Grants database

Felix Barrett and Colin Marsh were the Artistic and Executive Directors of Punchdrunk, an artistic performance company. The Breakthrough Fund was the first funding awarded to the company and allowed Felix and Colin to pay themselves their first salaries and to create the role of Enrichment Director to set up Punchdrunk’s fledgling Enrichment Programme. This allowed the company to undertake a number of UK and international commissions and to grow their reputation as a providers of immersive theatre.

David Jubb is the Artistic Director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre. David was awarded Breakthrough Fund support at the time that Battersea Arts Centre had secured a 125 year lease from Wandsworth Borough Council on its 19^th century town hall home, securing its future in the light of threatened cuts. The Breakthrough Fund supported activity in a number of areas, including a collaboration with architects Haworth Tompkins, new models of commissioning, producing artists to make work for young people, new ways of hosting artists’ residencies and the introduction of a new project working culture across the organisation. It also funded a dual artistic leadership model with David Micklem.

Gareth Evans was co-director of Artevents, a company that works with artists, thinkers and innovators to create works of art which discuss the nature and values of contemporary society. The Breakthrough Fund supported Gareth, with collaborator Di Robson, to conceive and produce The Re-Enchantment, a national arts project which came to fruition in 2011. It explored our relationship to place through four major artists’ commissions. The Breakthrough Fund provided core support for Gareth and Di to commit themselves to this project for three years and contributed towards one of the four commissions.

Nii Sacky is the CEO of Bigga Fish, a not-for-profit events organisation which provides performance platforms for young artists and events and marketing management training for 14–21 year olds in London and other cities around England. The Breakthrough Fund supported Nii to pursue his idea to create a new web-based trading game, Gwop. This online game platform allows young people to promote music and artists. Nii pursued plans for Gwop alongside his leadership of Bigga Fish.

Stuart Bailie had a previous career as a music journalist. The Breakthrough Fund supported him to become Chief Executive and the first paid employee of Oh Yeah Music Centre, a Belfast music organisation created in 2007 to ​‘open doors to music potential’ amongst the city’s artists and young people. Occupying a former bonded whisky warehouse, Oh Yeah now offers a permanent music exhibition, a café space and gigs venue, a privately run recording studio, a song writing room, two rehearsal rooms, various small office units for start-up businesses, and spaces where workshops, meetings and seminars are held.

Shift designs consumer products and builds social ventures to help solve social problems. This grant aims to contribute to a stronger UK social technology sector by helping articulate and build a consensus around the distinct development and investment milestones for Tech for Good. It will also investigate the funding and investment available to support progress through these milestones.

ShareAction is a charity focused on achieving social and environmental change through investments, notably by using the rights and opportunities shareholders have to encourage responsible business practice. This grant will support core activities including shareholder activism and collaborative investor engagement with companies.

Praxis provides advice, support and a welcome meeting space for vulnerable migrants and refugees in London. This grant will support the continued delivery of the Brighter Futures and WINGS programmes, including funding a Group-Work Coordinator post, overheads and other activities. It will also contribute to the development of a Learning Journey/​Plan and refinement of Praxis’s group-work strategy to inform future direction and potential applications. Praxis will also incorporate the Supported Options Initiative evaluation recommendations and further learning opportunities provided by PHF.

IVAR is an independent charity that works closely with people and organisations striving for social change. This grant will support the production of a practical resource to improve approaches to, and systems for, strategic learning within UK foundations and across their work with each other and grantees. This will involve conducting background research and coordinating the convening of 60 senior staff from 30–35 UK foundations.

GMIAU works to ensure access to justice for people living in the local community who are survivors of torture, trafficking, abuse and conflict. This grant will contribute towards the costs of a convening session and expert input from leading figures in the field of guardianship.

CanDo Coffee is a social enterprise that provides training and employment for those who have struggled to find long-term employment. This grant will fund an Operations Director post to continue to grow CanDo Coffee and to set up the CanDo Foundation. The Foundation will create a drop-in centre offering user-led support services.

Michelle has worked in Liverpool supporting female offenders and young women with mental health difficulties for the past five years and previously as a crisis worker for a sexual assault referral centre. Through this work she noticed a lot of the young women she was working with were alone and isolated. Michelle believes there is an unmet need for a peer support network to build young women’s confidence and self-esteem. This early intervention scheme is aimed at helping women to help each other. The Fierce Babe Network will serve 3 main functions: Educate, Support and Campaign. Michelle will provide accredited training to volunteers who will then act as peer-mentors with a focus on issues such as careers, confidence and healthy relationships. A website with a mentor matching service will be developed alongside workshops in schools and colleges on topics like confidence, self-esteem, positive relationships, mutual support and mental health awareness.