First Open Database of Social Entrepreneurs Represents Breakthrough Collaboration in the Field

San Francisco, CA, May 13, 2009 — The Skoll Foundation, PopTech, ideablob, and Civic Ventures (sponsor of The Purpose Prize) are pooling their data to create an open database of social entrepreneurs scheduled to launch in late July 2009.

The Social Entrepreneur API (Application Programming Interface) will be the first open database of information about social entrepreneurs who have won fellowships and awards from social enterprise funders.

The tool will allow philanthropists, investors, press, and fellow entrepreneurs to find social entrepreneurs based on keyword, location, cause area, population served, and a variety of other factors.

Social Actions, a nonprofit initiative committed to making it easier for people to find and share opportunities to make a difference, has convened the collaborating group and is building the Social Entrepreneur API with a grant from the Peery Foundation. Social Edge, a program of the Skoll Foundation, will be one of the first organizations to make use of the Social Entrepreneur API in the form of a search engine on its site.

"The Social Entrepreneur API will provide an easier way for people to find, invest in, and support social entrepreneurs, as well as serve as a resource for social entrepreneurs to connect with each other and partner for greater impact," says Jill Finlayson, Marketing Manager for Social Edge.

The Social Entrepreneur API dataset will be available for any website or individual to search, syndicate, republish, or use to build web applications, widgets, and search engines. Dowser, an online resource to share the stories of social innovators, will be one of the first to use the Social Entrepreneur API as a source of information for its features.

"Collaboration is a mantra that comes up at just about every sector wide conference I have attended in the last year," says Social Actions' Executive Director Peter Deitz. "And yet, real world examples of collaboration are hard to find. We are grateful to the Peery Foundation and excited that four leading award programs in social entrepreneurship have come together to model collaboration for the entire sector."