The EW+S Future Fund core aim is to support young Londoners reach their aspirations. We are particularly keen to see the promotion of inclusive growth and young talent being nurtured. The Future Fund will assist in bridging the gap and examples of projects being developed will focus on entrepreneurial skills, job creation such as internships, apprenticeships, kick start scheme or freelance work creating social and economic impact.

We are excited to announce details of our new community organisation partners following on from our call out that took place last year. A total of £35k worth of funds will be channelled to our preferred social entreprise partners that are doing some incredible and impactful work.

Previously, EW+S partnered with Social Ark, a grassroot charity that provides capacity building to young people and supported 8 budding social entrepreneurs from the heart of East London. A total of £10k worth of funds were injected into their business and our investments were worth every penny – we can’t wait to do it all over again and start mobilising!

Below a short synopsis of our partners:

• Deafroots

Located in Stratford, Deafroots has been operating since 2000, supporting the hearing impaired and deaf community to access employment and training opportunities.

Their programme proposal ‘Digital Hands’ is designed to raise awareness on potential career paths with potential job and freelancing opportunities for those that do not hold an academic degree level qualification. The project will nurture 15 young people, who will be recruited and trained on areas such as content writing, basic coding, user experience, social media and more. They will be offered a 6 to 8 week work placement to assist them in securing employment within this sector. The programme will be widely accessible including the hearing community who wish to train and develop their digital online skills.

Find out more about Deafroots here

• Coffee Afrik CIC

Located in the E3 area and operating in Hackney and Tower Hamlets, Coffee Afrique has been operating since 2018, for the community, by the community.

Coffee Afrik’s mission is aimed at building the capacity of disadvantaged communities and individuals to create the change they want to see by empowering them at grassroots level.

The project being proposed ‘Growth, Resilience and Recovery’ covers three elements: mental health, food co-op and business mentoring. A hook with a clear journey for 8 young people that will be recruited onto the programme. The project will support young people with their mental health, followed by a food co-op which will be managed by the young people and finally there is a strong focus on capacity building and employment support through mentoring.

Find out more about Coffee Afrik here

We’ll be posting more information and look forward to working with these amazing non-profit organisations. There will be updates on the website and our social media channels keep an eye out!

More information on the Future Fund or our social value work, feel free to drop us an email.

As per its original bid commitments, East Wick + Sweetwater is committed to supporting economic prosperity amongst young people living in East London.

The Future Fund aims to act as a vehicle to deliver and drive economic development in East London, promoting inclusive growth but also celebrate the talent and diversity amongst young people living within the London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest.

The vision for East Wick + Sweetwater has always been about the community and creating a neighbourhood that connects people. The Future Fund will aim to connect with young people and help build that community as East London undergoes significant and rapid change. The funds will provide a cash injection to support local young people reach their aspirations during a period of significant challenges.

Find out more about the Future Fund, aim and criteria that apply in this guidance document. The application form can be downloaded here (word document).

The deadline for applications is Tuesday 15th of December (2020), 5:00pm.

You can submit your application by email to Sadia Ahmed – do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions.

Through a partnership with EW+S and the London Legacy Development Corporation, Social Ark have done a fantastic work distributing funding to support young East London social entrepreneurs. Check out the film by Social Ark alumni Joe Tamplin and and head to their website and social channels to follow more of their amazing work!

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