prepared by: Shazad Mohamed

updated: 03/23/2008

Website:

http://www.draperrichards.org/

Mission:

To provide funding and business mentoring to talented social entrepeneurs that can lead social change.

Inspiration/History:

"The Draper Richards Foundation was founded in 2002. Funders William H. Draper, III and Robin Richards Donohoe, venture capitalists who have run highly successful funds together, believe in the power of innovation and passionate individuals to change the world."*http://www.draperrichards.org/process/index.html

Business Model:

Provides funding of $100,000 a year for three consecutive years, along with strategic expertise and resources.

Theory of Change:

The Draper Richards Foundation accepts proposals for a number of public service areas, including, education, youth and families, environmental issues, the arts, health and community and economic development. The goal is to select promising social enterprises led by talented leaders, that have the potential create significant long-term social impact in their respective area of expertise.

Core Programs:

Draper Richards Fellows - provides selected social entrepreneurs with funding of $100,000 annually for three years. The funds are specifically and solely for entrepreneurs starting new non-profit organizations. Six fellowships are awarded annually.

Recent Developments (if applicable):

N/A

Biography ofJenny Shilling Stein:

Jenny Shilling Stein co-founded the Draper Richards Foundation in 2002 with Bill Draper and Robin Richards Donohoe to identify and support the most talented social entrepreneurs. She serves as the Executive Director of the Foundation, where she is responsible for strategic direction and management of the portfolio.

Prior to joining Draper Richards, Jenny was Director of Business Development & Strategic Partnerships at RealNames Corporation where she managed the company's relationship with Microsoft. Previously, she worked in account management at BBDO New York on the Pepsi, HBO and Campbell's Soup campaigns. She has worked at Schwab Foundation for Learning and served as a Board Intern at Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network.

Jenny is on the Board of Directors of A Home Within, Kiva. Org, and Komaza. She previously served on the boards of Upwardly Global, Taproot Foundation, Room to Read, Design that Matters, America Abroad Media, Education Pioneers, and Synapse Market Access Fund. She has volunteered on the Stanford Graduate School of Business Alumni Consulting Team, working to link business talent from the school's alumni with non-profit organizations. Jenny has been a judge for social entrepreneurship competitions for Echoing Green, Stanford University, the Civic Ventures Purpose Prize, and Fast Company's Social Capitalist Awards.

Jenny received both her Master of Business Administration and her Master of Education from Stanford University. She graduated magna cum laude in English and Psychology from Amherst College.

*http://www.draperrichards.org/team/index.html

Questions to be Raised During Visit (3-4):

Do you have any metrics to show that your model of investing in social organizations is any more successful than traditional nonprofit funding?How useful is the value that the Draper Richards Foundation adds to the organizations that you fund? Do you find that because of targeted metrics and the resources that you provide that organizations develop/scale quicker?
In your experience what are the most pressing challenges that new organizations face? Can you provide some examples of how the foundation contributes to overcoming them?Over the years how have you built up your organizational knowledge? What lessons have you learned that you didn't know in 2001?

Further Resources (2-3):

http://www.socialedge.org/discussions/funding/draper-richards-foundation-february-2005/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/20/BUGA4GAHSL1.DTL&hw=draper&sn=001&sc=1000