Impetus - The Private Equity Foundation

Impetus – The Private Equity Foundation champions equality and high ambition for young people from socio-economically deprived backgrounds, believing every individual aged 11-24 deserves tailored support to thrive in education and employment regardless of race, region or circumstance. Core values of accountability, collaboration and evidence-led practice drive their partnership philosophy, delivering long-term core funding with intensive capacity-building, strategic pro bono advisory from business leaders, and rigorous impact measurement to foster data-driven, scalable charities pursuing systemic change through high-ambition interventions that bridge disadvantage gaps.

They prioritize interventions tackling youth disadvantage including school readiness programmes, tutoring and mentoring to boost educational attainment for low-income young people at risk of exclusion, career guidance and employability training creating effective pathways from education to work, high-impact employment programmes for NEET youth facing barriers, mental health and wellbeing support enhancing educational and employment outcomes, and targeted initiatives addressing race equity gaps for Black, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Gypsy/Roma/Traveller young people. Funding supports youth work models emphasizing early intervention, preventative measures against school exclusions, skills training, leadership development, peer mentoring, outreach for those furthest from the labour market, and holistic approaches combining academic support with emotional resilience-building to reduce unemployment, promote social mobility and enable sustained independence for ethnically diverse, regionally underserved youth encountering intersectional challenges like poverty and isolation.

They exclude individual projects, capital expenditure, policy-only advocacy and short-term initiatives, focusing instead on scalable charities with proven track records serving disadvantaged ethnic minority youth and those in regional inequality hotspots like northern and midland communities. Distinctive for hands-on organizational development, impact frameworks and policy influence via learnings shared through sector initiatives, they seek evidence-based, ambitious partners committed to race equity, direct beneficiary reach among NEET and exclusion-risk youth, and transformative growth strategies prioritizing underserved young people over mainstream provision.