It has been another tough year for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, with the biggest cost of living crisis in a generation following the impact of COVID 19.

Through our work with our charity portfolio and the influence on policy decisions we have been able to bring to bear alongside our partners, we have supported young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in education, employment and life. All of this is made possible by your support.

Here are some Impetus highlights from 2022…

We have grown our portfolio by seven new charities.

Back in September we announced the three charities we'll be supporting to help young people develop their social and emotional skills to improve their attainment. Early next year we will be announcing with the four new charity partners joining our Connect Fund, supporting our ambition for greater diversity of geography and leadership in our portfolio.

This means we now have 25 investments reaching almost 300,000 young people this year, a higher number than ever before.

To deliver this, we have grown our income.

Across the year we've secured more than £4.5m in co-investment for our charities. This includes new partnerships with Inflexion and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

We have used our data and evidence to influence Government policy.

In 2022 we've helped to ensure high-quality tutoring is available for those pupils who were hit hardest by lockdowns, convening partners to support universities in widening access for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and providing advice to get more young people into work through the Youth Employment Group.

We are now into the second year of delivering our pioneering Impetus Leadership Academy, set up to support the next generation of talent from ethnic minority backgrounds into senior leadership positions.

Outcomes from the first year of the programme included two participants promoted to Director, eleven new roles across the cohort and a self-reported 28% increase across a range of leadership competencies. The Academy is funded and delivered in partnership with Bank of America, who have extended their support for another three years.

In 2023 we will focus on supporting our portfolio to deliver while influencing critical policy decisions and supporting our staff to achieve these goals. Keep in touch with our progress by signing up to our regular newsletters.

Your support means that many more young people are achieving their English and maths GCSEs, getting into a good university, getting a job and leading successful lives - on their terms. Watch the film we released in November, featuring the stories of two young people supported by our brilliant charity partners Football Beyond Borders and MAMA Youth.