The Shuttleworth Foundation is a small social investor that provides funding to dynamic leaders who are at the forefront of social change. Therefore, it looks for social innovators who are helping to change the world for the better and could benefit from a social investment model with a difference. It identifies amazing people, give them a fellowship grant, and multiply the money they put into their own projects by a factor of ten or more.

Furthermore, the Foundation is at its core an experiment in open philanthropy and uses alternative funding methodologies and collaborative ways of working to ensure that every fellow receives the necessary support to succeed.