January 27, 2005

Skoll Foundation Increases Support to Grantees in Response to Tsunami

PALO ALTO, Calif.—January 26, 2005—The Skoll Foundation announced today that it has awarded $300,000 in additional funding to 12 of its grantees working in areas impacted by the recent tsunami or providing infrastructure to support organizations that are responding to tsunami-related needs.

The foundation has awarded $25,000 to each organization with a letter of thanks for the work each has undertaken in connection with the tsunami relief effort. Initiated by the foundation’s chairman and founder, Jeff Skoll, the grants are designed to defray the organizations’ additional costs related to the tsunami or for general support.

The nonprofit organizations that received the funds are Acumen Fund, Inc., American India Foundation and Trickle Up Program, Inc., all based in New York City; Ashoka, based in Arlington, Va.; Global Fund for Children and Grameen Foundation USA, both based in Washington, D.C.; Global Greengrants Fund, Inc., based in Boulder, Colo.; GlobalGiving Foundation, Inc., based in Bethesda, Md.; Groundspring.org and Room to Read, both based in San Francisco; Philanthropic Research, Inc. (also known as GuideStar), based in Williamsburg, Va.; and Relief International, based in Los Angeles.

“The social entrepreneurs leading these organizations are doing exceptional work. They are solving deeply rooted problems by transforming social systems and creating opportunities for those who otherwise would be locked into lives without hope. We know they will use this additional support where help is needed most,” said Sally Osberg, CEO of 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 by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs, who are individuals dedicated to creating new solutions that result in lasting improvements to communities around the world.

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs and the new Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. The foundation connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as a four-part public television documentary called “The New Heroes” that will be broadcast in 2005, and via the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, which will convene March 30-April 1 at the Skoll Centre. For more information, visit www.skollfoundation.org.