By partnering with us on a particular issue facing young people, funders have the opportunity to collaborate on addressing intractable problems through multi-faceted solutions.

Fund partners can come in at the investment stage, helping shape the fund strategy, and providing the sustained support needed to drive systemic change, removing obstacles and giving young people a fair chance to succeed.

The Engage Fund – in partnership with The Henry Smith Charity

Together with our co-funder the Henry Smith Charity, we have launched the Engage Fund to provide targeted support to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who are at risk of exclusion from school or in Alternative Provision.

Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are four times more likely to get a permanent exclusion than their better-off peers. And then, only around 5% of young people who sit their GCSEs in alternative provision pass English and maths, compared to 65% of pupils in state schools.

Long-term, this means pupils in alternative provision are more likely to experience long-term unemployment and are over-represented in the criminal justice system.

Building on the evidence of what works, the £3 million Engage Fund pioneers high-quality interventions tackling school exclusions, by supporting young people who are struggling to engage in mainstream education and reintegrate them into school when appropriate, so they can achieve the qualifications they need.

Organisations supported: The Difference, MCR Pathways, Olive Academies

The Connect Fund – in partnership with with Bank of America, The Centerbridge Foundation, Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropy, The Towerbrook Foundation, Sainsbury's, Bain & Company and CD&R

With the support of our co-funders, the Connect Fund builds and scales effective, impact-led employment programmes that help young people from ethnic minority backgrounds to overcome disadvantage and discrimination.

Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are twice as likely as their better-off peers to be out of education, employment or training, and there is clear data showing that ethnic minority young people face a range of barriers to accessing good-quality employment, including racism.

The Connect Fund was set up to close this employment gap faced by young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, particularly black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani young people, in the UK and promote systemic change towards a more racially equitable society.

Portfolio partners: Career Ready, Babbasa, Sister System, IMO Charity, Generation UK