through the Skoll Social Sector Program are:

• Action Without Borders, based in New York, N.Y., which created Idealist.org, a leading provider of nonprofit resources on the Internet - $100,000 over one year to support the international expansion of Idealist.org
• Aspen Institute, based in Washington, D.C., which supports research and dialogue on nonprofit organizations and philanthropy through its Nonprofit Sector and Philanthropy program (NSPP) - $150,000 over one year to support a new NSPP initiative called “Enterprising Organizations: New Approaches to Social Problem Solving”
• Civic Ventures, based in San Francisco, which helps engage older Americans in meeting community needs - $75,000 over one year to identify and support senior social entrepreneurs
• Community Foundations of America (CFA), based in Louisville, Ky., which helps community foundations address three priorities: technology, marketing and accountability - $425,000 over three years to support CFA’s financial institutions marketing initiative
• Give2Asia, based in San Francisco, which promotes philanthropy to Asia - $75,000 over one year to identify and support social entrepreneurs in Asia
• Independent Sector, based in Washington, D.C., which convened an independent national panel to provide recommendations on nonprofit legislation to the Senate Finance Committee - $75,000 over one year to help fund the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector
• Philanthropic Research, Inc., based in Williamsburg, Va., which provides a Web-accessible database of all Form 990 tax returns filed by nonprofits and other free information on charitable organizations through GuideStar at www.guidestar.org - $500,000 over two years for operating support linked to its business plan objectives
• Share Our Strength, based in Washington, D.C., which launched Community Wealth Ventures to help both nonprofits and corporations think differently about market-based approaches to social sector activity - $375,000 over three years to create an incubator that identifies and develops franchise business opportunities for nonprofit organizations