Direct answer: Big Change is a UK-based philanthropic investment organisation that finds and backs early-stage changemakers working to reshape systems affecting young people; it operates as a funder, community-builder and learning partner rather than a conventional venture capital firm.[1][4]
High-Level Overview
- Mission: Big Change’s stated mission is to “find and back changemakers with early-stage ideas that have the potential to spark lasting change for all young people,” and to create a purpose-driven community that listens, learns and acts to reshape systems around young people.[1]
- Investment philosophy: Big Change focuses on long-term, collaborative support for leaders working on systemic, preventive solutions (not short-term fixes), prioritising learning, adapting and collective action over one-off grants.[1][4]
- Key sectors: The organisation concentrates on areas affecting young people’s lives — education, social care, mental health and wider systems that influence youth outcomes.[4]
- Impact on the startup / social innovation ecosystem: Since 2012 Big Change has funded more than 60 projects, built intergenerational advisory communities (including youth advisory boards) and provided seed funding, networks and capacity-building that help early-stage social ventures scale ideas aimed at systemic change in youth services.[4][1]
Origin Story
- Founding year and impetus: Big Change was formed in 2012 after conversations following the London riots, when founders including Holly and Sam Branson and Princess Beatrice raised an initial £250k and concluded that tackling root causes for young people required systemic approaches rather than emergency relief.[4]
- Founders / key people: The initiative began with Holly and Sam Branson, Princess Beatrice and others who convened to ask how to remove barriers so young people can thrive.[4]
- Evolution of focus: Early activity centred on funding prevention-focused projects and has evolved into a structured programme model: backing early-stage leaders, running advisory boards (including youth voices), carrying out research (e.g., Redefining Success) and building a purpose-driven community to support system change.[4][1]
Core Differentiators
- Mission-driven, systems focus: Prioritises systemic, prevention-oriented interventions for young people rather than one-off service delivery. This shapes selection and support of projects.[1][4]
- Community & advisory model: Uses intergenerational advisory boards and youth advisory input to shape strategy and support grantees, which strengthens legitimacy and user-centred design.[4]
- Long-term collaborative support: Emphasises learning, sharing insights and collective action—providing more than funding (networks, learning opportunities, capacity-building).[1]
- Track record in youth-focused social innovation: Over a decade of activity with 60+ projects funded and research outputs that inform practice (e.g., Redefining Success).[4]
Role in the Broader Tech / Social Innovation Landscape
- Trend they ride: Movement toward systems change and participatory philanthropy—funders moving from transactional grants to investing in leadership, evidence and networks that can alter systems for children and young people.[1][4]
- Why timing matters: Post-2010s awareness of structural inequalities, rising concern about youth mental health and educational outcomes, and a shift in philanthropic strategy toward prevention create fertile ground for Big Change’s approach.[4][1]
- Market forces working in their favor: Greater attention from public sector and other funders on upstream, scalable solutions for youth services; appetite for evidence-informed, co-designed interventions that can reduce long-term social costs.[1][4]
- Influence on ecosystem: By blending funding with community-building and advisory structures (including young people’s voices), Big Change helps surface and legitimize new models that other funders and policymakers can adopt.[4][1]
Quick Take & Future Outlook
- What’s next: Expect continued emphasis on seeding and supporting leadership and ideas that can shift systems for young people, expanded learning products and stronger partnerships with public sector actors to scale successful models.[1][4]
- Trends that will shape them: Increased demand for measurable prevention outcomes (especially in mental health and education), growing importance of youth participation in design, and funder interest in collective impact approaches. These trends favor organisations that can combine grants, networks and learning.[1][4]
- How their influence might evolve: If Big Change continues to demonstrate durable outcomes from its portfolio and amplifies youth-led governance, it could become a recognized intermediary between grassroots innovators and policymakers—shaping funding norms toward longer-term, system-focused investments.[4][1]
If you’d like, I can:
- Pull a list of specific projects Big Change has funded and short descriptions of each with citations; or
- Compare Big Change to two similar funders (e.g., Nesta, The Youth Endowment Fund) on model, scale and focus.
