Skoll World Forum 2020

Offering Timely Insights & Experience

We had the pleasure of hosting several sessions throughout Skoll World Forum Week. Our discussions focused on the state of social entrepreneurship in the context of a global health pandemic, supporting entrepreneurs and crises leaders, and breaking down barriers to philanthropic funds.

We hope you enjoy and share our session recaps and presentations below.

About the World Forum

Monday, March 30

Every year, Echoing Green collects information from social entrepreneurs applying to our Fellowship program. This data set—which we believe is one of the largest collections of data on social enterprise applicants—allows us to observe trends in the field, understand our applicants’ needs, and share learnings with others working in social impact. In this session we discuss the implications COVID-19 has on the social entrepreneurship field.

Panelists:

Camila Pazos, Ben Beers, Cara Lee

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Tuesday, March 31

Echoing Green has the unique vantage point of supporting solutions enacted across borders and issue areas. Our Fellows are addressing the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic from all angles—whether that’s supporting low-income and uninsured healthcare patients with important tools and templates; offering free educational resources for teachers and caregivers who are dealing with disrupted school and childcare; providing free translation to immigrants, refugees, and non-English speaking communities who are often hardest hit by a massive information gap; or highlighting how unemployment benefits could help those whose jobs are impacted by COVID-19.

Panelists:

Leah Bloom, Kate Holzman

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Wednesday, April 1

Since its inception, Echoing Green has always placed our focus on the leaders of organizations—rather than the organizations themselves. Along with seed funding, technical support, and access to networks and resources, Echoing Green’s Fellowship program prioritizes our Fellows’ wellbeing. This includes ongoing secular support from three Echoing Green Chaplains, focusing on mental and emotional wellbeing, as well as self-care workshops designed specifically for the struggles of entrepreneurship. This support is important to provide at any time This support system for social entrepreneurs has become more crucial during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Panelists:

Kate Hayes, Rachel D. Latimore, Eric Dawson

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Friday, April 3

Fundraising is hard for every leader, but the stories, data, and clear evidence of racial bias in funding prompted Echoing Green and The Bridgespan Group to team up to research the depth of racial inequities in philanthropic funding. As intermediaries, we work with organizations that are often at distinctly different points in their development, giving us a broad combined view of the sector. Echoing Green is devoted to early-stage organizations and provides seed funding and leadership development through its annual fellowship program. Bridgespan is a global nonprofit that advises organizations and philanthropists, including extensive work helping donors make large commitments (“big bets”). The troubling inequities we both continue to see in our work reflects the extent to which the sector is suffering.

Panelists:

Cheryl L. Dorsey, Jeff Bradach, Don Gips

*Due to technical difficulties, a recording of this session is not available. You can access the full presentation via the button below.

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