Grantee Spotlight: Ashoka Faith-Inspired Changemakers

May 2, 2022
A group of Ashoka's Faith-Inspired Faithmakers program are in conversation over Zoom. Each participant appears in box in a grid.
With support from Trinity, Ashoka adapted its “Everyone’s a Changemaker” curriculum for faith leaders worldwide, empowering religious leaders to see the possibilities for faith-inspired innovation & entrepreneurial initiatives that serve the common good.

Founded 41 years ago, Ashoka envisions a world in which each person has the necessary skills—and confidence—to create solutions for the common good. Though secular, it views changemaking as expressing love, similar to Christian doctrine. 

In 2021, Ashoka built a global database of over 300 faith-inspired changemakers, conducted four masterclasses for approximately 70 English-speaking participants from around the globe, and ran a six-month Faith-Inspired Changemakers Lab for a select group of participants to receive direct feedback and mentorship for their projects from experts in the field via small online gatherings. In addition, the Faith-Inspired Changemakers participants presented at the Ashoka Changemakers Summit 2021, where they shared their work with other social entrepreneurship programs around the world. 

A group of Ashoka's Faith-Inspired Faithmakers program are in conversation over Zoom. Each participant appears in box in a grid.

With support from Trinity, Ashoka adapted its “Everyone’s a Changemaker” curriculum for faith leaders worldwide, empowering religious leaders to see the possibilities for faith-inspired innovation & entrepreneurial initiatives that serve the common good.

The Faith-Inspired Changemakers program has brought the role of faith into the social entrepreneurship movement. The program’s master class participants are now better equipped with the strategies and skills to meet the challenges of the modern world. Due to its success, Trinity provided funding for a second grant that will create similar programs for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking faith leaders around the world. Additionally, Trinity is funding the program’s expansion in the Philippines and Indonesia, two countries with highly religious populations and an abundance of opportunities for social entrepreneurship ventures.