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About

Our impact

891 million lives directly improved by our community of social innovators

Since its inception, the Schwab Foundation has acknowledged social innovators as a brave new breed of leaders – values-driven, inclusive, entrepreneurial individuals who reimagine social and economic systems to be more inclusive of people and more sustainable for our planet.

Their models put purpose before profit and have proven to be effective and economically viable in creating social and environmental progress where market or development approaches have failed.

The impact of this community includes:

891 million lives

directly improved by awardees

$1.2B mobilized

in resources by surveyed awardees

$902M generated

in revenue by the last 3 cohorts

28,000 jobs

directly created by those 3 last cohorts

90% of surveyees

have high/very high trust on our community

73% of surveyees

have collaborated with fellow awardees

Impact - cta

Explore insights from the 2024 Schwab Foundation Impact Report

The 2024 Impact Report, Trusting in Humanity: The Power of People to Lead their Own Change, celebrates the values and the significant of the Schwab Foundation community of leading social innovators and spotlights how they are transforming societies, policies and practices. The report draws on surveys, research and interview data from our community, distilling the key insights that mark a social innovator’s approach to driving these changes.

Read the 2024 Impact Report

What we have learnt on how social innovators drive systemic change

- Instilling agency among individuals or communities enables them to shape their own future

- Change is not always incremental. The capacity to question and re-conceive operating models is often crucial to move impact to the next level

- Ecosystems of local partnerships are integral to sustainably solving challenges

- Growth multiplies when control is relinquished

- Community feedback loops unlock greater social change

Impact - quote

Gisela Sánchez, Nutrivida, Corporate Social Innovator 2022, Costa Rica

The Schwab Foundation has been an amazing connector to meet people worldwide working in the same field ... people who share our values, our integrity, the excellence in the way we do things, and who share the passion that we have as social entrepreneurs to be part of the solution to so many challenges.”

Impact across sectors