At the heart of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development lies a fundamental question: how can innovative enterprises scale their impact to address the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges? The F. M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact, administered by the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, directly addresses this question. By recognizing and financially supporting enterprises that demonstrate the potential to scale their impact meaningfully, the Kirby Prize stands as one of the world’s most prestigious awards for social and environmental entrepreneurship.

A Legacy of Global Impact

Named after Fred Morgan Kirby, an early 20th-century entrepreneur renowned for his visionary business leadership and philanthropic spirit, the F. M. Kirby Prize honors enterprises that are not only innovative but also operationally effective, socially conscious, and globally minded. The prize offers USD $150,000 in unrestricted funds, designed to accelerate the growth of organizations already demonstrating traction in their respective fields. Importantly, the funding is unrestricted, allowing recipients to deploy it strategically according to their operational needs, growth priorities, or emergent opportunities.

The prize recognizes that achieving large-scale social or environmental impact requires more than good intentions. It requires strategic pathways to scaling, deep understanding of the populations served, and courageous leadership capable of navigating complex systems. Over the years, the F. M. Kirby Prize has highlighted organizations that embody these principles, fostering an ecosystem of knowledge, collaboration, and innovation in the global social entrepreneurship community.

Who Is Eligible?

The Kirby Prize is intentionally inclusive, reflecting CASE’s commitment to supporting impactful enterprises regardless of geographic location, legal form, or focus area. Social and environmental enterprises across the globe are eligible to apply, spanning for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, hybrid models, and cooperatives. The only criterion is a demonstrated commitment to scaling measurable social or environmental impact.

This inclusivity ensures that innovative solutions emerging from developing countries, underserved communities, or conflict-affected regions receive the recognition and resources necessary to grow. By centering the voices and experiences of the populations served, the prize aligns financial support with the lived realities of those most affected by social and environmental challenges, thereby promoting equitable and sustainable development outcomes.

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The Mission of CASE at Duke University

The Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business serves as a leading hub for research, education, and practice in social entrepreneurship. Through initiatives such as the F. M. Kirby Prize, CASE aims to bridge the gap between innovative ideas and large-scale impact, offering a platform where ambitious entrepreneurs can receive mentorship, funding, and global recognition.

CASE’s mission is grounded in the belief that sustainable social impact requires not only passion and innovation but also rigorous analysis, strategic planning, and evidence-based decision-making. The organization has conducted years of research to identify key factors that drive enterprises toward scaling impact, emphasizing the importance of strategy, adaptability, and learning as core components of success.

The Philosophy Behind the Prize

The F. M. Kirby Prize recognizes that scaling impact is fundamentally different from scaling operations. While operational scaling might involve increasing the number of customers served or expanding into new markets, scaling impact requires an enterprise to intentionally expand its reach, deepen its influence, and ensure that its outcomes create measurable benefits for communities and ecosystems.

CASE identifies several critical elements that define readiness for scaling impact:

1. Traction and Demonstrated Outcomes: Enterprises must show evidence of their effectiveness in addressing social or environmental challenges. This could include measurable improvements in health, education, environmental sustainability, or other key impact metrics.
2. Strategic Pathways to Scale: Enterprises must articulate clear pathways for growth and replication. CASE research identifies multiple pathways, including partnerships, franchising, policy engagement, and innovation diffusion. These pathways enable organizations to expand without compromising the quality or integrity of their interventions.
3. Population-Centered Design: Successful applicants prioritize the needs, preferences, and lived experiences of the communities they serve. This human-centered approach ensures that scaling efforts remain grounded in real-world relevance rather than theoretical ideals.
4. Leadership Excellence: Impact at scale requires leaders who are not only visionary but also capable of executing complex strategies, managing diverse teams, and navigating risk. The Kirby Prize highlights organizations led by courageous and collaborative leaders capable of inspiring trust and mobilizing resources.
5. Innovation with Evidence: Applicants are expected to demonstrate not only creativity but also a commitment to learning from data, evaluating outcomes rigorously, and adapting strategies based on evidence.

Award Amount and Its Significance

The Kirby Prize offers $150,000 in unrestricted funding, a significant investment for any enterprise seeking to scale. Unlike grants restricted to specific projects, unrestricted funds allow enterprises to deploy resources flexibly. This flexibility can be transformative, enabling organizations to invest in critical infrastructure, scale operations, pursue research and development, or strengthen organizational capacity.

Moreover, the prize’s prestige amplifies the recognition of recipients within the global social entrepreneurship ecosystem, opening doors to partnerships, networks, and further funding opportunities. In essence, the Kirby Prize combines capital, credibility, and connections — the three pillars essential for scaling impact effectively.

Past Winners and Global Influence

Since its inception, the F. M. Kirby Prize has recognized enterprises across diverse regions and sectors:

• 2021 – Healthy Learners, Zambia: Focused on providing health and education services to children, Healthy Learners demonstrated innovative solutions to childhood illness and absenteeism, combining health interventions with educational support.
• 2022 – Math Corps, Minnesota, USA: Dedicated to improving math proficiency among students in underserved communities, Math Corps combined rigorous curriculum design with mentorship to drive measurable academic outcomes.
• 2023 – Essmart, India: Essmart’s mission to expand access to life-improving products in rural India leveraged innovative supply chain solutions, demonstrating the intersection of social entrepreneurship and technology.
• 2024 – Semilla Nueva, Guatemala: This enterprise focused on agricultural innovation, supporting smallholder farmers with improved seed access and sustainable farming practices.
• 2025 – Solar Freeze: A transformative enterprise that expands cold-chain solutions in Africa, enabling smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest losses and increase income.

Each winner exemplifies CASE’s commitment to impact-driven innovation, demonstrating how targeted interventions can create lasting, scalable change in communities worldwide.

Application Process: Phase 1 and Phase 2

The Kirby Prize application process is designed to identify and support enterprises that are truly ready to scale. It consists of two main phases:

Phase 1: Initial Application

• Opening Date: October 24, 2025
• Deadline: December 3, 2025, 11:59 PM EDT
• Focus: Applicants submit a detailed application outlining their mission, impact, strategy, and leadership. CASE reviews up to the first 250 submissions, emphasizing evidence of traction, clarity of scaling strategy, and organizational readiness.
• Notification: January 9, 2026, applicants are informed of their status, with selected enterprises invited to Phase 2.

Phase 2: In-Depth Application

• Opening Date: January 9, 2026
• Closing Date: January 26, 2026
• Focus: Enterprises invited to Phase 2 provide a more detailed plan for scaling impact, including financial projections, partnerships, theory of change, and anticipated challenges.
• Finalist Notification: March 3, 2026

Finalist Review and Winner Announcement

• Finalist Interviews: March 26 – April 7, 2026, including virtual 60-minute interviews with the selection committee
• Winner Notification: May 2026
• Public Announcement: June 2026

This rigorous process ensures that only the most promising enterprises, equipped with evidence-based strategies and organizational readiness, receive the prize. The multi-phase process also provides mentorship, feedback, and guidance, helping applicants refine their scaling strategies, whether or not they ultimately win.

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Resources for Applicants

CASE provides extensive resources to support applicants:

• Live Q&A Sessions: Opportunities to engage with CASE staff and learn tips for crafting strong applications. The 2025 session was held on October 16, 2025.
• Guidance on Impact Measurement: Videos and toolkits explain how to demonstrate real-world impact, differentiate operational scaling from impact scaling, and articulate a living theory of change.
• Pathways to Scale: CASE research identifies four main pathways through which social enterprises can scale their impact, often combining multiple approaches for maximum effectiveness.
• Theory of Change Development: Applicants are guided to move beyond theoretical models and demonstrate how their strategies will create measurable benefits.

These resources exemplify CASE’s mission to empower social entrepreneurs with knowledge and guidance, ensuring that the enterprises recognized by the Kirby Prize are truly positioned to maximize their impact.

Evaluation Criteria

CASE’s evaluation framework is both rigorous and holistic. Enterprises are assessed on:

1. Impact Potential: Evidence that the enterprise is creating measurable social or environmental change.
2. Scalability: Clear strategy and pathways for expanding impact without compromising quality.
3. Leadership and Team Capacity: Demonstrated ability of leaders and teams to execute strategies effectively.
4. Innovation and Learning Orientation: Commitment to iterative learning, data-driven decisions, and innovation in approach.
5. Equity and Inclusion: Evidence of centering the voices of populations served and promoting social equity.

This framework ensures that the Kirby Prize highlights enterprises that are not only effective today but are positioned for long-term, transformative change.

The Broader Significance

The F. M. Kirby Prize represents more than financial support; it is a catalyst for global social and environmental progress. By investing in enterprises with the potential to scale, CASE contributes to solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate change and food insecurity to education inequities and health disparities.

Moreover, by celebrating leadership, innovation, and evidence-based practice, the prize sets a global standard for excellence in social entrepreneurship. It inspires other organizations to adopt rigorous impact measurement, scalable models, and inclusive practices, thereby amplifying the ripple effect of each winner’s work.

How to Apply

Enterprises interested in the F. M. Kirby Prize can begin their application by visiting the CASE website and confirming eligibility. Applicants are encouraged to:

• Review application questions carefully
• Leverage available resources and videos to craft compelling responses
• Attend live sessions for guidance and insights
• Submit applications before the December 3, 2025, Phase 1 deadline

The prize is open to organizations from all continents, reflecting CASE’s commitment to supporting social and environmental innovation globally.

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Conclusion

The F. M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact exemplifies Duke University’s commitment to fostering innovation, equity, and global leadership. By recognizing and supporting social and environmental enterprises with demonstrated potential to scale, the prize advances solutions to some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

For social entrepreneurs, the prize represents a unique opportunity to receive financial support, mentorship, and global recognition — essential ingredients for scaling impact. For the broader global community, the prize catalyzes transformative change by amplifying effective solutions and encouraging the replication of proven strategies.

Through initiatives like the Kirby Prize, CASE at Duke University continues to shape the future of social entrepreneurship, empowering leaders who dare to think boldly, act strategically, and create sustainable impact on a global scale.

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