Foundations coming together for the common good
At its autumn meeting in 2014, the Council of Finnish Foundations (COFF) decided to make a joint gift to Finland to celebrate the centenary of the country’s independence. Working through the Builders of the Century Project, the foundations aimed to engage the Finnish public and to support society in an enduring, effective way.
The Builders of the Century Challenge Competition was a call for ingenious ideas and solutions intended to improve young people’s wellbeing and enable them to participate more fully in society.
Saastamoinen Foundation was one of about forty Finnish foundations and trusts involved in the project. Their shared goal was to offer young people a better future.
Proposals submitted to the Challenge Competition couldrelate to any aspect of a young person’s life, such as education, skills, employment, family, leisure, social relationships or life management. The projects could be connected to the domains of research, art and culture. The Foundation’s support and ability to bring diverse parties, experts and sectors together wass intended to lead to the creation of new unique activities that significantly improve young people’s wellbeing and engagement with society.
The jury selected 10-15 teams to participate in an intensive six-month phase during which leading experts helped the teams develop their ideas further.
The challenge was open to everyone: private individuals, groups, organisations, companies and municipalities. The challenge was to find effective ideas for improving society that involve collaboration between different actors and sectors, and new approaches with nationwide relevance.
The winner of the challenge, selected by experts, was team Gutsy Go. They received a funding of EUR 1.5 million. Gutsy Go is a project aimed at youth, where they can innovate solutions and action that benefit their communities. Find more about the project supported by the Saastamoinen Foundation here.
Photo: ©Council of Finnish Foundations