Three honorees of The 2026 Barry & Marie Lipman Family Prize gathered at the University of Pennsylvania Museum for the 15th annual grand prize event. Chosen from a pool of more than 300 organizations, Barefoot College International, joined fellow winners Food for All Africa and Kheyti for the formal announcement of the grand prize winner.
All three winners are guaranteed an unrestricted financial award of $150,000 as well as executive training and support from both the Wharton School and the University of Pennsylvania.
Kheyti, an organization that doubles income with sustainable climate solutions for small farmers in India, was named the grand prize winner and will receive an additional $100,000 in unrestricted funds.
“For 15 years, the Lipman Family Prize has exemplified Wharton’s commitment to advancing organizations that combine bold leadership with measurable social impact. Each year, we are inspired by the ingenuity and resilience of these leaders, and we are proud to partner with them as they scale solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” said Erika James, Dean of the Wharton School.
In addition to the financial award, all three winners gain access to a growing community of change-makers and thought leaders that accelerate cutting-edge impact worldwide. The Prize connects these organizations on the cusp of great change with the resources and skills to expand the impact and influence of their work. Benefits include tuition-free executive education programs, scholarship opportunities like the Lipman Nonprofit Scholarship, peer learning events, as well as expert and student-driven research to inform and support their work.
“This is an incredible validation of the work of the women themselves, and our regional centers that are training the women to be solar engineers, entrepreneurs and change agents in their communities,” said Sue Stevenson, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Barefoot College International. “I congratulate the other winners, and especially the grand prize winner. It’s a tremendous honor to be here at the University of Pennsylvania and in their company.”
Stevenson, Senegal Regional Director Karine Sar and BCI-US Board Chair Aura Reinhardt all attended the Lipman event on behalf of BCI.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us as an organization,” Sar said. “It’s an honor to be here and I look forward to working with the other organizations and programs being offered to us as part of this prize.”
This is the goal of the prize and how it has evolved over the 15 years since its inception according to Euria Min, Lipman Prize Director.
“With our winners, the prize is designed to be the beginning of an ongoing relationship with the university,” Min said. “As our community of winners has grown, we’ve become more intentional about staying connected — sharing opportunities at Penn, making introductions when helpful, and building internal capacity ourselves so that we can show up when organizations reach moments of transition or strategic change.”
“We’re seeing such tremendous growth thanks to our partners and investment like this from the Lipman Family,” Stevenson continued. “DP World has been a tremendous champion of our work, along with Turner & Townsend, Elvis & Kresse and government supporters like The Zanzibar Economic Empowerment Agency. Our partners have enabled us to enhance our solar equipment, expand our entrepreneurial training and create new paths for impact, like our recent solar electrification of a birthing center in a remote part of Senegal. We’ve long said that when you flip a switch of light in a community for the first time, you start something that spreads in so many lasting ways.”
Reinhardt noted that online donations from private donors have been growing in the last couple of years.
“The way our donors show up for our campaigns and help fuel our operations is such a source of encouragement to all of us. Every letter we receive, every donation is such a personal connection and validation of the work, and is a big part of the reason we are here at this event today.”