Ashoka's Venture Fund for Leading Social Entrepreneurs

Management of the Fund
Ashoka will steward the fund according to the timeline at
right. At the end of the fiscal year, gaps between elections and
available funds will be identified. The Venture Fund relies on
the input of senior staff and Ashoka’s Leadership Team which
will be consulted before funds are dispersed to finalize Fellow
elections. Ashoka will convene the necessary parties in August
2008 to determine the Fund’s activities, including but not limited
to which Fellows and geographic regions the Fund will support.
The timeline for the
Venture Fund in 2008 is
as follows:
November 2007:
Search and selection
of Ashoka Fellows
begins
December 2007: Initial
major solicitation of
Fund Disbursement
funds (ongoing)
Ashoka invests in social entrepreneurs through a three year May 2008: Second
living stipend which enables the launch and spread of the major solicitation of
Fellow’s idea. Ashoka will use the Venture Fund to finance funds
those stipends otherwise unsupported by other means. The July 2008: Solicitation
global average stipend is $45,000 per year, however Fellow of funds ends
stipends range considerably depending on the country and August 2008: Annual
individual circumstances, according to local standards and
search and selection of
individual need. If the Fund is fully subscribed at $1 million,
Ashoka Fellows ends,
it would support approximately 15 Fellow stipends. Ashoka
gaps are identified,
books the entire three year stipend in year one, to ensure we
and the fund is
never default on our committment to the Fellow. For example, a
Fellow with a $50,000 annual stipend costs Ashoka $150,000
disbursed.
in year one plus the cost of our search and selectiton process
(estimated at 18% of the stipend amount). Because the geographic distribution of the
fund is not determined in advance, the final number of Fellows cannot be fixed. The Fund
may also cover costs related to the election of a Fellow. All Venture Fund money raised in
2008 will be disbursed in FY2008.
Fund Reporting
With the Venture Fund’s disbursement at the end of each fiscal year, Ashoka will disseminate
a report to all Venture Fund investors. It will include a synopsis of the work of Ashoka’s
Venture Program in each of our six major regions (North America, Latin America, Africa,
Middle East/North Africa, Europe, and Asia), a geographic distribution of how the Venture
Fund’s resources were spent, and summaries of the work of a selection of Fellows supported
by the Venture Fund. Updates on Ashoka’s financials and the development of the global
institution will also be included.