History
UnLtd was formed in 2000 by seven non-profit organisations: Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, Changemakers, Community Action Network (CAN), Comic Relief, The Scarman Trust, SENSCOT, and The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE).
The awards are funded by the income generated by a £100 million endowment from the Millennium Commission as a permanent source of grants for individuals throughout the United Kingdom to develop their skills and talents, and to contribute to the community; the income from the endowment is held by the Millennium Awards, of which UnLtd is the sole Trustee. [1] [3] John Rafferty was the first Chief Executive who with Sandra Jetten COO successfully negotiated the grant of £100 million from the Millennium Commission and established the network of UK wide offices and staff. From 2006 to 2015 UnLtd was headed by Cliff Prior, who went on to become Chief Executive at Big Society Capital. [4] Mark Norbury became Chief Executive in May 2016.
Programs
Through its support, UnLtd provides a combination of cash funding, investment, support, networking opportunities and pro bono services to entrepreneurs. The awards range from £2,500 to £20,000. Their social investment fund provides larger scale investment capital to more established social ventures.
UnLtd Research studies the impact of the support UnLtd gives to early start social entrepreneurs, and the impact they have on the worlds in which they live. UnLtd has partnerships with academic institutions UCL, Open University, Middlesex University, University of Birmingham.
UnLtd established an investment team in 2016, investing directly into more established social ventures.
The organisation's funding throughout the UK is divided throughout five regions: London, The South and the East of England, The North of England and the Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is a faith-inspired humanitarian and development agency which is working to support and empower the world's most vulnerable people.
The National Lottery Community Fund, legally named the Big Lottery Fund, is a non-departmental public body responsible for distributing funds raised by the National Lottery for "good causes".
A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners.
Nesta is a British foundation, registered as a charity, which supports innovation.
An angel investor is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angel investors often provide support to startups at a very early stage, once or in a consecutive manner, and when most investors are not prepared to back them. In a survey of 150 founders conducted by Wilbur Labs, about 70% of entrepreneurs will face potential business failure, and nearly 66% will face this potential failure within 25 months of launching their company. A small but increasing number of angel investors invest online through equity crowdfunding or organize themselves into angel groups or angel networks to share investment capital and provide advice to their portfolio companies. The number of angel investors has greatly increased since the mid-20th century.
The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) is a non-profit foundation based in Geneva, Switzerland. GAIN was developed at the UN 2002 Special Session of the General Assembly on Children. GAIN’s actions include improving the consumption of nutritious and safe foods for all. They are supported by over 30 donors and work closely with international organisations and United Nations agencies. Their activities include improving consumption of nutritious food globally. The organisation has a 20 year history of food system programmes: focusing on adolescent and child nutrition, food system research, fortification, small and medium enterprise assistance, biofortification of crops and reducing post-harvest losses.
King Charles III Charitable Fund is a charity that seeks to improve communities in the UK and throughout the world through grant giving and occasionally launched activities. It awards approximately £3 million to a range of charitable causes annually and was founded by King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, in 1979.
Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an alignment of an investor's beliefs and values with the allocation of capital to address social and/or environmental issues.
Euclid Network (EN) is a European network of organisations that support social entrepreneurs. Members are based in 21 countries and represent over 100.000 organisations within and outside of Europe. EN is a strategic partner of the European Commission and an observer to the United Nations Task Force on Social and Solidarity Economy (UNTFSSE),
Film London is London's film and media agency – sustaining, promoting and developing London as a major international film-making and film cultural capital. This includes all the screen industries based in London – film, television, video, commercials and new interactive media. Film London is one of nine regional screen agencies throughout the United Kingdom. The not-for-profit organisation is supported by the BFI and the Mayor of London. Film London also receives significant support from Arts Council England London and ScreenSkills.
The Grassroots Business Fund is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC. It has field offices in Kenya, Peru, and India. Their mission is to build and support high-impact enterprises that provide sustainable economic opportunities to thousands of people at the base of the economic pyramid. These enterprises are grassroots business organizations in developing countries that empower large numbers of the poor as producers of income-generating commodities and products, as consumers of affordable goods and services, and as independent entrepreneurs. GBF actively supports enterprises throughout Latin America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia.
UK Community Foundations (UKCF) is a registered charity that leads a movement of community foundations committed to positive social change in the UK through the development of “community philanthropy”. Community philanthropy involves people from all parts of a community working together locally to use the financial and other resources available to them to improve others’ lives.
Big Society Capital Limited (BSC) is a social impact investor in the United Kingdom. Its mission is to grow the amount of money invested in tackling social issues and inequalities in the UK. It invests its own capital as well as enabling others to invest for impact too. The capital finances front-line social purpose organizations tackling everything from homelessness to mental health and fuel poverty, enabling them to grow and increase their impact.
Social Business Trust (SBT) is a registered UK charity established in December 2010 by Damon Buffini and social entrepreneur Adele Blakebrough MBE. The organisation provides grants and business advice to social enterprises based in the UK, in order to support the growth of selected social enterprises and help them to achieve greater social impact.
Heather Brandon was the chairman of the World Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), from 1996 - 1999. For her work, she received the OB-PS certificate and insignia at the WAGGGS conference in July, 2008. In addition to working as Chief Executive to a number of not for profits, she was also Director of The Global Fund for Children UK Trust, a grant making organisation that helps provide opportunities to vulnerable children. Brandon is a qualified executive coach and training expert in motivational team building and social diversity. She has been influential in youth education, international development and social entrepreneurship.
Temasek Foundation International is a Singapore-based non-profit organisation under the philanthropic arm of the Singapore state sovereign fund Temasek Holdings. Temasek has established 17 endowments since 1974, focused on promoting social and cultural interaction, education, and aid for the disadvantaged in Asia.
Global Changemakers is an international youth organisation with headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. To date they have directly trained over 1000 young people and provided grants to 450 youth-led projects in over 128 countries.
Social Investment Business (SIB) is a UK registered charity and trading company that offers loans, grants and other financial products to charities and social enterprises.
The Chicago Community Trust is the community foundation serving Chicago, suburban Cook County, and the Illinois counties of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will. Established on May 12, 1915, it is the third largest community foundation in the country as of 2019, with assets of more than $3.3 billion. The Trust awards more than $360 million annually in grants and has awarded more than $2 billion in grants since its founding. The Trust received gifts totaling almost $469 million during the 2019 fiscal year.
Dame Caroline Louise Mason has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation since 2013, a UK charity that supports improvement of life through strategic grants and investment.
