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| Named after | Emperor Ashoka |
|---|---|
| Formation | June 3, 1980; 45 years ago (1980-06-03)[1][2] |
| Founder | Bill Drayton[3] |
| 51-0255908[4] | |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3)nonprofit organization |
| Purpose | The creation of an association of the world's leading social entrepreneurs—men and women with system-changing solutions for the world's most urgent social problems—and fostering a global culture of everyone being a changemaker for the good of all.[4] |
| Headquarters | Rosslyn, Virginia, United States[4] |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 38°53′44″N77°04′19″W / 38.8956482°N 77.0718925°W /38.8956482; -77.0718925 |
| Bill Drayton[5] | |
Leadership Group Member | Anamaria Schindler[5] |
Leadership and Impact Co-Lead | Diana Wells[5] |
| Bill Drayton, Sushmita Ghosh, Mary Gordon, Roger Harrison, Fred Hehuwat[5] | |
| Subsidiaries | List of subsidiaries Ashoka LLC(U.S.), Ashoka CanadaToronto, Ashoka ChileSantiago, Ashoka Conosur Este(Buenos Aires), Ashoka East Africa(Nairobi), Ashoka DeutschlandMunich, Ashoka India(Bangalore), Ashoka IndonesiaBandung, Ashoka ItaliaRoma, Ashoka Japan(Tokyo), Ashoka Korea(Seoul) Ashoka Emprendedores Sociales Asociacion Civil(Mexico City), Ashoka Netherlands(The Hague), Ashoka Philippines(Pasig City), Ashoka Poland(Warsaw), Ashoka Singapore and Malaysia(Singapore), Fundacion Ashoka Emprendedores Sociales(Madrid), Ashoka Scandinavia(Stockholm), Fondation Ashoka Suisse(Geneva), Ashoka Southern Africa(Johannesburg), Ashoka Thailand(Bangkok), Ashoka Turkiye(Istanbul), Ashoka UK & Ireland(London), Ashoka Venezuela(Caracas), Asociacion Ashoka Colombia(Bogota), Fundatia Ashoka(Bucharest), Ashoka Israel(Tel Aviv), Ashoka Arab World(Cairo), [4] |
| Revenue | $52,979,773[4] (2021) |
| Expenses | $40,874,251[4] (2021) |
| Endowment | $36,437,514(2021)[4] |
| Employees | 111 (in U.S.)[4] (2021) |
| Volunteers | 324[4] (2021) |
| Website | www |
Ashoka (formerly brandedAshoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-basednonprofit organization that promotessocial entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Ashoka invests in over 4,000 social entrepreneurs in over 90 countries worldwide.[6][7] These individuals in turn become the people that others will try to follow by example.[8]
Ashoka offers social entrepreneurship opportunities to teens as well.[9][10]
Growing up,Bill Drayton was inspired byMahatma Gandhi and theCivil Rights Movement.[11] Drayton wanted to mitigate income inequality through social entrepreneurship.[11] Draytonfounded Ashoka in 1980.[1][2][12]
The organization was named after theEmperor Ashoka The Great, the ruler of theMaurya Empire during the 3rd century BC.[13] Emperor Ashoka recognized the suffering thathe had caused by unifying his empire, and hepromoted religious and philosophical tolerance and the paramount importance of morality when working for the public.[14][attribution needed]
Ashoka identifiessocial entrepreneurs with solutions to social problems who seek to make large-scale changes to society. Ashoka searches for individuals who have vision, creativity, and determination and aremotivated by public gain rather than personal gain.[15]
Social entrepreneurs who pass the selection process are called Ashoka fellows.[16] Each Ashoka fellow receives a financialstipend that they can use to pay for their personal expenses so that they can fully devote their time to the pursuit of their innovative social ideas. The size of the stipend is decided on a case-by-case basis, according to the cost of living in the entrepreneur's local area. The stipend is available for up to three years. The organization is very clear that the stipend is only for living expenses and not for funding the social entrepreneur's initiative or organization.[17]
Ashoka fellows are connected with successful entrepreneurs in order to help the fellows succeed in implementing their social ideas.[18] Ashoka fellows are expected to regularly participate in meetings with other Ashoka fellows. Ultimately, the Ashoka fellow is expected to convert an innovative solution into a self-sustaining institution.[19]
Ashoka funds the stipends by raising funds from donors, which it uses asventure capital.[20]
Of Ashoka fellows with ventures that are more than five years old, Ashoka says that more than 80% have had their solution implemented by others; 59% have directly affected national policy; and each Ashoka fellow is helping an average of 174,000 people.[21]
According to the organization, it does not accept funding from any government;[22] although it has partnered with governments on projects[23] and it received a $1,585,600Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020.[24]
While Ashoka says it does notpetition governments for social change, it provides advice to organizations such as theWorld Bank when requested.[22]
While the United StatesInternal Revenue Service has approved Ashoka's headquarters as a501(c)(3)nonprofit organization, and some countries consider Ashoka to be anon-governmental organization, Ashoka itself prefers the term citizen-sector organization in order to emphasize what it is, rather than what it is not.[25] According to Ashoka, citizen-sector organizations are groups of citizens who care and act to serve others and cause needed change.[26]
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