Breakthrough is a UK-wide social impact accelerator, providing people with direct experience of social injustice with the support, tools and network they need to lead campaigns and achieve impact. In January 2023, John Foundation Foundation provided Breakthrough with £90,000 over three years for core costs.
We supported them in their pilot year through our ‘Other’ category, and it is great to see how their work has continued to evolve and to support them through our Main Grants programme for the next three years.
Breakthrough has supported four campaigns so far and proven demand for their support, with two of the campaigns they supported in the pilot year winning national awards: #HandsOffOurVote won the Big Issue’s Change Makers of the Year Award, and Coventry Youth Activists #FacebookHasNoStandards won the Sheila McKechnie David and Goliath Award at the Annual Campaigners Award. Breakthrough operates two programmes – their Catalyst programme identifies issues without an organised campaign and seeks to redress this, and the second programme, Accelerate, supports existing groups with their campaigns. Breakthrough is able to mobilise its extensive networks, made up of PR companies, senior journalists, lawyers, politicians, political advisers and strategists, in support of the campaigning work that is happening.
We committed to this grant because Breakthrough is delivering highly effective work, and they are an important and vital addition to the limited but growing set of organisations that support community organising and campaigning that have direct experience of social injustice.
On their experience of applying to us, Kat Sladden, Executive Director of Breakthrough said: “We found the process of applying to John Ellerman Foundation considerate, fair and seamless. The team set clear expectations and gave us clear and considered feedback at every stage. Having the backing of John Ellerman Foundation has been a great boost to us as we seek to realise our potential and bring our support to many more groups over the coming years.”