ANNOUNCING: 2017 Drucker Prize Semifinalists

Today we named the 50 semifinalists for the 2017 Drucker Prize.

Out of 252 applicants, here are the 50 organizations selected by first-round judges to have best met Peter Drucker’s definition of innovation—“change that creates a new dimension of performance”—and made a meaningful difference in the lives of the people they serve:

American Prairie Reserve; Atma Connect; AWHONN; BAYCAT; Because International; Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation; Bond Street Theatre; Catholic Charities Fort Worth; Children’s Home Society of Florida; Clinica Verde; Concern Worldwide U.S.; CVIC; DataKind; Easter Seals North Georgia; Fabretto Children’s Foundation; Fear 2 Freedom; Feeding America; Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas; Heart2Hut; Hope House Foundation; human-I-T; Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team; iACT; Inner Explorer, Inc.; Islamic Networks Group; Jhpiego; Kids Enjoy Exercise Now Foundation; Leadership Rhode Island; LIMBS International; MASS Design Group; mother2mothers International; OneJustice; Playworks; Positive Tracks; Providence House, Inc.; Rare Genomics Institute; Rebuilding Exchange; SARSEF; Sightsavers; St. Bernard Project, Inc.; Summer Search; Sustainable Innovations; The Center for Victims of Torture; The Empowerment Plan; VinaCapital Foundation; Trauma and Resiliency Resources, Inc.; Trauma Resource Institute; We Care Solar; Union Capital Boston; and University City Science Center.

These 50 nonprofits now qualify for The Drucker Prize’s second round. Their leaders will be asked to go through a series of mini-courses featuring insights from some of today’s top thinkers on management and leadership, as well as the timeless wisdom of Peter Drucker. Round 2 semifinalists will be asked both whether their organization currently uses the principles presented, as well as how they could put into practice any new ideas that they’ve learned.

Round 2 of The Drucker Prize platform is now open to semifinalists via our website. The submission deadline for Round 2 is August 4, 2017 at 5pm Pacific Time.

“We are pleased to announce the 50 semifinalists, and to welcome them to Round 2 of The Drucker Prize. They now have the chance to learn from some of today’s top thinkers on management and leadership, including Jim Collins, BoardSource, The Bridgespan Group and others. While only one organization will win the $100,000 prize, all our semifinalists can gain powerful new knowledge,” said Zach First, executive director of the Drucker Institute.

The 10 finalists for this year’s Drucker Prize will be announced on August 31. At that time all of the resources from the learning platform will be made available to the entire social sector.

The winner of the $100,000 Drucker Prize will be announced on September 29. 

Administered annually since 1991, The Drucker Prize, formerly known as the Peter F. Drucker Award for Nonprofit Innovation, is given to a social-sector organization that demonstrates Drucker’s definition of innovation: “change that creates a new dimension of performance.” The judges look for programs that are highly effective and have made a difference in the lives of the people they serve, as well as for those organizations that demonstrate a capacity to further leverage the discipline of innovation.

Hailed by Businessweek magazine as “the man who invented management,” Peter Drucker not only consulted for major corporations; he also advised the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army and countless other social-sector organizations. He called the nonprofit “America’s most distinctive institution.”

If you have questions about the application or prize process, please contact druckerprize@drucker.institute.