Ford Family Foundation announces Ignite Competition (UK)

Ignite is a unique pitching event designed exclusively for the social entrepreneur.

Benefits

• Because opportunity shouldn’t be limited by access. They bridge the funding gap for early-stage impact founders and help the best ideas thrive.
• Win up to £20,000 in equity-free grant funding to accelerate your impact
• Open for for-profit and not-for-profit ventures
• Pitch your venture live at an exclusive Fleet Street venue
• Access to expert mentors, coaching, workshops and advice
• Growing alumni network of social innovators
• Eligibility for follow-on investment from the Ford Family Foundation

What are they looking for?

• Ignite backs student and graduate-led ventures tackling social and environmental problems with scalable, entrepreneurial solutions.
• They’re open to all models – as long as you’re building something with:
  • Clear purpose demonstrating measurable impact
  • Potential for long term sustainability
  • An ambitious founding team ready to lead change
  • A plan to generate 50%+ of income from trading

Eligibility Criteria

• Ignite is a competition for the rising stars in social enterprise and they want to make sure their funding provides opportunity where it will be of most value and make the biggest impact.
• To ensure fairness, transparency and to verify applicants as social enterprises, they’ve outlined specific criteria for participation. Please ensure you meet this prior to application:
  • Have at least one founder who is a current student or recent graduate (past 3 years) of a UK university
  • Be a registered organization
  • Operate with a legal structure that supports a social mission (e.g., reinvesting profits, asset lock, community benefit clauses)
  • show evidence of demonstratable social and/or environmental impact
  • Have early traction with revenue, users or pilots, etc
  • Be generating or planning to generate at least 50% of income through trading
  • Have turnover or investment to date under £100,000
  • Must be available for a live pitching final in October based in London

For more information, visit Ford Family Foundation.