Deadline: December 3, 2025
Applications are open for the F. M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact 2026. The F. M. Kirby Prize for Scaling Impact is an annual global prize of USD $150,000 in unrestricted funds that amplifies and accelerates the work of an enterprise working to scale its impact on social or environmental problems around the world.
The Kirby Prize recognizes enterprises pursuing strategic pathways to impact at scale, who are close to the challenges at hand, who center the voice and experience of the populations they serve, who have demonstrated traction, and who embody courageous and collaborative leadership. This prize is open to any legal form, geographic location, and any social or environmental impact area.
Benefits
- The prize, consisting of $150,000 in unrestricted funds, is designed to help amplify and accelerate an enterprise’s impact on social or environmental problems around the world.
Eligibility
The F.M. Kirby Impact Prize is open to all impact enterprises (nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid), working anywhere in the world, that meet the following criteria:
- Exemplary leadership that aligns with the core values of Fred Morgan Kirby, including integrity, resourcefulness, resilience, meaningful collaboration, and diversity.
- Strong evidence of impact over at least 3 years and a thoughtful plan for how to use the prize to scale that impact in the next 3-5 years.
- Minimum operation budget of at least $250,000 USD. The strongest applications historically have an annual operating budget between $1-3 million USD.
- For tax reasons, international enterprise applicants must have an established presence in the US, whereby they are a US taxpayer and hold a federal taxpayer identification number. This could include those recognized as an organization exempt from federal impact tax under IRC section 501(c)3 status, a US-based fiscal sponsorship agreement, or other.
Evaluation Criteria
The Kirby Prize Selection Committee, composed of CASE staff and selected MBA students, will evaluate all applications based on three main dimensions: Impact, Readiness to Scale, and Leadership.
- Impact: The solution is very effective in addressing the main challenge identified, and there is demonstrated need and demand for the solution among those impacted. While they do not weigh the achievement of broad versus deep impact differently, they do consider the order of magnitude for the number of people or environmental elements impacted relative to the depth of impact experienced.
- Readiness to Scale: The enterprise is clear on the key elements of their program, product, or principles that are critical to the impact they seek as they scale and have begun testing likely pathways to scale.
- Leadership & Team: The enterprise and its leadership demonstrate the core characteristics of early social entrepreneur Fred Morgan Kirby, including integrity, resourcefulness, and resilience. The enterprise and leadership also prioritize meaningful collaboration, diversity, equity, inclusion, and proximity to the problem as a means to find the best solutions.
Application
For more information, visit F. M. Kirby Prize.
