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Our vision

A fairer society, where all ​young people thrive.

What we do

We are a not-for-profit that works with social entrepreneurs and philanthropists to build and strengthen organisations that deliver systemic impact.

We provide young people opportunities in education and beyond, helping them reach their true potential.

Working with us

We only provide support where we are confident we can add value. Thus, we are deliberate about who we partner with, to ensure we deliver maximum impact.

How we work

Philanthropists

We partner with visionary philanthropists and organisations that want to transform young people’s lives. We offer bespoke advice, identify opportunities and leverage investments with an evidence-based approach. Great impact starts here.

Social Ventures

We believe great impact starts with great people. As such, we deliberately partner with individuals and organisations with strong theories of change, who mirror our ambitions.

For these change makers, we offer fully individualised support, access to funding and a ‘high-challenge, high-support’ home, to turn great ideas into sustainable and successful ventures.

Our portfolios

Our society leaves too many families and young people behind. Often, it is the most vulnerable members of our society who suffer. Purposeful Ventures supports young people to fulfil their potential by building new ventures and growing existing organisations to tackle the challenges they face.

  1. Early years
  2. Mental health and wellbeing
  3. Vulnerable young people

Our news

Our history

Our team has 20 years of experience working with social ventures for young people

2002

Ark founded

Ark is an educational charity founded in 2002. Ark’s early work included work on HIV and AIDS in Africa as well as child protection initiatives in Eastern Europe. Ark Schools, founded in 2006, marks the start of Ark’s focus on education, followed by the support of school programmes for curriculum mastery and school leadership.

2016

Ark Ventures founded

All Ark’s non-school initiatives and programmes were consolidated as “Ark Ventures”, focusing mainly on education. Within Ark Ventures, we helped other initiatives and charities to start, grow and deliver their impact at scale. As Ark Ventures, we supported Ambition Institute, Frontline and Global Schools Forum, amongst others.

2023

Purposeful Ventures spins out of Ark

Purposeful Ventures extends its focus beyond education to issues affecting children and young people more broadly. It increases the number of ventures it supports and deepens its relationships with funders.

Our team and trustees

  • Michael Clark

    Chief Executive

  • Aisha Washington

    COO

  • Nick Darbyshire

    Director of Funding and Community

  • Courtney Gainer

    Director of Research and Pipeline

  • Tom O'Beirne

    Director of Delivery

  • Holly Piercy

    Director of Philanthropy

  • Libby Dangoor

    Chair of Trustees

  • Lucy Heller

    Trustee

  • Ed Fidoe

    Trustee

  • Doug Thomson

    Philanthropy Adviser

  • Sophie Humphreys OBE

    Social Entrepreneur in Residence

Join our team

Thank you for your interest in joining Purposeful Ventures. You can find our current vacancies and submit your application on our career site. We also encourage you to follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about our current work, opportunities for collaboration and workplace culture.

Job descriptions

  • HR & Team Coordinator (maternity cover)

    Develop your HR expertise, gain exposure to a breadth of operations functions and help ensure that Purposeful Ventures runs smoothly and efficiently.

  • Venture Partner

    Venture Partners are at the core of Purposeful Ventures' work. Our Venture Partners provide intellectual capital and the skills and experience that allow us, and all the ventures we work with, to thrive and deliver huge social impact.

  • Venture Associate

    This is a fantastic opportunity for an individual who is passionate about improving social mobility and tackling educational inequality and keen to develop their strategic and operational skills while working with mission-driven organisations to deliver social impact.

Our supporters

Our supporters

  • XTX Markets
  • The Hg Foundation
  • UBS Optimus Foundation
  • AKO Foundation
  • Ark
  • Save the Children

Follow our latest work

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Get in touch

We are always on the look-out for new ventures, supporters and talent. Get in touch and we will aim to get back to you within the week.

1 EdCity
EdCity Walk
London
W12 7TF