In a country as diverse as India, how does one revive a sense of life, vibrancy and community? How can one bring wonder and imagination all the way from urban cities to rural hinterlands? How does creativity help revive a sense of freedom among the imprisoned? The Creativity Pioneers Fund coalition knows the answer lies in funding the spaces where creativity can flourish.
Adama Sanneh, CEO of Moleskine Foundation, commented: “In 2021, we had a vision to build a global movement of creative minds, thinkers, doers, and change makers partnering with creative and cultural institutions, brands, cultural organizations, and the creative sector at large.
Three yearslater over 20 visionary partners have joined the Creativity Pioneers Fund and we can’t be happier to see a growing interest in investing resources, skills, and imagination in the Creativity for Social Change field.”
Alison James, Executive Director of the BIC Foundation, said: “At the BIC Foundation, we strongly believe in the power of creativity as the driver of change and we want to create the most inspiring and innovative pool of creativity makers throughout our society, and to support them to have impact on our world. As founding partners of the Creativity Pioneers Fund, we are taking our mission one step further, positively impacting in underserved communities at a global scale, while building a community of pioneers that can connect and work better through collaboration.”
Aiming to democratize creative skills so they are not just capabilities wielded by the lucky and the wealthy, BIC Foundation and the Moleskine Foundation, together with a coalition of partners from various sectors awarded€5,000 grants to 54small organizations worldwide that are using creativity to catalyze social change. From climate change to gender equality, from human rights to quality education and migration, Creativity Pioneers are confronting the world’smost pressing issues, and is a boon of opportunity, networking, and visibility for its recipients.
Access to funding represents only a starting point for a larger collaboration system, towards a platform model where the BIC Foundation and its partners act as ecosystem builders. The community of Creativity Pioneers provides the grantees with access to more funding, in-kind and know-how support, mentoring and learning opportunities, peer-to-peer exchange, and networking.
Since its inception in 2021, The Creativity Pioneers Fund has awarded grants to 101 organizations crossing 40 countries. The 2023 edition received over 800 applications from 111 different countries.
After a selection process that lasted four monthsand involved experts, partners, and organizations from the past cohorts as evaluators, 54 new Creativity Pioneers were announced. Out of the recipients, 70% operate in large metropolitan areas, while the other 30% are divided among medium, small cities, and rural areas. Of this year’s Creativity Pioneers, 40%have an operating annual budget lower than EUR 50,000, including 9% below EUR 10,000 per year, highlighting how underfunded the creativity for social change sector is.
One third of the organizations were founded less than three years ago, confirming Creativity Pioneers Fund’s attention to new realities. They represent the diverse perspectives and experiences that the Fund wants to elevate. The grantees range from Guatemala, where Fundación Ixcanul is creating positive impact and social transformations through film. In India the Kaivalya Plays Foundation,aims to create innovative artistic experiences with a focus on community-building. They work with institutions and organizations across India and produce cross-cultural theatre production, whereas in Nepal, the Freedom Studio is strengthening non-violent civic mobilization by integrating art, media, and technology.
The Creativity Pioneers Fund is supported by the Moleskine Foundation, BIC Corporate Foundation, PromozioniServizi, Cherry Bank, Fondazione Marcegaglia, Fondazione Oelle, Community Arts Lab by Porticus, Hawthornden Foundation, BASE, Fondazione con il Sud, Fondazione CRT, Open Society Foundation, The AD Store, MANE, Healthy Food Healthy Planet, DLV BBDO, EMLEX. Learning partners: Kaospilot, Aurora, Watson Institute, Social Enterprise Open Camp. Network Partners: British Council, European Cultural Foundation.
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About the BIC Foundation
The BIC Foundation’s mission is to drive access to quality education, with a focus on building creative skills. We believe that in the current context of transformation of our society, economy and workforce, creativity is a key skill to cultivate a spirit of lifelong learning in children and youth. We, therefore, fund not-for-profit organizations delivering innovative education programs to children and youth from underserved and isolated communities. Since its creation in 2016, the BIC Foundation has positively impacted on 175,000 children, youth and adults in over 20 countries.
About Moleskine Foundation
Moleskine Foundation is a non-profit organization. Our people believe that creativity is the key driver of social change, and our central focus is to inspire, empower, and connect young people to transform themselves and their communities. To do so, we fund a set of unconventional educational programs that unlock creative potential and develop change-making attitudes in youth, and we foster spaces where critical thinking and imagination can flourish.
While we share the core values of creativity and culture, Moleskine Foundation operates independently from the Moleskine Company. The brand’s financial contribution sustains the Foundation, allowing 100% of additional resources to be directly invested in programs.
About the Creativity Pioneers Fund
Our ambition is to catalyze transformational social change by supporting, connecting, and championing cultural and creative organizations that advance bold and unconventional practices for building a more just, inclusive, and equitable world.
Through the Creativity Pioneers Fund, launched in 2021, we provide flexible funding to creative and cultural organizations operating in underserved communities to help sustain their essential functions and programs.
