Charities & Support

There are many existing organisations working with young people in Scotland which need support. If you are considering applying to Enlight, please note that our investment programme for 2009 is now closed for applications and our strategic programme is by invitation only.

Investment Programme

If you are an ambitious charity or social enterprise committed to helping under 25's in Scotland reach their full potential be it through support in education, moving into employment, family issues or moving on from care, you may be able to receive an investment from Enlight.  It is likely your organisation will be small to medium sized and a critical stage of development.  You must be seeking our investment package of hands-on management support, strategic advice and funding. 

Our open investment programme for 2009 is now closed for applications and we are now working with our partner charities.

Strategic Programme

We have chosen an initial strategic focus on supporting young people who are looked after or in care in Scotland. In 2008, there were almost 15,000 looked after children in Scotland. They have some of the worst life opportunities and often find the transition to independent living difficult:

• Looked after children have a higher rate of exclusion from school, 445 per 1,000 compared with 52 per 1,000 for Scottish schoolchildren overall.
• They achieve a much lower average tariff score for educational attainment - 63 and 171 respectively
• Just 30% leave care and move into employment or training
• 30% of young single homeless have been in care
• 1 in 7 are pregnant or already mothers
• 23% of adult prisoners have been in care
• 45% of 5-17 year old looked after children were assessed as having mental health problems

Over the next few months we aim to bring together the partners involved in working with young people leaving care, from the government and local councils to charities, along with the young people themselves.  We want to work in partnership with them to identify opportunities for change and how we can help them to achieve those. 

Applications for our strategic programme will be by invitation only, however if your organisation is working with young people leaving care and you would like to be involved please contact us at info@en-light.org.