Our research shows that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely as their better-off peers to be out of education, employment or training (NEET).

There is also clear data showing that ethnic minority young people are disproportionately impacted by unemployment.

So for this open grant round, we are looking for impact-led organisations who support young people from both ethnic minority and socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds into work. You will need to have an ambition to grow with meaningful impact, using data.

We are looking for four new partner organisations to join our portfolio, who will receive between £30k-£100k in unrestricted grant funding per year for two years, as well as hands-on support from our experienced investment team and additional support from our network of pro bono supporters.

At Impetus, our mission is to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in school, work and life. We work with charities to deliver meaningful outcomes in the areas of attainment, university access and employment.

Until now, our approach to finding charities has been predominantly through internal research and networks. Since 2013, our in-house team has identified 1,225 organisations, looking for the most promising organisations in the sector. We are immensely proud of the 38 impactful charities we have partnered with in that time.

But we are aware that there are many great organisations we do not know yet and are keen to expand our networks to find them. We are now openly seeking charities because we want to broaden our networks and portfolio. It is one part of our organisational commitment to embedding diversity in all aspects of our work. This includes finding innovative solutions that draw on all aspects of diversity including class, ethnic background, gender, disability and sexuality.

We have over 15 years’ experience finding, funding, and building the best organisations working in the youth sector. Since 2013, we have given £92.8m worth of support to 38 charities, including £29.6m of core funding.

But we are more than a funder. Our backing comes with focused and hands-on support from our experienced investment team and network of pro bono experts across all aspects of our charity partners’ work - deepening their impact, upskilling their leadership and helping them achieve sustainable growth. Our approach is working – our charity partners have grown with impact.

Our non-financial support is often valued by our charity partners more than the core funding we provide. In a recent survey of our charity CEOs, all rated our support as either delivering significant or transformational impact.

Impetus’ expertise has been truly revolutionary. Our partnership is helping create a robust platform to help more disadvantaged young people succeed in work.

Revd Tom Jackson, Executive Chairman, Resurgo

As an Impetus charity partner, you will receive:

• £30-100k in core, unrestricted funding per year for two years (with potential for us to become a longer-term funder)

• Hands-on support from our Investment Team to help shape your plans for impact and growth

• Support from our network of pro bono experts, on anything from business planning and financial modelling to legal support

• Access to our peer learning forums; providing training, networking and co-learning opportunities with our 25 charity partners

• Access to sector-based coalitions to influence policy and the national conversation on the issues faced by the young people we serve, particularly the race gap in employment

• Access to co-investment through our network of donors

About your organisation:

• You are a registered charity or social enterprise working in the UK

• We have a particular interest in working with organisations who work outside of London and / or nationally (particularly in Yorkshire & the Humber, West Midlands and the North-West)

• Your organisation had an income of at least £100k in your last independently examined set of accounts

• Your organisation is directly supporting at least 50 young people per year in your employment-focused programmes who are:
  • between the ages of 16-24
    
  • from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
  • at least 40% are from ethnic minority backgrounds

• We have a particular interest in organisations working with Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Black, and Gypsy / Roma / Traveller young people

About your employment programme:

• You are running a programme that focuses on supporting young people to secure a job. Your programme is designed to help young people into employment, education or training, and you use those outcomes as a measure of success.

• Your leadership team and Board are committed to improving your impact using data, and growing the employment rates achieved by the young people you work with (Our work with charities is heavily focused on supporting you to improve your impact using data, and then to grow, so it is important that your Board and senior management have the same ambition).

• You believe in the importance of building a Leadership team and Board that reflect the young people you serve. We want to support talented and passionate leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds.

How to apply and timelines

We have tried to design a short initial application process that should not take too long to complete.

If you think your organisation meets the criteria for this round (as outlined above), and you would like to be considered as a potential Impetus charity partner, please complete the following steps.

Please note, the below timeframe is indicative.