$300,000 DRK Social Enterprise Grant
- Organization: Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
- Type: Grant
- Location: Global
- Funding: Fully Funded
Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is a venture philanthropy organisation that backs early-stage social enterprises and stays with them for three years. It puts in up to $300,000 as either an unrestricted grant or investment capital, seats one of its own senior people on your board, and values the hands-on support it adds on top at up to $500,000. Applications are open all year, there is no closing date, and DRK funds up to 20 organisations from the roughly 3,000 applications it reads annually. **What you get:** - Up to $300,000 USD over three years, as unrestricted grant funding or as investment capital, usually released in several tranches - Up to $500,000 USD worth of in-kind support, which is how DRK values the capacity it puts in alongside the money - A senior DRK team member in a hands-on board service role for the full three years, often in weekly conversation with you - Specialist help across leadership and board development, fundraising capacity, financial sustainability and scaling strategy - Membership of DRK's portfolio and alumni community, from one to one meetings up to gatherings of 200 people and a three day annual retreat - Written feedback on DRK's reasoning if you are declined, at whatever stage that happens **What you'll do:** - Answer a seven question pre-application screener, then complete an online application that DRK estimates takes 30 to 60 minutes - Attach an executive summary, pitch deck or business plan covering the problem, your solution, your impact evidence, your path to scale and your earned income - Attach a standard CV for the entrepreneurs and key leadership, because applications carrying only text bios are not considered - Wait an average of 8 to 10 weeks for the initial assessment - Take part in exploratory interviews if you progress, a stage roughly 20 percent of applicants reach - Go through formal diligence of 2 to 4 months, sharing legal and financial documents and co-creating a plan for the years ahead - Meet a wider group of DRK staff including the investment committee, then complete a closing documents review - Work with your incoming DRK board member across the whole three year period **Key dates:** - Applications are accepted year round and there is no closing date - Initial assessment after submission takes 8 to 10 weeks on average - Formal diligence typically runs 2 to 4 months - Funding and board support run for three years, and DRK does not reinvest once that period ends **More information:** - The FAQ carries the geography rule, the stage and team attributes, and the full list of what DRK does not fund - A downloadable application template sits on the apply page for applicants without existing materials - Organisations may re-apply up to twice, no sooner than one year after a decline, flagged in the organisation name field - DRK will not review an application sent by email, with no exceptions - General questions go to info@drkfoundation.org; questions about the navigational technology call go to sourcing@drkfoundation.org
