Do it for real

What was Do it for Real

Do it for Real mobilised young people aged between 11 and 30-years-old to start and grow sustainable social action projects, connecting social ventures with volunteers and mentors.

We came together with Spirit of 2012 and Comic Relief through a shared purpose – to help young people discover their full potential and contribute to their communities, their futures and their livelihoods.

Young people are entrepreneurial, pro-active and imaginative. We truly believe in this and wanted to empower them to create social change on a local, regional and national level.

What did we do?

We developed a three-year programme to discover, motivate and support young volunteers and social entrepreneurs across the UK.

The programme consisted of five elements, offering a staggered development path for individuals and communities:

  • Giving youth groups the tools they needed We helped groups to set up their own community events through Red Nose Day and Sport Relief, and develop their ideas by applying for our support.
  • Unlocking potential We provided a package of support and £500 grants for young people to test out their projects to improve their communities.
  • Support to start We helped young social entrepreneurs boost their social impact of projects thanks to up to £5,000 in grant funding via local partners.
  • Support to grow We gave social entrepreneurs who were ready for create more impact up to £15,000 and expert guidance to grow.
  • Local partners and volunteers We worked with local partners and volunteers to help our young social entrepreneurs to thrive.

Who did we support?

With the help of our partners across the UK we supported 347 social entrepreneurs between 2015 and 2017. In total, our young social entrepreneurs improved the lives of the 5,631 people they worked with.

Find out more about the impact of the Do it for Real social entrepreneurs in our infographic:

Download here

Want to experience the impact of the Do it for Real social entrepreneurs?

We produced a 360 video to celebrate the innovation and impact of the young entrepreneurs we supported by Blueprint VR.

Blueprint VR

What our social entrepreneurs say

"Some of the people we work with in our workshops have disabilities, and as a social entrepreneur it has made me think how to insert that in my business (as for example doing risk assessment of the venue we use)"

Duncan
Social entrepreneur

What our social entrepreneurs say

"The support I have been given allows me to pass it on and have a positive attitude towards what I’m doing, therefore encouraging others to do the same. I am much happier as an individual being able to do the one thing I’ve wanted to do since I was very young"

William
Social entrepreneur

What our social entrepreneurs say

"The programme has certainly helped me because I was not able to work anymore because of my disability. It helped me get myself back out there, start my career again. I’ve registered to be self-employed so I’m going to be continuing that"

Genivieve
Social entrepreneur
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Events

We host a series of events throughout the UK each year. From classes and conferences, seminars and workshops to networking events and training sessions.

Upcoming events

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Learning area

Looking for financial guidance? Want to sharpen your marketing skills? Access our range of guides in the learning area.

Visit our learning area

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