Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Social Impact Funding

Who can apply

• Independent nonprofit social impact organisations
• Mission-driven and impact-first for-profit social enterprises
• Non-US equivalents of eligible nonprofit organisations
• C corporations and B corporations meeting DRK’s impact criteria
• Hybrid social-impact organisations
• Fiscally sponsored initiatives with a clear plan to become independent standalone entities
• Early-stage organisations that have moved beyond the idea or pre-pilot stage
• Post-pilot and pre-scale organisations with evidence that their model works
• Organisations operating primarily in Africa
• Organisations operating in Europe
• Organisations operating in India
• Organisations operating in the United States
• Selected organisations operating in Latin America may be considered case by case
• Organisations primarily benefiting vulnerable, marginalised or underserved populations
• Organisations with one or more founders working full-time or intending to become full-time in the immediate future
• Organisations with scalable models and credible potential for significant growth

Focus areas

• Social impact
• Poverty reduction
• Underserved and marginalised communities
• Education
• Health
• Economic opportunity
• Employment and livelihoods
• Financial inclusion
• Agriculture and food systems
• Climate and environmental solutions
• Social services
• Justice and access to rights
• Technology for social impact
• Inclusive products and services
• Community resilience
• Scalable service-delivery models
• Social entrepreneurship
• Systems change through practical interventions
• Innovative solutions to social and environmental problems
• Organisational scale and sustainability
• Impact measurement

Requirements

• The organisation must have an innovative solution to a significant social or environmental problem.
• The solution must primarily or predominantly benefit vulnerable, marginalised or otherwise underserved populations.
• The organisation must have moved beyond idea stage and pre-pilot stage.
• The product, programme or service should already be operating in the market or field.
• Applicants must have early evidence that the model is achieving its intended impact.
• The organisation should generally be at post-pilot and pre-scale stage.
• The organisation must demonstrate measurable evidence of impact and a credible approach to tracking future outcomes.
• The model must have significant potential to scale.
• DRK looks for organisations capable of directly impacting at least 10,000 lives within the next five years, with ambition to grow further.
• The solution should work within or alongside existing systems, stakeholders, infrastructure or distribution channels.
• The organisation should have a growable earned-income stream or credible plans to establish earned income in the immediate future.
• The organisation must be structured as an eligible independent nonprofit or impact-first mission-driven for-profit entity.
• Projects housed permanently inside another organisation are generally not eligible unless there is a clear plan to spin out as an independent entity.
• Founders or senior leaders should be working full-time or preparing to work full-time on the organisation.
• Leadership should demonstrate deep understanding of the problem and population being served.
• Applicants should be willing to work closely with DRK throughout the three-year support period.
• Organisations primarily focused on awareness campaigns, advocacy, policy change or field-building without a direct intervention are not eligible.
• Research-only organisations or think tanks without an accompanying direct intervention are not eligible.
• Religious programmes focused on promoting religious doctrine are not eligible.
• Idea-stage, pre-pilot and post-Series A organisations are not eligible.
• Place-based models without credible plans for significant replication or scale are generally not eligible.

Application steps

• Review DRK’s official funding criteria and confirm that the organisation is post-pilot, pre-scale and operating in a priority geography.
• Prepare an existing executive summary, pitch deck or business plan covering the organisation’s problem, solution, impact, scale strategy and leadership.
• If existing materials are unavailable, prepare a concise two-to-three-page document responding to DRK’s application prompts.
• Explain the organisation’s mission and objectives.
• Describe the social or environmental problem being addressed.
• Describe the proposed solution and how it improves on existing approaches.
• Provide evidence of impact on underserved populations and results achieved through existing pilots or implementation.
• Explain what makes the approach distinctive.
• Describe how impact is currently measured and how future outcomes will be tracked.
• Explain how the organisation intends to scale.
• Describe current or planned sources of earned income and financial sustainability.
• Prepare standard CVs or resumes for the founder or founders and key senior leadership; text-only leadership biographies are not accepted as a substitute.
• Complete the official DRK online application form.
• Upload the executive summary, pitch deck or business plan with the application.
• Additional financial statements, impact reports and similar documents may be uploaded but are optional at the initial application stage.
• Submit the application through the official online form; applications sent by email are not considered.
• Applicants progressing through initial review may be invited to exploratory interviews.
• Selected candidates then proceed through formal due diligence, including additional legal and financial documentation and reference discussions.
• Final candidates meet additional DRK team members and the investment committee before the closing process.