Common Future Receives 2022 Skoll Award For Social Innovation

OAKLAND, Calif., April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Common Future—the trailblazing nonprofit that drives capital to BIPOC wealth-building institutions across the country—has been named the recipient of the 2022 Skoll Award for Social Innovation for its progress in creating sustainable, equitable economies that address racial injustice and wealth inequity. The Skoll Foundation's annual award is given to a select group of social innovators whose work targets the root causes of societal problems that are ripe for transformational social change.

"We envision an economy where everyone has power, choice, and ownership," said Rodney Foxworth, CEO of Common Future. "Common Future has created a blueprint for addressing economic inequities and restoring wealth within communities throughout the United States through connecting wealth-building institutions with restorative and reparative capital. This recognition and investment from the Skoll Foundation brings our unique approach to the global stage."

The Skoll Award represents a significant investment in Common Future's efforts to close the wealth gap, addressing the structural oppression that leaves many communities out. Their recent work includes launching a policy incubator and a character-based lending pilot, examples of how they are building more pathways to and control of capital. To date, Common Future has shifted $280 million toward community investment across the United States.

"In the face of growing global challenges, these social innovators have never had a bigger role to play and have never needed more support," said Don Gips, CEO of the Skoll Foundation. "Instead of scaling back, they have built bigger and bolder solutions to drive climate action, democracy and civic engagement, innovative healthcare models, and the shifting of capital to communities of color."

Through the Skoll Awards, The Skoll Foundation aims to highlight social innovators whose work has already had significant impact on some of the world's most pressing problems and who are poised to act as critical catalysts of transformational social change. By investing in social innovations ripe for accelerated, system-level impact, the Skoll Awards help unleash the full potential and reach of social change leaders.

Rodney Foxworth will receive the award on Wednesday, April 6 at the 2022 Virtual Skoll World Forum.

About Common Future
Founded in 2001, Common Future is committed to building an iterative, responsive, and collaborative platform to incubate, co-create, and fund the work of the leaders developing promising economic innovations. It influences decision-makers across philanthropy, investment, and government to further support those solutions that build power in communities of color across the United States. Common Future makes space for communities to lead the change that they wish to see, from developing innovations around microlending in Latino(a) communities, to running experiments with Universal Basic Income that build a runway for entrepreneurs of color. Common Future works with leaders who are positioned to identify gaps in capital markets and build solutions that prioritize access and inclusion. For more information, visit commonfuture.co.

About the Skoll Foundation
The Skoll Foundation seeks to catalyze transformational social change by investing in, connecting, and championing social entrepreneurs and other social innovators who together advance bold and equitable solutions to the world's most pressing problems. Learn more at skoll.org.

Media Contact: Julie Richter | [email protected] | 480.818.8022

SOURCE Common Future