Leading nonprofit organization provides funding and leadership support to early-stage social entrepreneurs

New York, NY—August 23, 2023— Echoing Green, a leading organization that supports emerging social innovators, announced today 20 recipients selected for the 2023 cohort of the Echoing Green Fellowship. The newest Fellows are launching and growing innovative solutions to address urgent global challenges, including maternal and infant mortality in Zanzibar, inaccessible mental healthcare in Nigeria, and high rates of food insecurity in conflict-affected regions of the world and the U.S.

Each Fellow will receive an unrestricted investment of $80,000 during the 18-month Fellowship, one element of a multi-faceted support model that includes capital, capacity, and community support. Fellows will join a lifelong support community of innovative thinkers, strategic partners, and industry peers.

The 2023 Fellows were selected through Echoing Green’s open call application and participatory grantmaking process, with nearly 1,900 applications received for this cohort. The newest Fellows are driving systemic social change across ten countries and four continents: Argentina, Cameroon, India, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, and the United States.

“With 70% of our newest Fellows working outside the United States, this cohort is one of our most global classes yet, and I’m excited by the potential these dynamic leaders hold to impact the lives of millions around the world. From creating a more equitable health system for women and people with low incomes in the Global South, to helping students in India find their voice through creative expression, these extraordinary innovators are addressing a range of urgent and intractable issues. They have a deep understanding of the ways in which representation, sustainability, and proximity can catalyze social change in their communities,” said Echoing Green President and 1992 Fellow Cheryl L. Dorsey.

She added, “With their bold vision, unwavering commitment, and boundless creativity, these leaders inspire hope for our collective future. We are honored to support them and their work to transform the world for the better.”

The 2023 Echoing Green Fellows are:

• Aisha Abdullahi Bubah, The Sunshine Series (Nigeria)
• Ali Anderson, Feed Black Futures (California, U.S.)
• Annina Van Neel, The Tiekie Box Project (Namibia)
• Atim Mbah (Patience), Green Farmlands
• Danielle Boyer, The STEAM Connection (Michigan, U.S.)
• Darshana Joshi, VigyanShaala International (India)
• Fatima Hassan, Health Justice Initiative (Global South)
• Francesca Raoelison, Omena, Inc. (Madagascar)
• Gabriel Reyes, FLi Sci (U.S.)
• Inés Palacios Chaka (Argentina)
• James Thuch Madhier, The Rainmaker Enterprise (Sudan)
• Jigyasa Labroo, Slam Out Loud (India)
• Manu Chopra, Karya, Inc. (India)
• Mathangi Swaminathan, Parity Lab (India & New Jersey, U.S.)
• Nafisa Jiddawi, WAJAMAMA (Zanzibar)
• Olayinka Iyinolakan, Center for the Digitization of Indigenous African Languages (Nigeria)
• Rana Abdelhamid, Malikah (Global)
• Shiluba Mawela, Tshiamo Impact Partners (South Africa)
• Tatiana Rodriguez, Family Matters First (Boston, U.S.)
• Tonya Daniel, Enjoy The Baby, LLC (U.S.)

Since 1987, Echoing Green has identified nearly 1,000 leaders launching new social enterprises and equipped them with support and networks. The organization has accelerated the work of some of the world’s best and brightest social innovators. Previous Fellows include former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama (’91); political commentator Van Jones (’94); co-founders of national health movement GirlTrek, T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison (’13); and founder and chief executive officer of climate technology startup BlocPower, Donnel Baird (’12).

Echoing Green launched its Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund in 2020 to build sustainable pathways of funding and support for next-generation leaders advancing racial equity globally. Since August 2020, the organization has made tremendous progress towards the Fund’s ambitious goals, having supported 78 new Fellows and awarded $6.3 million in follow-on investments to 158 alumni Fellows. By mid-2024, Echoing Green will support 122 new Fellows; launch and scale around 500 social enterprises focused on racial equity in the U.S. and globally; and disburse more than $12 million in follow-on funding to alumni Fellow-led organizations seeking to scale their racial justice work.

Partners who have supported the Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund include leading supporters such as the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Skoll Foundation, Comcast NBCUniversal, the Citi Foundation, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women, Barclays, BlackRock, The Allstate Foundation, Walmart Foundation, World Education Services Mariam Assefa Fund, Salesforce, Tiger Global Impact Ventures, The JPB Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Additional Fund supporters can be found here. Other leading supporters of Echoing Green include KKR and General Atlantic.

About Echoing Green
For 35 years, Echoing Green has been on the front lines of solving the world’s biggest problems, raising up the transformational leaders willing to speak truth to power and challenge the status quo. The organization finds emerging leaders with the best ideas for social innovation as early as possible and sets them on a path to lifelong impact. Echoing Green’s community of nearly 1,000 social innovators includes past Fellows such as First Lady Michelle Obama and the founders of Teach For America, Center for Black Innovation, BlocPower, and One Acre Fund. Built and refined over three decades, Echoing Green discovers tomorrow’s leaders today, and then funds, connects, and supports a new generation of social impact leaders.