UnLtd - The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs is a charitable organisation in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

https://web.archive.org/web/20110708135204/http://www.charityperformance.com/charity-details.php?id=12738 , The Foundation for Social Entrepreneurs, Retrieved February 18, 2011. set up by seven organisations that promote

social entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a wide range of o ...

. The organisation offers cash awards, networking and mentorship opportunities for social entrepreneurs in the UK, and has affiliate organizations in a number of other countries.

History

UnLtd was formed in 2000 by seven non-profit organisations: Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, Changemakers, Community Action Network (CAN),

Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

, The Scarman Trust, SENSCOT, and The

School for Social Entrepreneurs A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

(SSE). The awards are funded by the income generated by a £100 million endowment from the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

as a permanent source of grants for individuals throughout the United Kingdom to develop their skills and talents, and to contribute to the community; the income from the endowment is held by the Millennium Awards, of which UnLtd is the sole Trustee. John Rafferty was the first Chief Executive who with Sandra Jetten COO successfully negotiated the grant of £100 million from the Millennium Commission and established the network of UK wide offices and staff. From 2006-2015 UnLtd was headed by Cliff Prior, who went on to become Chief Executive at

Big Society Capital Big Society Capital Limited (BSC) is an independent social investment institution in the United Kingdom, which provides finance to organizations that support front-line social sector entities to help them grow. Synopsis Social investment is about ...

Programs

Through its Awards program, UnLtd provides a combination of cash funding, support, networking opportunities and pro bono services to entrepreneurs. The awards range from £2,500 to £20,000 UnLtd Ventures provides consultancy support to a number of outstanding social entrepreneurs, helping them to scale up or replicate their projects, through in-house business consultants, partnerships with external consultants, and funding sources. UnLtd Research studies the impact of the support UnLtd gives to early start social entrepreneurs, and the impact they have on the worlds in which they live. UnLtd has partnerships with academic institutions UCL,

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

. The organization's funding throughout the UK is divided throughout 5 regions; London, The South and the East of England, The North of England and the Midlands, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Global affiliates

UnLtd supports a number of global partners, including: * Unltd India, which funds and supports social entrepreneurs. Unltd India is based in Mumbai and also runs Bombay Connect. Other initiatives of UnLtd India are Bootcamp, Journeys for Change and Social Mashup. * UnLtd South Africa, based in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, which funds and supports social entrepreneurs. * UnLtd Thailand which funds and supports social entrepreneurs. Unltd Thailand is based in Bangkok. * UnLtd USA, which operates a twelve-month fellowship program for social entrepreneurs in Austin, Texas.

UnLtdWorld

On March 4, 2008, UnLtd launched UnLtdWorld, an online community for socially minded people. It was sold to

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

in 2011.

Notes and references

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External links