The Skoll Foundation was a founding donor of the International Resource for Impact & Storytelling (IRIS) in 2021. Since our launch, and with Skoll’s crucial support and partnership, IRIS has been iterating a narrative- and story-for-impact approach that fosters a global narrative ecosystem that brings storytellers together into the networks of practice and solidarity that are necessary for social progress.
Together, we seek to build a self-perpetuating cycle of justice and equity in which the technical work of narrative and the imaginative work of storytelling combine in pursuit of just and equitable societies that are anchored in collective well-being and individual thriving.
We believe that well-equipped, cooperative alliances will almost always make a more significant, systems-level impact than individual organizations working alone. But these alliances require a well-balanced, more complete narrative infrastructure that is inter-connected, mutually supportive and has spaces for sharing and learning. Leveraging this ecosystem, organizations can work to stimulate systems change and shift social norms.
IRIS, with Skoll Foundation support, provided a Catalyzer Grant to Sunshine Cinema. This funding supported their project to build a solar-powered mobile film screening model to promote conservation and community engagement in Southern Africa, and supported Sunshine representatives to participate in major global film industry events, facilitating collaborations and expanding their impact on a worldwide scale.
Trevor Smith is an emerging leader in the US on narrative strategies and IRIS, together with Skoll Foundation, provided a grant to support the launch of Black Liberation-Indigenous Sovereignty (BLIS) Collective. The Collective, co-founded by Trevor Smith and Savannah Romero, seeks to build bridges between two movements in the US. With Skoll Foundation support, IRIS funded BLIS’ national perception research project, conducted with Northwestern and UC Berkeley, on the topics of reparations, decolonization, sovereignty, and land.
By combining strategic grantmaking across Latin America, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa with the support of local "Artivists" and field architects, we are shifting the center of gravity in philanthropy. This outcome is about more than just funding; it is about resource sovereignty. In supporting innovative leaders in the story and impact ecosystem, we are ensuring that the people closest to the world’s most pressing challenges have the financial and structural autonomy to define their own narratives.
The 2026 launch of the Narrative Directory and the Narrative Change Hub transforms diverse insights into a permanent, accessible global infrastructure. Coupled with high-level academic research and the broader Commons Library, this outcome contributes to a knowledge platform for the ecosystem. We are moving the field away from anecdotal success and toward a rigorous, data-informed practice where practitioners can find both the inspiration and the concrete tools needed to measure and execute deep narrative shifts.
This outcome bridges the gap between grassroots activism and mainstream cultural influence. By connecting regional networks through Confluence convenings while simultaneously producing world-class content, like the Cannes-winning The Falling Sky or the Kate Winslet-voiced Molly vs the Machine, we are creating a narrative megaphone. This ensures that indigenous worldviews and critical tech-society critiques don’t just stay within activist circles but penetrate the global conversation to spark wide-scale civic action.