The Kusuma Trust UK (the Trust) believes that every child and young person has the potential to transform and improve their life, and should have opportunities to grow and develop as active and productive citizens in their communities.
Our mission is to facilitate and increase access to quality education and other life opportunities for children and young people, with a focus on the most disadvantaged. The Trust enables children and young people to realise their potential and break the inter-generational cycle of poverty. The Trust also supports innovation, new developments in education, research and advocacy.
Strategic Priorities
Education
Our focus is to improve education outcomes for young people in secondary and higher education. We address major obstacles in secondary and higher education for motivated young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. Our grants contribute to a range of outcomes, including improvements in student attainment, teaching quality and community engagement, and an increased number of young people pursuing higher education and gaining employment. Our priority interventions focus on teacher professional development, school governance and management, parent and community involvement, scholarships, career development support for young people, and widening access to educational resources. Points of transition during education and entry into employment receive special attention.
Research and Advocacy Research with a focus on baseline and outcome measures is integrated into projects supported by the Trust. This is reinforced with qualitative research to understand the impact on beneficiaries, including multiplier effects and unintended outcomes that are as important as the intended outcomes. We also support research to better understand the obstacles in education and the causes of educational failure. Evidence generated from research is used to shape our grant making, and influence the practices and policies of implementers, other donors, government and policy bodies.
In the UK, geographic locations selected based on indicators of significant economic and other deprivation are the focus. This includes coalfield, mining, industrial and coastal communities in decline. We target young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, teachers and government education officials, programmes that engage parents and communities and appropriate higher education institutes, universities and centres of excellence.
We award small grants of up to £10,000 to organisations in England.
Eligibility
To apply for a grant your organisation must have:
· A valid current registration as a charity with the Charity Commission for England and Wales
· The ability to deliver charitable activities that align with the vision and mission of the Trust
· A valid UK registered bank account in the name of the organisation and not any individual
The deadline for applications is the 14th February 2016.
For more information and to apply please go to the Kusuma Trust website.
