FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Skoll Foundation Posts Guidelines for Silicon Valley Awards

SAN JOSE, California - May 19, 2004 - The Skoll Foundation announced today that it has posted guidelines for its 2004 Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley on its Web site at http://www.skollfoundation.org/siliconvalleyawards/index.asp.

The grants, which range from $100,000 to $400,000 and cover a two-year period, are offered to Silicon Valley-based nonprofit organizations working to advance systemic social change through social innovation and entrepreneurship. The awards are made annually to organizations demonstrating exceptional creativity, sustained commitment and a clear record of accomplishment in addressing Silicon Valley's most significant challenges.

On June 7 the Skoll Foundation will post an application form for submitting a basic letter of intent on its Web site for prospective grantees to fill out no later than July 2. On August 6 the foundation will notify semifinalists and invite them to submit full proposals by September 3. The award recipients will be announced in mid-November.

Those awarded funding will join the foundation's evolving portfolio of organizations that work collaboratively to make positive changes in Silicon Valley. They will be invited to join a learning community with expert facilitation and will be eligible for additional capacity-building grants during the course of their award period.

Organizations that received Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley in 2003 are the American Leadership Forum, Santa Clara ($150,000); Businesses United in Investing, Lending and Development, Menlo Park ($125,000); the Community School for Music and the Arts, Mountain View ($150,000); Lenders for Community Development, San Jose ($170,000); People Acting in Community Together, San Jose ($130,000); Project Cornerstone, San Jose ($98,000); and the San Jose Conservation Corps, San Jose ($150,000).

In order to be considered for an award, an organization must be registered as a nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status or work under the fiscal and legal sponsorship of a nonprofit with tax-exempt status; have autonomous offices, staff, volunteers and a board of directors based in Silicon Valley; operate programs and/or offer services focused on the needs of Silicon Valley, with emphasis on socio-economically disadvantaged populations; be an established program or organization with a minimum two-year track record of program and service delivery in Silicon Valley; and have identified and be implementing an innovative program or approach that addresses one or more critical needs or challenges facing the Silicon Valley community.

Details about the award program and eligibility requirements may be seen at http://www.skollfoundation.org/siliconvalleyawards/index.asp.

Headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, the Skoll Foundation was created in 1999 by Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay. Its mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs.

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University and three award programs. In addition to the Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley, it offers the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, which support organizations around the world, and the Skoll Social Sector Capacity-Building Investments, which support the sector's infrastructure and effectiveness.

The Skoll Foundation connects social entrepreneurs through its online community, Social Edge, at www.socialedge.org. It celebrates social entrepreneurs through projects such as a four-part public television documentary, which is now in production, and via the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship.

For more information, visit the foundation's Web site at www.skollfoundation.org.

Contact:
Terry Nagel - Skoll Foundation
media@skollfoundation.org