Up to $300,000 for Early-Stage Social Impact Organisations – DRK Foundation

The Draper Richards Kaplan (DRK) Foundation supports early-stage organisations developing innovative and scalable solutions to major social and environmental challenges. Successful organisations receive long-term funding alongside intensive hands-on support to help strengthen their organisation and scale their impact.

Here’s what you can expect:

• Up to $300,000 in unrestricted grant funding or investment capital

• Funding provided over a three-year period, usually in multiple instalments

• Up to $500,000 worth of additional in-kind capacity-building support

• A DRK senior team member typically takes a board service role for three years

• Hands-on support with leadership, fundraising, financial sustainability, organisational development and scaling

• Access to DRK's global portfolio and alumni community

• DRK selects up to 20 organisations each year from around 3,000 applications.

Who can apply?

• Early-stage social enterprises, including nonprofits and for-profit organisations

• Organisations that are generally post-pilot but pre-scale

• Organisations typically around 2–5 years old

• Solutions already being used in the market or field with early evidence of impact

• Organisations directly benefiting underserved or marginalised communities

• Founders who are full-time or intend to become full-time

• Organisations operating in Africa, Europe, India or the United States, with some opportunities in Latin America

• For-profit organisations are typically expected to be around Seed to Series A stage.

Application deadline: Rolling applications – open year-round with no fixed deadline.

Important: The $300,000 may be provided as either an unrestricted grant or investment capital, depending on the organisation and agreement. So I would categorise this as Grant / Social Impact Investment Funding, rather than assuming every recipient receives a grant.