15 years of Laureus: Then and now
May 24, 2014
When the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation started, the focus was simple. We worked to offer grants to exceptional sport for development projects so they could continue their work helping young people around the world.
Years on, and support now comes in three forms. We still offer funding, but added to this is training and research.
These three ‘pillars’ of support ensure each project provides the best possible opportunities to promote social change within their communities in a sustainable way.
Here’s a bit more insight into how the Foundation works now in 2014…
Funding
Laureus supports sport for development projects across the world through a grant programme that remains one of the largest of its kind. This programme allows currently existing projects the chance to develop their own work towards achieving a self-sustainable model.
This means that as well as helping achieve direct social change in communities now, Laureus are helping grassroots projects secure a legacy for future generations still to come.
Training/network
Laureus is one of the world’s leading providers of training in the use of sport as a tool for social development.
Working with our global network of expert practitioners, we have co-created a series of ground-breaking training programmes that push the limits of what sport can teach young people.
These programmes help projects address pressing social problems such as youth violence, lack of education and inter-community tension.
We also understand these issues can be tackled more effectively when people work together and learn from each other.
For this reason, we have connected all our funded projects to one another through a series of interactive summits, retreats and youth exchanges. This includes global summits that bring together the entire family of Laureus projects in one place.
The goal with these efforts is to break down barriers, engage with others and to change the world for the better by inspiring hope and positive change through sport.
Monitoring/research
One of the biggest challenges for organisations using sport as a social tool is actually how to measure the impact they are making.
For this reason, Laureus teamed up with two organisations – Streetfootballworld and Acumen Social Technologies - to build a new package of support around social impact measurement, called Infocus.
Infocus combines consultancy support and software to help organisations truly understand the life changes they create for young people and communities.
Alongside this, Laureus is investing in new research into how sport for development projects benefit society across the world. One recent piece of research proved that for every Euro spent on youth sport projects, a saving to society of five Euros was made in savings to such things as prisons, policing, and the courts.
This evidence is helping spread the sport for good movement by attracting new fundraising partners and investors, helping to secure the sustainability of sport for good across the world.
