Nominet Trust becomes Social Tech Trust & launches new £0.5m funding programme
Melanie May | 25 May 2018 | News
Nominet Trust has become Social Tech Trust, with Social Investment Business as a new member and strategic partner, and a new £0.5 million grant funding programme for early stage ventures.
The Social Tech Trust grant fund, called Tech to unite us, will support ventures demonstrating the potential of technology to address inequality, and will open for applications in July this year.
Social Investment Business CEO Nick Temple will join the Board of Social Tech Trust and joins existing Board members, Bill Liao, Beth Murray, Sebastien Lahtinen and Hannah Keartland.
Like Nominet Trust, Social Tech Trust will support socially motivated UK start-ups and businesses that are transforming lives with technology. It will also continue to back innovative partnerships, including its £1m support of Fair By Design, which aims to end the poverty premium within the next 10 years, and its contribution to the £1 million iAMDigital programme, in partnership with Creative England.
The Trust was Nominet’s corporate foundation for ten years. It has now become independent and able to attract funding from other sources to help expand its programmes. Since 2008 the charity has supported over 750 socially motivated initiatives in the UK, providing more than £31m of funding to drive change with tech. Nominet has supported the Trust with funding of £44m over the last ten years, and moving forward, has committed to investing in its own programme to help one million young people overcome the challenges of the digital age.
Bill Liao, Chair of Social Tech Trust said:
“Powerfully leveraging tech with purpose will be strengthened by the Trust’s new standing as a key independent contributor to the UK tech ecosystem, in partnership with Social Investment Business. We are all looking forward to delivering our next round of grants to empower a new generation of tech that transforms lives.”
Mark Wood, Chair of Nominet, said:
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“As we focus on Nominet’s ambitious pubic benefit programme, it’s the right time for the Trust to have the freedom they need to pursue their social tech agenda. We thank the team for their enormous contribution over the last 10 years, and wish them well as they embark on an exciting new partnership.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.