This month the Skoll Foundation, based in Palo Alto, California announced the winners of their 2014 Skoll Award prizes for societal innovation. Driving forward help for the dispossessed and disconnected.

Each winning organisation receives $1.25 million dollars and a support package over three years from the Foundation. ‘The Skoll Award distinguishes transformative leaders who are disrupting the status quo, driving large-scale change, and are poised to make an even greater impact on the world…’.

This year the winners represent seven organisations, working in partnership across 35 countries, who are achieving outstanding results in tackling societal problems of the prime magnitude. ‘Driving transformation on a range of issues to maximize health, education, opportunity, transparency, and accountability in some of the poorest places on earth, these pioneers should be on the watch lists of everyone who cares about the future of the world…’. The winners are featured below.

B Lab         Connect with B Lab on the web here.

‘B Lab is fueling a global movement to redefine “success” in business, so that all companies compete not only to be the best in the world, but the best for the world. B Lab is challenging the status quo by building a new sector, legal structure, and standards; …advancing public policies that enable companies to create financial, social, and environmental value for both its shareholders and for society’.

Fundación Capital                 Connect with Fundación Capital  on the web here.

‘Fundación Capital is a pioneer in inclusive finance innovation to help the poor save; grow and invest their assets; insure their families against risk; and chart a permanent path out of poverty. Already reaching three million people, Fundación Capital is working to reach eight million more in the next few years by expanding access to training, capital, and opportunity…’

Girls Not Brides                         Connect with Girls Not Brides  on the web here.

‘…the bold goal of ending child marriage in one generation. Child marriage traps girls and their communities in poverty. By ending the practice, the global community can start to address some of the most difficult challenges in development. Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 300 civil society organizations working across 50 countries’.

Global Witness                          Connect with  Global Witness on the web here.

‘Global Witness investigates and exposes the shadow networks underlying  deals over natural resources that fuel conflict, corruption, and environmental destruction. They collect evidence and launch hard-hitting campaigns to find global solutions and end the “resource curse” by tackling corruption, protecting the environment, preventing conflict, and defending human rights’.

Medic Mobile                                               Connect with Medic Mobile on the web here.

 ‘Medic Mobile builds mobile applications for community health workers, caregivers, and patients to increase life-saving health care coverage. Across 20 countries, its tools support 8,000 frontline health workers and benefit approximately six million people with plans to double these numbers annually for a total of 200,000 health workers serving 100 million people by 2018’.

Slum Dwellers International (SDI)                      Connect with SDI on the web here.

‘Slum Dwellers International works to have slums recognized as vibrant, resourceful, and dignified communities. SDI organizes slum dwellers to take control of their futures; improve their living conditions; and gain recognition as equal partners with governments and international organizations in the creation of inclusive cities. With programs in nearly 500 cities, including more than 15,000 slum dweller-managed savings groups reaching one million people…’

Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP)             Connect with WSUP on the web

‘Water & Sanitation for the Urban Poor has turned the traditional charity model on its head by developing commercially-viable models to bring water and sanitation to nearly two million people in urban slums in six countries…offering a creative package of private-sector, nongovernmental-organization, and academic expertise, WSUP equips public and private service agencies with the capacity and incentives to serve all citizens in their city’.

Every one of these projects represent a paradigm shift in how lack of resources of all kinds are tackled. Two favourites of ours were WSUP and Global Witness.

WSUP presents practical and openly available resources about how to get the water flowing. We also warmed to the new Global Witness campaign to press for the abandonment of ‘anonymous’ companies. Making it harder to hide corporate actions and ethical deficits behind un-named business registrations.

We were inspired to start a social business for good. Were you?

Project narratives: Courtesy of The Skoll Foundation.