Power Up 2.0 fund - everything you need to know

15 Oct 2021 02:15 PM

Building on the success of the first Power Up initiative, Good Things Foundation is delighted to be continuing its partnership with J.P. Morgan.

We know that a lack of essential digital skills can be a big barrier for many people on low incomes or who have poor financial health. But by helping individuals facing these circumstances, it’s proven to help them become more economically included. This could be by moving closer to gaining sustainable employment, or by increasing their financial health.

In a world that has undergone rapid digital transformation due to the impact of Covid-19, it is now more important than ever for people to have the digital skills needed for work and life. Together with J.P. Morgan, we recognise there is further opportunity to help bridge the digital divide when it comes to helping people be more financially independent. To do this, we’ll work closely with up to 10 grantees in the four Power Up areas - East London, Bournemouth, Glasgow and Edinburgh - helping them to widen their reach and enhance the provision available to local people who need this type of support the most.

The vision of Power Up 2.0 is to power the post Covid-19 economy through digital skills for employability and financial health, striving for a more inclusive digital economy. We want a world where every community and individual can benefit from digital.

Grants are available between the value of £50,000 and £150,000, but projects must run in one of the four Power Up areas. These are Bournemouth, East London, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Grant information

Target groups

The Power Up 2.0 project has two target groups in mind. These are as follows:1) Jobs & Skills - People with low digital skills seeking jobs or job progression.2) Financial Health - People with low digital skills managing money on low incomes.

Across these two themes we expect successful applicants to have a specific focus on under represented groups. Organisations who specialise in reaching just one of the target groups will only need to report on progress made with that specific audience. However, if your project engages both target groups, you would be expected to report progress with both audiences.

Outcomes

Power Up 2.0 is a project that aims to help people gain the essential digital skills, confidence and motivation to reach goals for work, business and managing money.

Projects being funded through Power Up 2.0 should enable:

• People on low incomes to gain employment or progress within employment.
• People who are on low incomes to maximise and stabilise their incomes.

The changes we want to see for the cohorts listed above are:

• Increase their digital skills, confidence, motivation and application of digital skills.• Increased understanding of the importance of digital skills for employability and financial health. • Increased capacity of local organisations to embed digital inclusion in their provision.

As this is an outcomes driven fund we expect all applicants to clearly set out the outcomes they expect to achieve in their applications.

You can find the full grant description here.

Get in touch

If you have any questions that cannot be answered using the information above please come along to our engagement event on Monday 25th October 2021 at 3pm (register here) or contact the team via email - grants@goodthingsfoundation.org for the attention of Jonathan Bradwell stating ‘Power Up 2.0 application’ in the subject line. Alternatively you can call 0114 349 1666.

Applications close 12th November at noon, apply today