Scaling Readiness Program – Future Forward 2023

Future Forward is a game-changing initiative of Reach for Change and Social Impact Award co-funded by the European Commission that’s set to light up Central and Eastern Europe with innovation, passion, and impact!

The main focus of the project will be the scaling readiness program focused on providing support for social entrepreneurs at an early growth stage and high ambition to scale. It is aiming to enable them to identify a viable model to scale their impact, and to develop a plan for a scaling pilot.

Purpose

The purpose of the competition Future Forward Scaling Readiness Program is set up with the following goals:

• Raise awareness in general about how local entrepreneurship is key to creating a brighter and more promising future in Central and Eastern Europe
• Inspire young people to become social entrepreneurs and changemakers by showing them that there is the support they might need on this journey
• Engage potential and existing impact leaders with green and digital solutions to apply to the Future Forward Initiative.

Program Support

Non-financial support

• Immersion Weeks
  • Reach for Change will host two 5-day long workshops for SEs aimed at supporting group-based learning and mindset shifts. One workshop will take place at the start of the support programme in February 2024 and the other in December 2024.
• Ongoing coaching (business development + thematic support) & connections to stakeholders
  • Throughout the SRP, the 10 SEs will receive regular 1:1 coaching from Reach for Change staff and external business/thematic coaches. This coaching will align with Reach for Change’s Development Tracker milestones and will culminate in the delivery of individualised scaling strategies. Where relevant, Reach for Change and Social Impact Award will connect individual SEs to relevant stakeholders in its network that could support further development/scaling/funding of their social innovation.
• Group online sessions
  • At regular intervals, SEs will be invited to join online workshops on differing themes. Sessions will be peer exchange-based or Q&As involving external experts speaking on a particular topic (e.g. access to financing, cross-sector collaborations). Eight online sessions will be held in the period from May 2024 to August 2025.
• Pitch day
  • Towards the end of the SRP support, Reach for Change will convene a pitch day featuring the cohort and a wide range of external funders and strategic stakeholders, who are in a position to support the SEs with funding and other opportunities post-project. Invitees will include venture capitalists, philanthropic foundations, EC representatives, and others within Reach For Change and Social Impact Awards networks. The pitch “day” will be a 2.5-hour long online webinar with interactive elements.

Conditions for Participation in the Competition

• Legal form: Organizations that apply must be led by a social entrepreneur, and will be considered through a variety of legal forms: from non-profits to profitable businesses.
• Thematic focus: Organizations who apply have an implemented solution that can contribute to meeting the needs of youth in the context of green and digital transition and want to scale their impact, or they have been working in the area of twin transition, can demonstrate positive results from their work, and want to adapt it to the needs of youth.
• Geographical conditions for participation in the competition: In the competition, candidates are accepted from 10 countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia.
• Consent to the handling of personal data: When filling out the form for participation in the competition, the candidates must give their consent to Reach for Change to handle the personal data contained in the candidacy and additional documents. Reach for Change guarantees that it will not distribute personal data or make it available to third parties outside the candidature evaluation process.

For more information, visit Reach for Change.