Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Funding 2026
The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation (DRK) accepts applications from social entrepreneurs and social enterprises year-round. The application is the first step in DRK’s assessment process and is designed to help the foundation understand an organization, its social enterprise model and its alignment with the foundation’s funding thesis.
The application has been designed to be relatively simple and minimally burdensome. Applicants should expect to spend approximately 30–60 minutes completing the online application. Applicants can also save their progress and return to complete the form later.
What Is Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Funding?
DRK provides an opportunity for social enterprises to introduce their organization, explain the problem they are addressing and demonstrate how their solution creates measurable social impact.
As part of the application, organizations are asked to upload an existing executive summary, pitch deck or business plan addressing the foundation’s key areas of interest.
Applicants do not need to create new materials if they already have documents that adequately address the requested information.
Problem and Solution
The first section of the application asks organizations to clearly explain the problem they are addressing and the solution they provide.
Applicants should describe:
- The organization’s mission and objectives
- The social problem being addressed
- The solution provided by the organization
The aim is to give DRK a concise understanding of what the organization does and why its work matters.
Impact and Social Change
Applicants must also demonstrate the impact of their approach.
This includes explaining how the organization contributes to solving the identified social problem and how its approach improves on existing efforts.
Organizations should explain how their solution supports an underserved population, including evidence of benefits achieved through pilots where applicable.
Applicants should also describe what makes their approach unique, particularly compared with other organizations or initiatives addressing the same problem.
Importantly, applicants are expected to provide tangible results achieved to date and explain how they intend to measure organizational outcomes and success in the future.
How Will the Organization Scale?
The DRK application also focuses on the organization’s potential to scale.
Applicants should explain how they plan to grow their organization over time and identify the main sources of earned income they expect to use to sustain their work.
This section gives applicants an opportunity to demonstrate how their social enterprise can develop beyond its current stage while maintaining its social impact.
Leadership and Entrepreneurial Team
Leadership is another important part of the application.
Applicants must attach a standard resume or CV for the entrepreneur or key members of the leadership team, such as the CEO, COO or Executive Director.
DRK specifically states that applications containing only text biographies for entrepreneurs or leadership team members will not be considered.
What Documents Should Applicants Submit?
Applicants should upload one of the following:
- A written executive summary
- A pitch deck
- A business plan
The document should address the Problem and Solution, Impact, Scale and Leader areas outlined in the application.
Additional materials such as financial statements and impact reports may also be submitted, but these are optional.
If an organization does not already have suitable materials, DRK allows applicants to prepare a simple two- to three-page document responding to the application prompts. Bullet points are acceptable, and DRK encourages applicants to reuse existing materials where possible.
Can Organizations Reapply?
Organizations that receive a decline notification may re-apply up to twice, provided that they wait at least one year after the previous decline notification.
Applicants submitting a re-application must indicate this in the organization name field of the application form.
How to Apply
Applications are accepted year-round. Organizations must complete and submit the online application for DRK’s team to review and determine whether the organization aligns with its funding thesis.
Applicants should note that DRK specifically asks organizations not to email applications to the foundation’s team.
APPLY ON THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE
The DRK application provides social enterprises with a structured opportunity to present their problem, solution, impact, scalability and leadership while using existing organizational materials wherever possible.
