F.M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact 2025 (Up To USD $150,000)

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Applications are open for F.M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact 2025. The F.M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact is an annual global prize of USD $150,000 in unrestricted funds that amplifies and accelerates the work of an enterprise working to scale its impact on social or environmental problems around the world. Now in its fourth year, this program is administered by the Center for Advancement of Social Enterprise (CASE) at Duke Univesity’s Fuqua School of Business in partnership with the F. M. Kirby Foundation.

Honoring Fred Morgan Kirby’s entrepreneurial spirit, the Kirby Prize recognizes enterprises pursuing strategic pathways to impact at scale, who are close to the challenges at hand, who center the voice and experience of the populations they serve, who have demonstrated traction, and who embody courageous and collaborative leadership. This prize is open to any legal form, geographic location, and any social or environmental impact area.

F.M. Kirby Prize Benefits

One social enterprise will be selected to receive a USD $150,000 unrestricted award. Unrestricted means that you determine the best way to allocate the funds within your organization, and you have the flexibility to pivot that we know is critical for learning, scaling organizations.
Those organizations making it to the finalist round will receive a USD$1,000 award in recognition of their time and effort participating in the full application process.

Eligibility Criteria for F.M. Kirby Prize

The F.M. Kirby Impact Prize is open to all impact enterprises (nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid), working anywhere in the world, that meet the following criteria:

Strong evidence of impact over at least 3 years and a thoughtful plan for how to use the prize to scale that impact in the next 3-5 years.
Minimum operation budget of at least $250,000 USD. The strongest applications historically have an annual operating budget between $1-3 million USD.
Robust, formal non-discrimination policy that protects against discrimination on the basis of marginalized identities. Marginalized identities may include, but are not limited to race, ethnicity, religion, caste, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and disability.
For tax reasons, international enterprise applicants must have an established presence in the US, whereby they are a US taxpayer and hold a federal taxpayer identification number. This could include those recognized as an organization exempt from federal impact tax under IRC section 501(c)3 status, a US-based fiscal sponsorship agreement, or other.
Exemplary leadership that aligns with the core values of Fred Morgan Kirby, including integrity, resourcefulness, resilience, meaningful collaboration, and diversity.