Ashoka: Innovators For The Public

Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, VA, USA, supporting the field of social entrepreneurship. Ashoka was founded by Bill Drayton in 1981 to identify and support leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of elevating the citizen sector to a competitive level equal to the business sector. The organization currently operates in over 70 countries and supports the work of over 2,000 social entrepreneurs, elected as Ashoka Fellows. Ashoka also creates what it calls "mosaics" of best practices that map the commonalities and intersections of key principles that guide Fellows’ individual solutions. Ashoka’s initiatives include Changemakers, Youth Venture, and Full Economic Citizenship.