Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high impact social enterprises. They support outstanding social entrepreneurs by giving them 3 years of unlimited funding and partner with them to help them reach their potential.

The foundation was first set up in 2002. Since then, they have invested in 150 social entrepreneurs around the world. Their portfolio includes: Kiva, Room to Read, GrassRoots Soccer, One Acre Fund, The Mission Continues, Food Corps, Essie Justice Group and many others.

The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is the philanthropic branch of Draper Richards, a venture capital firm run by William H. Draper, III and Robin Richards Donohoe. In 2010, Robert Steven Kaplan of the Harvard Business School started working at the Foundation.

Some of the foundation’s main achievements are:
- 156 organisations have joined the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation portfolio.
- $110M of support will be deployed by 2021 to over 185 organisations
- 40,000+ volunteers engaged by DRK portfolio in all 50 states in the US and across the world.

They support outstanding social entrepreneurs by giving them 3 years of unlimited funding and partner with them to help them reach their potential.

Example of RKF’s investment
 

Barefootlaw Company

There is an unusual asymmetry in access to justice and the law in Uganda: the majority of lawyers are based in Kampala, while 94% of the population live in rural areas. The price for basic legal services is very high, so most Ugandans cannot afford it.

“Barefootlaw believes in a world where everyone readily has access to the law and justice.  BarefootLaw leverages a digital platform comprised of multiple channels–from Facebook and SMS to Skype and a call center–supplemented by free community-based legal outreach, to ensure that every Ugandan knows their rights under the law and understands how to access legal services”.