This briefing shares learning from Collective Futures’ Discovery Partners programme, exploring what a relational, trust-based approach to grant-making looks like in practice. Drawing on feedback from grassroots early childhood organisations, it highlights how unrestricted funding, careful relationship-building and targeted non-financial support can strengthen organisational resilience, flexibility and long-term impact. We also reflect on what worked less well, offering practical insights for funders interested in more equitable, responsive and collaborative approaches.
About Discovery Partners
‘Discovery Partners’ were one-year unrestricted grants of up to £50,000 to grassroots early childhood organisations. As a new foundation, Collective Futures set up Discovery Partners to begin its grant-making practice and to test how its Guiding Principles could be applied. The team wanted to build partnerships with a small group of grassroots organisations and learn about the sector by listening to and supporting, rather than just extracting data and stories. They were particularly interested in:
- Exploring the breadth and variety of organisations ‘doing brilliant work’ in the early childhood space.
- What unrestricted funding can enable for organisations.
- The system failures and issues currently facing children and families.
- What good pro bono support might look like, exploring possible opportunities for TDR Capital staff to directly support funded partners if appropriate.
To date, this learning has been used to ground advocacy and systems-change work (to shift public understanding, behaviours and investment in early childhood development) in real experiences, and to support the development of Collective Futures’ Local Ecosystems Fund.
