The Stanford Impact Founder (SIF) Fellowship provides $110,000 in funding along with advising support to Fellows who want to start a high-impact for-profit or nonprofit venture to address a pressing social or environmental need.
Since 2009, SIF has supported Fellows working around the world on issues ranging from educational equity to climate change. Past Fellows have applied their degree from Stanford to overcome barriers to social and environmental progress, address the needs of marginalized populations, and build innovative solutions.
In the program’s first 15 years, 30 SIF ventures have had positive impacts on 7.3 million people worldwide. To achieve this, fellows have built on the initial $2.6 million in SIF fellowship funding, raising six times the initial amount in the first year of their ventures and a cumulative $164.6 million in combined non-dilutive and equity funding as of January 2024. Read more about SIF’s first 15 years of impact.
Since 2023, as part of the Ecopreneurship collaboration between GSB and the Doerr School of Sustainability, the environmental sustainability track of the SIF Fellowship, SIF-Eco, has expanded eligibility beyond Stanford GSB to support graduating students from across Stanford University.
Fellowship Benefits
- A generous stipend of $110,000 to explore a social or environmental venture
- Year-long personalized impact and entrepreneurship coaching
- An automatic invitation to join the Stanford Venture Studio resident program for the fellowship year
Eligibility
Social Entrepreneurship Track (SIF-Social): Graduating MBA and MSx students in good academic standing are eligible to apply.
Ecopreneurship Track (SIF-Eco): Graduating graduate students from any Stanford school in good academic standing are eligible to apply.
Selection Process
The fellowship is designed to support emerging social entrepreneurs and ecopreneurs as they test, implement, and iterate on their venture ideas. We look for aspiring leaders who understand their position in the broader system, are deeply committed to making the world a better place, and can inspire others to serve their mission. Each year, we convene an esteemed slate of social and environmental leaders from around the world to select the most promising graduating students to receive the fellowship. Expert panelists evaluate not only the proposed ventures but also each candidate’s commitment to the problem area and strategic orientation, among other criteria.
