The Mohn Westlake Foundation is pleased to be working with the London Community Foundation to fund Creative Opportunities, a social enterprise that facilitates and encourages creativity amongst young Londoners; supporting them to develop skills, make connections and lead change.

London Community Foundation specialises in supporting community-based organisations focused on helping disadvantaged Londoners by raising funds from institutions and individuals to invest in local charities and social enterprises.

Creative Opportunities’ mission is to teach young people transferable skills relevant to their interests and guide them to successfully navigate their chosen pathways. The organisation’s vision is for all young people to use their creativity, skills and knowledge to advocate for their own rights, challenge oppression and create positive change in their communities.

Since the organisation was founded in 2014, Creative Opportunities has worked with over 800 young people on a range of employability, social action and creative programmes which develop soft skills such as confidence, problem solving and communication; and hard skills and technical proficiencies in areas like filmmaking, audio engineering and public speaking. Its user-led programmes empower young people to develop creative processes, freethinking and technical knowledge under the guidance of industry professionals. Creative Opportunities encourages the young people with whom it works to be ambitious, building their resilience to risks and challenges.

The grant money received from The Mohn Westlake Foundation will be used to develop the capacity of the organisation, help it become sustainable and increase its impact, so that Creative Opportunities can reach a greater number of young people.

The Mohn Westlake Youth Achievement Fund, managed by London Community Foundation, will provide multi-year grants to other small organisations working to improve skills and opportunities for young people under the age of 24. The Mohn Westlake Foundation will also be working in partnership with other donors to support organisations tackling youth violence as part of London Community Foundation’s Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, Save London Lives initiative.

To learn more about this project, please visit the grantees website:
www.londoncf.org.uk
creativeopps.org/