2021 Annual Report

Echoing Green drives change where social justice and social innovation meet, backing bold innovators leading the charge on transformational change across the globe. In 2021, in addition to investing in early-stage innovators, Echoing Green provided over $1 million in follow-on funding grants to alumni Fellows. Through new partnerships and by building upon existing ones, the Echoing Green ecosystem supported hundreds of leaders and ideas at the intersection of social justice and social innovation. Learn more about how 2021 was a transformational year for Echoing Green and its closest supporters.

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A Welcome Message from Cheryl Dorsey

“As Echoing Green enters its 35th year, we are expanding our programs and network. This growth comes at a time when the world is at a crucial inflection point—one where multiple crises have converged to threaten progress and access to resources. The indirect path toward renewal and healing will require collective action to reimagine a new normal that can work for everyone. With racial equity at the core of our work to scale and resource our global community, we can think of no better role for social innovation to take on.”

Read Cheryl’s Full Letter

How Echoing Green Drives Change

We believe in the power of collective action. Together, our community can help build a world that has yet to exist—where all people can thrive. For nearly 35 years, Echoing Green has driven change where social justice and social innovation meet, backing bold innovators leading the charge on transformational change across the globe.

863

Total Fellows Funded

$50.4M

Total Invested in Fellows

68%

of Fellows Remain in the
Social Sector

Echoing Green is a lifelong community. We are making follow-on investments into alumni Fellows making strides toward racial justice.

This year, in addition to investing in early-stage innovators, Echoing Green has provided over $1 million in follow-on funding grants to alumni Fellows. Awarded after their active Fellowship term, this investment has supported 60 alumni to date whose social enterprises advance racial justice globally. Take a look at how these additional investments in our community are helping fuel the growth and impact of leaders dedicated to building a future free from racism.

Learn more about Follow-on Funding

How additional investments helped our Fellows

Collective action is required to drive systemic change and tackle a growing number of social and environmental challenges. In 2021, Echoing Green collaborated across sectors to strategically support Fellows, connect them with local leaders and organizations, create new and shared value, and move the needle forward on transformational social change. By forming new partnerships and building upon existing collaborations, the Echoing Green ecosystem supported hundreds of leaders and ideas at the intersection of social justice and social innovation.

How we worked with our partners

In 2021, Echoing Green partnered with 11 companies to provide hands-on advice and mentorship to our Fellows. Thank you to Barclays, BlackRock; Bloomberg; Citi Foundation; Comcast; General Atlantic; Guggenheim Partners; KKR; McKinsey; Moody’s; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

In addition to these mentorship opportunities, learn how Echoing Green collaborated with partners through events and initiatives that highlighted the ways that social innovation can show up as a force for good in the movement to advance racial equity.

Echoing Green's $75M Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund

2021 marked the first year of programming fueled by Echoing Green’s three-year Philanthropic Fund (2021-2024). The Fund will ensure that 2020’s heightened awareness of racial inequity translates into sustained action in the social innovation field. Learn more about our objectives for strategic investment and our partners supporting the work.

Learn more

Echoing Green has funded nearly 1,000 Fellows since its founding. The early-stage investments made in these leaders are often pivotal moments for their social enterprises, personal leadership journeys, and the world. Collectively, Echoing Green Fellows have raised more than $7.5B for the public good. Learn more about some of the game-changing work that our alumni Fellow community accomplished in 2021.

In the News

Welcoming a new class of Fellows — Meet the 2021 Class

In 2021, Echoing Green welcomed 18 new leaders to our global community of change-making innovators. The 2021 Echoing Green Fellows are tackling societal challenges like lack of health care for displaced communities in the Middle East, systemic and generational trauma for Detroit youth, and energy inequities faced by ethnic communities in rural Myanmar. With seed funding, collaborative communities, and holistic support, these Fellows are ready to reimagine inequitable systems alongside their communities and with their cohort.

Meet the Fellows

The year 2021 was transformational for Echoing Green and our closest supporters. We launched new partnerships with institutions to accelerate the impact of emerging and established social impact leaders this year that will take root and blossom in 2022. We are excited for continued growth—from expanding social innovation workshops with students at Spelman College to new partnerships to support and invest in proximate leaders working on a range of issues like immigrant rights and supporting Black women and girls. We are committed to the ongoing journey to build a just, sustainable world.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing and global inequality on the rise, major sectoral shifts are vital to this effort to advance racial equity. Our work to improve access to capital and amplify the voices and narratives of people committed to disrupting inequity and building opportunity will remain central to Echoing Green’s activities in the months ahead. The past 35 years of our impact have been fueled by the courage, wisdom, and optimism of the leaders we support. We hold steady in our belief in this community’s potential to make waves and drive big, bold change long into the future.

Thank you to our supporters

Our deepest thanks to all our supporters, including the following donors and partners who contributed to our work in FY21 (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021).

FY21 Financials

FY21 Donors $500,000 and Up

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FY21 Donors $100,000 and up

Apollo Global Management
Arrow Impact
Bloomberg L.P.
Dan Weiss and Amy Berkower Weiss
Fossil, Inc.
Godley Family Foundation
Guy and Kitty De Chazal
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Jacques M. Littlefield Foundation
Josh Mailman and Monica Winsor
Larry and Gayle Wieseneck
Mai Family Foundation

Marc and Stacey Saiontz
Marie Kelly
McCance Foundation
Noah Walley
Peggy Segal and David Topper
Public Welfare Foundation
Robb and Jenny Vorhoff
Sandra and Avi Nash, and the Indira Foundation
T. Rowe Price Associates Foundation Inc.
The Moody’s Foundation
Verizon Foundation
William R. Kenan Charitable Trust

FY21 Donors $25,000 and up

American Express Foundation
Andrew Kassoy and Margot Brandenburg
Anonymous (1)
Anonymous (2)
Cranemere
Esther Benjamin
Follow Your Dream
Guggenheim Partners
Jim Cashel and Anne Ching
John Burchett
John and Gwen Smart Foundation
Kohl’s
Larry Sonsini
Linde

Maurice Amado Foundation
Maya Ajmera and David Hollander
McKinsey & Company
Melinda Wolfe and Ken Inadomi
Miranda Family Fund
Patricia Industries
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Robin Hood Foundation
Sarah Stasny
Steve Malkenson
The Ferro Family Foundation
Tides
Trevor and Lee Ganshaw