The 2023 Sprout Ideas Fellowship Program: Igniting Youth-led Impact and Social Innovation

TakingITGlobal has launched the Sprout Ideas Fellowship — a 10-month program to support alumni of Canada Service Corps microgrants to implement and scale their community service projects.

Between April 2023 and January 2024, Fellows are engaging in a curated learning experience with coaching support as they complete a series of program activities including training, mentorship, peer learning, project implementation, seed funding and fundraising in support of their volunteer-led project.

Through the Sprout Ideas Fellowship, participating youth also receive a copy of the Flourish Workbook published by TakingITGlobal featuring insights from 50 social innovators. Flourish Workbook editor and Executive Director of TakingITGlobal, Jennifer Corriero, was inspired to create this learning resource for changemakers. “When we thoughtfully participate and contribute to community building efforts, we are bringing an abundance of kindness into the flow of social interactions that allows people of all ages to flourish. My hope is that this book will help to attract resources, mentorship and connections that will help to fuel citizen-led community building initiatives.”

As part of the program, Fellows have access to exclusive content and insights from experts on a range of topics such as: designing for impact, understanding systems and sectors, attracting needed resources, forming partnerships, reflecting and adapting, and celebrating milestones. Projects led by these youth focus on key social needs such as environment, food and health, social justice, education, arts and culture, housing and safety and address multiple Sustainable Development Goals.

We are pleased to announce our cohort of emerging leaders participating as 2023 Sprout Ideas Fellows. You can view Project Profiles in our online directory.

As a Canadian registered charity whose mission is to empower youth to understand and act on the world’s greatest challenges, TakingITGlobal has been offering social innovation programming since 2005. Sprout is a series of offerings that support young people to thrive as inspired social innovators. Through self-guided and facilitated online courses, camps, events, and educator training, we’ve been working for nearly two decades to grow a culture of social innovation in schools and communities across the globe.

We are grateful for our partners and their support of young people as they contribute to a movement of youth-led community impact. The Sprout Ideas Fellowship is supported by Deloitte, the Inclusive Design Research Centre at OCAD University, Cisco, and funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Canada Service Corps. Canada Service Corps is a national movement that empowers youth aged 15–30 to gain experience and build important skills while giving back to their communities.