Even today, a child's life chances are still heavily determined at birth. Disadvantaged children start lagging behind their better-off peers before they even start school. To close that gap, Impetus is partnering with the Sutton Trust to launch an initiative focused on working with disadvantaged parents and their young children to tackle inequality at its roots.
8 November 2011 update: Family Links, I CAN and Ripplez have been selected as the first three investees of the Impetus - Sutton Early Years Initiative.
Poverty is still largely transmitted from generation to generation. Children born in the most 'at risk' families have a 70% chance of being classified as such themselves by the time they reach 30. And children from poor homes are much less likely to rise up the education and income ladder in the UK than in many other developed nations.
To break this cycle, there is a clear need to intervene early. The first years in a child's life are crucial in laying the foundations for successful cognitive, emotional and physical development. Research clearly shows that negative behaviours can be engrained at a very early age - aggressive male behaviour (the single best predictor for violence later in life) is stable as early as age 2; cognitive development at 22 months correlates strongly to educational attainment in adulthood.
There are a significant number of interventions that have been proven to be able to turn the tide - supporting the most disadvantaged families and their young children through those crucial initial years, making a significant difference to children's life chances as they start school.
Impetus wants to support these interventions and ensure they reach many more children in need. To this end, Impetus has partnered with the Sutton Trust to launch the Impetus - Sutton Early Years Initiative.
The Impetus - Sutton Early Years Initiative will invest in successful early years interventions specifically working with disadvantaged parents and their children aged 0 to 5 with the goal of closing the gap in school readiness for those children. It is looking to work with ambitious organisations that wish to significantly enhance and improve their current impact. Organisations will receive, over a period of 4/5 years, a support package comprised of unrestricted funding of up to £400k in addition to tailored capacity-building support from the investment team and network of consultants and advisers.
To date we have over £1m of funding confirmed and are looking to make the initial investments later in the year.
It is hoped that the size of the fund will grow over time, with other individual investors and grantmakers contributing both money and experience.
Read more about another initiative we have launched to fight economic disadvantage, the Impetus for Reducing Reoffending Initiative.
Philanthropic giving can be such a pleasure. I find that the more I give away, the richer I feel.
Dame Stephanie Shirley
UK Ambassador for Philanthropy 2009 - 2010