Championing ideas

The Spark Fund

Young people are leading the charge against injustice and inequality globally. The Spark Fund provides them with the financial resources and support to harness the power of technology and build a better, safer and more inclusive world.

The Spark Fund

Through pandemic and protests, 2020 brought social injustice and inequities to the forefront of our global consciousness. For society to fully recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and address the problems that it exacerbated, we need to invest in sustainable solutions and novel approaches to driving systemic change.

The Spark Fund backs youth leaders to take risks, innovate, experiment, and collaborate. This innovative funding model empowers young people to promote human rights and community well-being in the digital age by advocating, securing, and expanding their influence.

We believe that young people should be drivers and decision makers in building these solutions.
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The Spark Fund puts decision making power directly into the hands of youth and provides young leaders and their organizations, networks, and movements with flexible funding and capacity development. Through a participatory grantmaking process, regional youth panels in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe and Eurasia will make funding decisions using a unique and interactive technology platform. A global steering group consisting of young people from GFC’s Youth Leadership Council and Avast Foundation’s Youth Leadership Board, along with representatives from the fund’s partner organizations, provides strategic oversight. 

The innovative technology platform supporting the Spark Fund will facilitate democratic decision-making and enable young leaders to engage in learning, networking, and capacity development across borders. The platform will also emphasize testing and learning to ensure the final product works for youth-led decision-making, while protecting the digital security and privacy of users.

A better future begins now: Get involved today

The Spark Fund’s first round of grants will be disbursed to youth-led and youth-focused groups in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Groups from these countries may apply for funding via the application page by November 30. For more information, please visit our FAQs.

Ten panelists aged 18-30 from Europe and Eurasia are leading the grantmaking process in this region. Applications for youth panelists from Africa, Asia, and the Americas will open in 2022, as will calls for applications for funding.

In order to support this important and inclusive work well into the future, the Spark Fund is also looking for additional funding support. Organizations interested in co-funding this unique initiative for youth empowerment can contact us directly at foundation@avast.com. 

Spark Fund Partners

Spark Fund partners are committed to uplifting and incorporating youth voices and viewpoints into our collective work.

Global Fund for Children
Global Fund for Children
Global Fund for Children

Global Fund for Children (GFC) works to build a world where all children and youth enjoy equal resources and opportunities in society and live free from violence, discrimination, and exploitation. To that end, GFC partners with innovative local organizations, helping them deepen their impact and build their capacity for social change. Since 1997, Global Fund for Children has invested $46 million in more than 725 organizations, reaching more than 11 million children and youth worldwide. 

Global Fund for Children is the Spark Fund’s primary implementation and onward grantmaking partner, advised in this work by a youth leadership council regional and youth grantmaking panels.

Shared Nation
Shared Nation
Shared Nation

Shared Nation is a collective giving platform that allows groups, large and small, to make effective and fair decisions together about how to invest pooled resources in good causes. The platform creates an educational, enjoyable and efficient digital experience, empowering participants to have a bigger impact together than they would alone.
Shared Nation leads the co-design process, driving the development of the Spark Fund’s participatory grantmaking and youth leadership networking platform.

Catch22
Catch22
Catch22

Catch22 is a social business, a not-for-profit business with a social mission. For over 200 years we have designed and delivered services that build resilience and aspiration in people and communities. Our vision is a strong society where everyone has good people around them, a purpose, and a good place to live. As a social business we have the heart of a charity, and the mindset of a business. 

Catch22 is an advisor and innovation partner, and works with the Spark Fund to create a sector-leading approach to online social engagement and digital citizenship for youth, through discovery, co-design and delivery.

Avast Foundation is now part of Giving@Gen

On September 12, 2022, Avast merged with NortonLifeLock, Inc., and a successor company, Gen, was launched. Gen is a global company powering Digital Freedom through consumer brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender, and CCleaner. Gen’s vision is to big vision to power Digital Freedom by protecting consumers and giving them control of their digital lives. Gen’s philanthropy and corporate responsibility program, Giving@Gen, is a big part of that mission, and will draw on the legacy of Avast Foundation and NortonLifeLock Cares programs.

To learn more about Giving@Gen, please visit Gen’s corporate responsibility website.

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