[WiLT] Learning Launchpad Fund - 31 March, 11 June, 3 Sept, 24 Nov, 16 Feb

[WiL Admin]

Learning Launchpad

The Learning Launchpad is a fund delivered by the Young Foundation
working in partnership with Edge to enable young people, whatever
their background, to achieve their potential.

The Learning Launchpad fund provides investment to organisations in
their early stages of development. They offer investment at two
stages:

Stage one investments - These investments of up to £30,000 are
suitable for people who are starting out with a new idea.

Stage two investments - These investments of up to £100,000 are
typically suitable for organisations or initiatives that are already
up and running and want to grow.
If your idea delivers its social goals via a social enterprise or
for-profit commercial organisational business, they will usually look
for either a recoverable loan or an equity stake in your business, or
a convertible grant that they can make back once your cash flow can
sustain it.

Support and incubation - They believe the value of their advice is
even greater than the cash investment they provide. They can help you
with your strategy, your funding and income plans, your operational
requirements, and provide you with the links to experts in education
and youth, local and central government, and social enterprise that
they know are so important when you're starting out.

They have even given new organisations the office space they need to
start work and get their team working together. For examples of the
type of support they can offer please see their portfolio.

If you have an idea, or a fledgling organisation that could use their
help, please apply.

They are looking for individuals (or even better, teams) that are
committed to solving problems facing young people with ground-breaking
ideas.

They will evaluate your idea on the following five criteria:

Social impact - They want ideas that have a profound social impact
both on the individuals you work with and, where possible, on society
as a whole. They want to hear what social need or problem it is that
you are trying to address; who your target group is; what you will
deliver and what impact you think that will have.

Innovation - They are excited by ideas that depart from what is
already out there, particularly ones that are using practical learning
and developing young people's "soft" or non-cognitive skills.
Sometimes this can be bringing together things that exist already; or
thinking up new ways in which existing ideas can be implemented more
successfully.

Sustainability - They would hate for the end of their involvement with
you to be the end of your idea. They are looking for ideas that have
the potential to create systemic change across the country. They want
to help you set up a new charity or business that can last.

Scalability - They realise that some projects are best suited to a
certain community or group. But they would like to fund projects that
can have a significant impact on many young people and that are
ambitious for how they plan to evolve and grow. Through using
technology, or volunteers, or through an imaginative model for how
someone else could replicate your success, they want to work with
organisations that use their funding to go further.

Passionate, competent people - They know that the ideas don't
necessarily translate into successful organisations unless they have
great people as well as great ideas. They want to know who you are,
who you are working with and that you have what it takes to make the
organisation a success.

The Learning Launchpad Fund will be accepting applications throughout
2009/10. The application deadlines are:
Round 1: Tuesday 31st March 2009;
Round 2: Thursday 11th June 2009;
Round 3: Thursday 3rd September 2009;
Round 4: Tuesday 24th November 2009;
Round 5: Tuesday 16th February 2010.

If you decide to submit an application, they follow a four-stage
process:

After the application deadline, they evaluate all the applications
they have received and shortlist the ones they think are most
promising and where they think they can make a real difference. For
those  they feel are worth pursuing this is followed by an Initial
Visit, a Review Period exploring areas where they can work with you
and then they have an Investment committee presentation when a
decision on funding is made.

Full details and application forms are on website below.

Launchpad, 18 Victoria Park Square, Bethnal Green, London E2 9PF
Tel: 020 8980 6263
Fax: 020 8981 6719
Email: launchpad at youngfoundation.org
Website: http://www.learninglaunchpad.org