12 years of impact with Big Change

We launched Big Change 12 years ago now, because we knew there had to be a way to help all young people to thrive in life. We felt there needed to be a different way to tackle issues issues in our society.?

Many charities were sticking plasters over what was an already broken system, so we tried to think of ways to solve issues from the root cause. We realised the best way to do this is to back the people closest to the issue who have fantastic early-stage ideas, that other charities and investors weren’t prepared to take the risk on. We called it venture philanthropy.

It has been the most amazing 12 years, and the past four years in particular have been a powerful period of learning and growth for our team at Big Change and for our partners, which we have turned into an impact report. Reading through it fills me with pride for everyone involved, and a deep sense of hope for the future. Here are just a few things we’ve achieved since 2020:

• Engaged over eight million children and young people through the projects we’ve funded.
• Designed and launched the Big Education Challenge, an ambitious ￡1m prize fund to surface, support and back leaders with their early-stage bold ideas with the potential to transform education and learning. 13 out of the 15 candidates were aged 18-25.
• Created more than 2,000 conversations thousands between young people, teachers, parents, and communities to come together through the Big Education Conversation, in England and globally, to reimagine education, create collective hope and new actions in communities, and shape national policy proposals.
• Directed ￡5 million of funding to Big Change projects, which has led to over ￡60 million in follow-up funding.

After reading through the report as a co-founder, I realised that the biggest thing Big Change has taught me is that best impact happens when we trust the experience and ideas of those closest to the problems. I couldn’t be prouder of the way we’ve harnessed this at Big Change, and I think this impact report is testament to this deep commitment to bringing all voices to the table. Find the full report here.