Echoing Green

What Echoing Green does

Echoing Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit social innovation organization headquartered in New York City that identifies, funds, and supports early-stage social entrepreneurs globally. Founded in 1987 by growth equity firm General Atlantic, the organization has supported nearly 1,000 Fellows working across 86+ countries through its flagship 18-month Fellowship, which provides $100,000 in seed funding per Fellow along with capacity building, leadership development, wellness support, and lifelong community access. The 2025 cohort selected 20 Fellows from a pool of 4,200 applicants, and the 2026 cycle drew more than 4,100 applications from 139 countries.

The organization's core product is the Fellowship itself, supplemented by the Signal Fund (a 2024-launched catalytic capital follow-on vehicle that has deployed over $5M to 18 organizations and catalyzed $15M+ in additional investment), a Follow-on Funding Program offering Catalytic Grants and new Sustainability and Scale Grants (deploying $13M+ cumulatively across dozens of alumni organizations), and community programming anchored by the annual All Fellows Convening. Technology infrastructure is conventional nonprofit stack: web-based application portals, a Fellows directory, Tableau for analytics, Vimeo for video, and standard CMS tools — there is no proprietary AI or platform technology.

Echoing Green's business model is donation-funded. Revenue derives from foundation grants (MacArthur, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Skoll), corporate philanthropy (Ballmer Group, Allstate, Target, BlackRock, PayPal each at the $100,000-$500,000+ tier), and individual giving. For-profit and hybrid Fellows receive recoverable grants (repayable only above $5M valuation or $2M revenue with net profit) rather than traditional grants. There are no fees for application or participation. Notable alumni include Michelle Obama, Van Jones, Wendy Kopp (Teach For America), Raj Panjabi (Last Mile Health), and Kennedy Odede (SHOFCO, recipient of the 2025 UN Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize), with Fellows having collectively raised $16 billion to date and 80% remaining in the social sector post-fellowship.

Name

Echoing Green

Legal name

Echoing Green

Website

https://echoinggreen.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Echoing Green is a New York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides seed funding ($100,000), capacity building, and lifelong community support to nearly 1,000 social entrepreneur Fellows across 86+ countries through its flagship 18-month Fellowship, complemented by follow-on grants and the Signal Fund catalytic capital vehicle.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Innovation Funding and Fellowship Programs

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship fellowship
• Seed funding grants
• Social innovation programs
• Catalytic capital funding
• Nonprofit capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Corporate Donations: Echoing Green receives major funding from foundations (e.g., MacArthur Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Skoll Foundation, BlackRock, PayPal, Target, Allstate) and corporations at various tiers ($500,000+, $100,000+, $50,000+, $25,000+, $10,000+, $5,000+, $1,000+). The organization is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity.
2. Individual Donations: Individual donors contribute at various levels through the Donate page, including monthly Trailblazer giving program. Notable individual donors include Raj Panjabi, Sharyanne McSwain, and others at various giving levels.
3. Fellowship Program (Revenue Offset): The fellowship program provides $100,000 seed funding stipends over 18 months to selected social entrepreneurs. For-profit organizations receive recoverable grants rather than direct grants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Echoing Green provides seed funding and multi-year support to early-stage social entrepreneurs through its 18-month Fellowship program, which awards $100,000 to selected leaders of nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid social enterprises. Beyond the Fellowship, the organization offers Follow-on Funding (Catalytic Grants and Sustainability and Scale Grants) to alumni organizations and the Signal Fund, a catalytic capital follow-on fund that deploys debt and equity to established Fellow-led organizations at critical scaling stages. Fellows also receive leadership development, wellness support, access to 250+ advisors, and lifelong community membership through virtual and in-person convenings.

Product overview

Echoing Green is a social innovation organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered around its flagship 18-month Fellowship. The Fellowship provides $100,000 in seed funding, capacity building (leadership development, wellness support), and community access through virtual and in-person convenings. Beyond the core Fellowship, Echoing Green offers Follow-on Funding (Catalytic Grants and new Sustainability and Scale Grants) to support alumni scaling their organizations, the Signal Fund for catalytic capital investment in established organizations, and the Social Impact Talent Report as an annual research publication. All programs are tied together through the All Fellows Convening and ongoing community programming, creating a lifelong support ecosystem for social entrepreneurs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Signal Fund: Echoing Green's catalytic capital follow-on fund that provides investment tools for established organizations on the brink of breakthrough social impact.

Products and services

• Echoing Green Fellowship An 18-month full-time fellowship providing $100,000 in seed funding (recoverable grants for for-profit and hybrid organizations, contingent on valuation above $5M USD or revenues above $2M USD with net profit), comprehensive capacity building including leadership development and wellness support, access to 250+ advisors, and lifelong community membership for emerging social entrepreneurs working across climate, education, health, human rights, poverty, and racial justice.
• Signal Fund A catalytic capital follow-on fund providing a broad range of investment tools for established Fellow-led organizations on the brink of breakthrough impact. Targets organizations at early viability and scaling stages when traditional funders will not invest due to risk, having deployed more than $5M to 18 organizations and catalyzing more than $15M in additional investments.
• Follow-on Funding Program Grants supporting Echoing Green Fellowship alumni as they validate impact and prepare to scale their organizations. Includes Catalytic Grants for testing new ideas and Sustainability and Scale Grants for building long-term financial resilience, with over $13 million invested across dozens of Fellow-led organizations to date.

Quantifiable outcome

• 901 leaders have kickstarted ideas with Echoing Green's help
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• McNulty FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Partnership for sidebar session 'When the Ground Shifts: How Leaders are Building Lasting Impact' at the 2026 Skoll World Forum. Session followed fishbowl-style format with Echoing Green Fellows leading peer dialogue on building stable organizations.
• Skoll FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 April 2026Echoing Green participates in annual Skoll World Forum with CEO co-emceeing closing plenary. More than 50 Echoing Green Fellows, supporters, leadership, and staff attend, host, or headline events. Echoing Green held five independent events at Skoll 2026.
• Marmalade FestivalminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 April 2026Series of free-to-attend sessions produced in association with Skoll World Forum. CEO Cheryl Dorsey featured at two Marmalade-sponsored events including panel on organizational governance.
• Give LivelyminorOthersEchoing Green has partnered with Give Lively to securely process online donations using credit card, bank account, or donor advised fund transfers.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ashoka: Ashoka is the most direct peer: a global fellowship for leading social entrepreneurs that provides stipends, network access, and lifelong community membership. Both organizations identify and support system-changing social innovators through selective fellowship models with similar cohort sizes and global reach.
• Skoll Foundation: The Skoll Foundation awards the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and operates the Skoll World Forum, which Echoing Green actively participates in. Both organizations deploy capital to proven social entrepreneurs and convene the field, though Skoll focuses on later-stage leaders than Echoing Green's seed-stage Fellows.
• Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation: DRK selects early-stage social entrepreneurs and provides multi-year unrestricted funding plus board-level support over a 3-year period. Like Echoing Green, it focuses on seed-stage social enterprises with high-impact potential and a selective cohort model.
• New Profit: New Profit is a venture philanthropy fund that provides unrestricted capital and capacity-building support to breakthrough social entrepreneurs, with a portfolio model similar to Echoing Green's follow-on funding approach. Both organizations serve as intermediaries between philanthropy and social innovation.
• Mulago Foundation: Mulago Foundation is a small, focused philanthropy backing a portfolio of cost-effective, evidence-driven social enterprises working with the world's poorest. It shares Echoing Green's selective, high-engagement approach to funding early-stage social innovators.

Broad incumbents

• Acumen: Acumen is a larger impact-investing pioneer that deploys patient capital to social enterprises tackling poverty. While Echoing Green gives grants, Acumen's investment approach serves overlapping entrepreneurs and represents an established incumbent in the social-enterprise capital stack Echoing Green Fellows eventually tap.
• Omidyar Network: Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm founded by eBay's Pierre Omidyar that deploys both grants and impact investments across social innovation. It represents a much larger capital pool addressing the same entrepreneur segment Echoing Green supports.
• The Rockefeller Foundation: The Rockefeller Foundation is a major global philanthropic institution that funds social innovation and impact at scale. Echoing Green's donor base and ecosystem partners overlap with Rockefeller's grantmaking focus areas in health, equity, and climate.
• Tides Foundation: Tides is a large philanthropic partner and fiscal sponsor that channels significant capital to social-justice, climate, and equity-focused nonprofits. It shares Echoing Green's grantmaking function and operates overlapping donor relationships, including corporate CSR funding.

Others

• Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: The Schwab Foundation recognizes leading social entrepreneurs through its Social Entrepreneur of the Year award program and convenes them at the World Economic Forum. Multiple Echoing Green Fellows have been Schwab honorees, making it a directly adjacent network partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/echoinggreen
• YouTubevimeo.com/echoinggreen
• Facebookfacebook.com/echoinggreen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/echoing-green

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments7 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Echoing Green