All applications are submitted online. See Applation Process for a description of the application process.

Organizations may operate anywhere in the world addressing globally relevant social and economic issues. See the Eligibility Criteria here for more information about specific requirements.

Yes, organizations must be registered as a nonprofit or charitable organization. In the United States, organizations must be a nonprofit recognized by the Internal Revenue Code (IRS) as tax-exempt 501(c)(3). If incorporated in another country outside the United States, organizations must be in compliance with the country’s registration requirements. Documentation of current registration is required during Phase 2 of the application process. If you have any questions about the organization’s nonprofit or charity status, please reach out to lipmanprize@wharton.upenn.edu.

All applicants must provide several brief essay responses, specific financial data, and organizational details through the online application system. Organizations selected for further consideration will be notified in September and asked to provide additional documentation. All materials collected during the selection process will be considered confidential.

No. There are no restrictions on how the winners of the prize use their cash award. We believe firmly in the value of unrestricted cash awards for social sector organizations.

Incomplete applications will not be reviewed or considered for the prize.

No. Only applications submitted electronically through our online system will be reviewed.

Yes. At this time there is no limit to how many times an organization may apply. However, this does not apply to previous winners.  Currently, any past winner is not eligible to apply for the prize again.

Additionally, semi-finalists (the top ten to fifteen organizations) from the previous application year must wait at least one year before reapplying. All other organizations may reapply for the Lipman Family Prize annually.

A program within a larger organization may apply only if it is able to participate in the entire prize selection process as an independent entity. This means the program must be able to:

• Complete and submit its own application
• Provide documentation of distinct operations, finances, and organizational identity
• Represent itself during all stages of review and interviews, and
• Accept and manage the prize independently if selected.

If the program cannot operate independently from its parent organization, it would not be eligible to apply on its own.

The Lipman staff team aims to be transparent about our selection process and structure our design so that organizations investing their resources into applying for our Prize have as much information as possible about whether or not they align with what we’re looking for. We are regularly analyzing our own work and aim to apply our learnings to be more clear about alignment.

We have found that over 80% of the applications that have advanced to our semi-final round (top <15% of all applicants) have fallen below a $5M annual budget size. Therefore, we have implemented an eligibility ceiling to our budget size criteria as an effort to screen earlier in our selection process for this applicant profile fit.

We have introduced this ceiling as a 3-year average of annual organizational operating expenses, rather than applied just to the organization’s most recently completed fiscal year, as an attempt to smooth out one-off inconsistent years. We also understand that some organizations may still have unique circumstances that keep them above our new $5M eligibility ceiling but still feel they are a fit for the Lipman Family Prize. In order to allow for those unique circumstances, applicants may provide an explanation within the eligibility application form, which will be reviewed and a determination will be made.

When evaluating the initial application, five core elements are considered:

1. A deep understanding of the social challenge being addressed;
2. The quality and clarity of the program model being implemented;
3. The degree to which the organization’s model, or a component of it, is innovative;
4. The organization’s impact and how that impact is measured; and
5. The commitment to share knowledge and collaborate with others across the social impact sector.

In addition to the initial application review, several other areas are assessed as part of the broader due diligence process in the next phases of our process. These include organizational sustainability, learning capacity, and the evidence or research supporting the model. The review also encompasses an assessment of the organization’s leadership, staff, and board; a financial analysis; media and public records searches; and other relevant factors.

A team of external reviewers (professionals in the social sector) and graduate student fellows guided by Lipman Family Prize staff complete the first two phases of the review process. From there, our Prize Committee – comprised of leaders from the social sector, academic and business worlds – will select the three winners, and subsequently the grand prize winner.

Organizations desiring feedback may request it upon application status notification. Overall demand for feedback will dictate whether it can be provided through a direct conversation or less ideally in a standard electronic format.

No in-person interaction is required as part of the selection process. The three organizations selected as winners are required to participate in a virtual interview in March as finalists for the grand prize. No similar requirements exist for organizations not selected as finalists.

The three winners, who are the finalists for the grand prize selection, will be notified by the end of February. They will be required to participate in a virtual video interview with the Prize Committee in March. Winners will be notified of the Prize Committee’s final decision regarding the grand prize winner by early April.

The grand prize winner and additional two winners are required to attend a virtual interview with the Prize Committee in March and attend, in person, the Lipman Award Ceremony in April. This will be held in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania (roundtrip transportation and hotel accommodations associated with this trip are covered by the Lipman Family Prize). For all three winners, the award components also include an on-going collaborative engagement with the University to help develop and share knowledge with the greater social impact community.

In addition to the monetary award, the ongoing partnership with the University can potentially include a combination of the following: scholarship for executive education, pro-bono consulting, support from student projects, inclusion in faculty research and participation in peer learning events. Not only does the award and recognition support organizational growth, but together with students and faculty, Lipman winners are part of a unique learning community within the social sector.

Please e-mail the Lipman Family Prize team at lipmanprize@wharton.upenn.edu.