Ashoka envisions an Everyone A Changemaker™ world: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges, and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change.

Ashoka is not a charity helping individuals in need. Ashoka measures its success through the scale of systemic change introduced by Ashoka Fellows. Moreover, Ashoka’s success is having built the network of partners supporting Ashoka Fellows and their organizations, who create new systemic solutions for the society. This is our biggest strength.

Organization of this type can only work effectively, if people within are the best. The quality is the central value of Ashoka. We partner with leading professionals, together contributing to solving the most pressing social problems. This way we prove everyone can influence positive changes – Everyone can be a Changemaker.

We strive to be recognized as an association of leading individuals (Social Entrepreneurship), who initiate important changes for the public benefit. Ashoka philosophy is based on collaboration of leading individuals in their fields, who together will achieve stronger impact (Group Entrepreneurship). We prefer to invest in one such person than in one thousand altruistic hardworking people. For example we do not want to open a new school – but we will do everything possible to support an individual to introduce a better teaching method; we want to support the idea of much further impact than school it originated from (Infrastructure for the Sector).

The beginning of launching a new social idea is always difficult. Few people can afford to spend all of their time and energy to pursue an idea that will not earn money for their family. Foundations and other institutions usually wait till the idea works out and only then they offer support. Ashoka would not wait for effect, usually helping in the beginning of the process. Its life stipends give social innovators support when they need it most. For example in India, $300 a month gives the innovator freedom to launch his idea of change. The effects of such investment – compared to the amount of the stipend – are sometimes unbelievable.

Though individual impact of Ashoka Fellows is huge, what they achieve together is still more exciting. E.g. more than 25 per cent of Ashoka Fellows proves how even poor societies can take care of 95 per cent of people with disabilities, who do not receive any type of help at all. Everyone holds a part of the puzzle – Ashoka helps to organize it together. Its international network provides exchange of ideas and collaboration, which gives a broader impact based on synergy (so called group entrepreneurship). Ashoka Fellows strengthen democratic fundaments of their societies, serving as living models of independent thinking and actions.

Ashoka does not want to be a big structure in the sense of management and employment. It is Ashoka Fellows worldwide and our partners who are the heart of the organization.

We want to be a strong family that helps all its members to dream and make their dreams of change, so important for the humanity, become true.