UCF Edu-Fund Platform

 

To strengthen its commitment to combating educational poverty, UniCredit Foundation is launching the "UCF Edu-Fund Platform" to support bold programmes focused on identifying, addressing and intervening in instances of youth educational poverty with total funding up to €14mln. Here some details:

 

• The initiative is open to non-profit organizations operating locally or across countries, with a deep understanding and presence in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

 

• The platform will be open all year round. The application window is open continuously starting from July 22^th, 2024 to April 30^th, 2025, or until  available funds are exhausted. 

 

• The main objectives are to combat educational poverty, focusing particularly on lower and upper secondary school students (ages 11-19) The platform prioritizes initiatives that adopt a multidimensional approach that help address those peripheral issues that have a direct impact on the educational challenges faced by young people across the countries where UniCredit operates. The initiatives should be focused on:
  • Addressing early school drop-out
  • Training teachers
  • Encouraging university attainment
  • Enhancing employability for students by equipping them with the skills necessary for the job market

• The platform provides three streams of funding opportunities, ranging from €100,000 to over €1 million, to engage a variety of entities dedicated to promoting quality education and regional growth.

Regular update on the ongoing process will be given through this page. 

 

For any further information please write an email to info@unicreditfoundation.org.

 

To apply to the fund, please chick here.

 

The current submission round will close on January 31st, 2025. The last round will close on April 30th, 2025 (or until available funds are exhausted).

 

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We are excited to announce the winners of the first evaluation round of the Edu-Fund platform

 

Large-scale programme

 

1.       Organization name: Education Without Backpacks    

Programme Name:Better at Math with Khan Academy: Scaling to 50 more schools in Bulgaria

Programme Description: The programme aims to scale Khan Academy implementation at a national scale by partnering with more municipalities and regional education departments of the educational ministry. The final goal is to catalyze transformative change in Math school education with Khan Academy, simultaneously empowering numerous regional authorities and the schools they cover to significantly improve student engagement and academic performance in Math; and advocating to the Ministry of Education based on the results of this national program.            

Geography: Bulgaria

Amount: €1,071,529

 

Mid-scale programme

 

1.       Organization name: Lern-fair e V.       

Programme name: Lern-Fair: Scaling Digital 1:1 Tutoring for Educational Equity in Germany and beyond   

Programme description: Free, easy-to-access, digital 1:1 tutoring services for underserved students across Germany and beyond. The aim is to scale, targeting new regions within and beyond Germany and increase the quality of support we offer to our students. The services run on user-friendly app that allows students and volunteers to register, match, and conduct their tutoring sessions in a flexible, digital environment. The overall programme builds on our existing model and the success of ongoing collaborations (e.g., JOBLINGE, TeachFirst).

Geography: Germany, Austria

Amount: €683,442

 

2.       Organization name: ArbeiterKind.de   

Programme name: Empower e Connect: Volunteer Role Models Inspire Rural School Students from Non-Academic Families to Pursue Higher Education        

Programme description: This 3-year program reaches out to 8.000 underprivileged school students and aims at increasing their knowledge and confidence, so they will be able to make well-informed decisions about accessing higher education. The program activities focus on school students from non-academic families aged 15-19 in rural schools in the German states Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. The program uses a validated and evaluated approach of peer-to-peer-support and volunteer role models visiting schools.

Geography: Germany

Amount:€767,997      

 

Small-scale programme

 

1.       Organization name: Amigos for children Foundation 

Programme name: Amigos Hospital Program - for equal opportunities  

Programme description: Children hospitalized for extended periods often fall behind in school or even drop out. The foundation is powered by 250 university student volunteers. Regular meetings with hospital psychologists and teachers allow us to identify children in need of support, creating a structured information flow that enhances engagement. The goal is to expand this successful model to the other 19 hospital unit, to ensure that no child is left behind, even in the most challenging circumstances.

Geography: Hungary

Amount: €256,538

 

2.       Organization name: CLUB SPORTIV GAMBITUL DAMEI IASI - QUEEN'S GAMBIT CHESS CLUB IASI

Programme name: Chess in School Moldova Region  

Programme description: Implement chess in as many schools as possible, as an educational tool, for children to acquire certain skills more easily, to spend quality time at school, in almost 100 schools and 30 high-school in every county (Suceava, Botosani, Iasi, Neamt, Vaslui, Bacau, Vrancea, Galati)

Geography: Romania

Amount: €294,800

 

3.       Organization name: PARSEC COOPERATIVA    

Programme name: COMPITI@CASA    

Programme description: The programme addresses educational inequalities among middle school students in disadvantaged areas of Italy, specifically in Lazio, Campania, Sicily, and Piedmont, by providing personalized academic support through online tutoring (developed by University of Turin) and social services. Each tutor, selected from partner universities, works with two students, four hours a week.                        

Geography: Italy

Amount: €250,000

 

4.       Organization name: G-LAB S.r.l. Impresa Sociale        

Programme name: Mathematics with Khan Academy

Mathematics with Khan Academy focuses on personalizing math education in Calabria and Campania using the free Khan Academy platform. The project employs the Mastery Learning methodology to tailor learning experiences to individual needs, particularly in the critical early years of middle school. The project aims to prove the impact of integrating international digital platforms into mathematics teaching, allowing students to work on topics and skills in a personalized manner.

Geography: Italy

Amount: €200,000

 

5.       Organization name: Asociatia Visuri Indraznete

Programme name: CampioMATE

Programme description: - the national teams math championship - is a complementary learning program developed in partnership with Romanian Math Scientific Society (S.S.M.R), addressed to children in secondary school. CampioMATE uses engagement techniques from video-gaming and sports to attract the interest of children so that they desire to solve diverse math challenges to earn points for themselves and their teams. With their interest awaken, children become effective in understanding and applying math concepts and their level increases. On top, being a teams' competition, children develop additional life skills (collaboration, leadership, project management, etc) that are not developed in Romanian schools. The 3rd edition (2024), attracted children from 700 schools in Romania.

Geography: Romania

Amount: €300,000