What Young Social Innovators does

Young Social Innovators (YSI) is an Irish registered charity (CHY16909) and company (412810), founded in 2001 by Sr Stanislaus Kennedy and Rachel Collier, and headquartered in Dublin's IFSC. It operates as Ireland's leading youth social innovation education organisation, delivering programmes — including Activate (15-18 year-olds in Transition Year/Youthreach), Ignite Community, CatalySE (underrepresented communities), Elevate, and the Design for Change primary-level programme — through a school-based delivery model supported by trained YSI Guides (educators) and a network of Local Leaders across Ireland and Northern Ireland.

YSI's underlying technology consists of the proprietary Social Innovation Learning Framework (an action-based learning methodology used by thousands of educators), the Echoboard data-insights platform, and the Youth Pulse real-time youth perspectives tool. Supporting infrastructure includes the YSI Den pitch events backed by the Social Impact Fund, the annual Speak Out Tour (3,000+ participants across 13 events in 2026), and the YSI Awards ceremony held at Aviva Stadium. The organisation also coordinates Ireland's participation in the international SAGE World Cup competition.

YSI's business model is a non-commercial, grant-funded charity model. Revenue is assembled from multi-departmental Irish government grants (Rural and Community Development, Education and Youth, Children/Disability/Equality, Social Protection, HSE), EU PEACEPLUS funding via SEUPB for cross-border delivery, corporate partnerships (Bank of Ireland, IBM, Sage, KPMG, Aviva, Vodafone), and philanthropic foundations (Tomar Trust, Community Foundation for Ireland, Smurfit Kappa Foundation). Pricing for programme participation is not publicly disclosed; the 25-year-old organisation has supported over 190,000 young changemakers cumulatively and is targeting 500,000 by 2051. Customer segments are young people aged 13-18 (primary), educators, and youth organisations.

Name

Young Social Innovators

Legal name

Young Social Innovators

Website

https://youngsocialinnovators.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Young Social Innovators (YSI) is an Irish registered charity founded in 2001 that delivers youth social innovation programmes to 13-18 year-olds through post-primary schools, funded by government, corporate, and philanthropic partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Social Innovation Education

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Services (611), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN), Innovation & Design Thinking Programs (EDAMAHAD), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL)

Keywords

• Youth social innovation
• Education programmes
• Social enterprise training
• Civic engagement youth
• Non-formal education

Headquarters

HQ city

Dublin 1

HQ country

Ireland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Public Funding: Funding from Department of Rural and Community Development, Department of Education and Youth, Department of Children, Disability and Equality, Department of Social Protection, HSE, Dormant Accounts Fund through Pobal
2. Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners including Bank of Ireland, IBM, Sage, and others provide funding and strategic support
3. Philanthropy and Foundations: Funding from Tomar Trust, Community Foundation of Ireland, and other philanthropic organisations
4. PEACEPLUS Programme: EU-funded programme managed by SEUPB supporting cross-border youth engagement in Northern Ireland and border counties

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Young Social Innovators delivers structured social innovation education programmes for young people aged 13-18 across Ireland's post-primary schools, Youthreach settings, and community organisations. Core deliverables include the Activate, Ignite Community, CatalySE, Design for Change and SAGE Global programmes, supported by the proprietary Social Innovation Learning Framework, the YSI Den/Social Impact Fund pitch funding, the Elevate mentorship programme, and the Speak Out Tour and YSI Awards events. Echoboard and Youth Pulse provide youth-led data insights to partners.

Product overview

Young Social Innovators (YSI) is a non-profit organisation operating a portfolio of educational programmes rather than a single software product. The core offering comprises youth-led social innovation programmes including Activate (for 15-18 year olds in Transition Year), Ignite Community (for non-formal education settings, supported by PEACEPLUS), Design for Change (primary level), and the CatalySE Programme (for underrepresented communities). Supporting infrastructure includes the YSI Den/Social Impact Fund (pitching and seed funding), Elevate Programme (advanced support with mentors), Speak Out Tour (public presentation events), and YSI Awards (annual celebration). Research and insight platforms include Echoboard (youth-led data insights) and Youth Pulse (real-time youth perspectives). The Social Innovation Learning Framework underpins all programme delivery. YSI also coordinates SAGE Global participation for Ireland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Activate: Social innovation programme for 15-18 year olds, delivered as part of Transition Year or in Youthreach Settings.
• Ignite Community Programme
• YSI Den
• CatalySE
• Echoboard
• Youth Pulse
• Design for Change

Products and services

• Activate Programme A social innovation programme for young people aged 15-18, delivered as part of Transition Year or in Youthreach Settings, enabling students to co-create and implement solutions to real-world social issues.
• Ignite Community Programme A community-based programme for young people outside the main education system, supported by PEACEPLUS and SEUPB, offering arts, outdoor adventure, youth-led innovation, and cross-community connection opportunities.
• YSI Den / Social Impact Fund A pitch event where student teams present social innovation projects and compete for funding from the YSI Social Impact Fund to help teams move from idea to impact.
• Elevate Programme An advanced programme connecting teams who have created impactful social innovations and enterprises with specialists in funding, strategy, PR, communications, enterprise development, and innovation.
• Speak Out Tour An annual event where young people deliver two-minute presentations on social issues they care about, travelling to cities across Ireland to showcase youth-led social innovation projects.
• YSI Awards Annual awards ceremony celebrating excellence in youth-led social innovation, recognising secondary school students whose projects drive real change in communities across Ireland, held at venues such as Aviva Stadium.
• Design for Change Ireland A primary-level social innovation programme empowering students to make a difference to the world while building entrepreneurial skills, delivered in Ireland by YSI as Ireland Country Champion since 2018.
• SAGE Global Ireland An international entrepreneurial programme for teenagers whose innovations and social enterprises address urgent challenges; YSI coordinates Ireland's participation in the annual SAGE World Cup competition.
• CatalySE Programme A programme designed to support young people from underrepresented communities to explore, develop, and launch social enterprise ideas tackling inequality and climate change, offering mentoring, workshops, and concept funding.
• Echoboard A youth-led, data-driven insights platform shaping public dialogue on social issues affecting young people.
• Youth Pulse A real-time youth perspectives tool informing partner strategy and decision-making, generating authentic youth insight for funders and partners.
• Social Innovation Learning Framework YSI's proprietary framework used by thousands of educators to facilitate action-based learning with young people in social innovation; underpins the Activate, Ignite, Elevate and other programme offerings.

Quantifiable outcome

• 190,000+ young changemakers supported since 2001
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Department of Rural and Community DevelopmentcoreOthers · 1 January 2001Lead public partner supporting engagement of young people in social innovation and volunteering; building and enhancing volunteering culture in Ireland
• Department of Education and YouthcoreOthers · 1 January 2001Lead public partner; jointly funds scaling of youth-led social innovation education in second level schools through Dormant Accounts Funds with Tomar Trust since 2020
• PobalcoreOthersFunds YSI through Pobal's Scheme to Support National Organisations; manages Dormant Accounts Fund distribution
• HSE (Health Service Executive)coreOthersProvides funding to promote physical, mental and sexual health strategies among youth population; sponsors Making Our World Healthier Awards and Relationships and Sexual Health Award
• Department of Children, Disability and EqualitycoreOthersInvests in participation and engagement of young people; provides Making the World a Better Place for Young People Award annually
• Department of Social ProtectioncoreOthersLongstanding partner investing in learning and engagement of young people in combatting poverty and disadvantage; provides Making Our Country More Inclusive and Poverty Free Award
• Dublin City CouncilcoreOthersWorks with YSI to increase engagement of disadvantaged young people at second-level in social innovation and enterprise in Dublin City
• Cork City CouncilcoreOthersWorks with YSI to raise voice of young people at second-level education in Cork City's future and increase engagement in social innovation and enterprise
• SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational entrepreneurial programme for teenagers; YSI CEO is Ireland Co-ordinator; one Irish team selected annually for SAGE World Cup competition against up to 20 countries
• Design for Change InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYSI is Ireland Country Champion since 2018 Taiwan conference; provides social innovation introduction for primary level students; global network of 70+ countries
• IBMminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner supporting YSI programmes and youth innovation initiatives
• GaisceminorOthersYSI is a Challenge Partner; participation in YSI programmes counts towards Gaisce bronze, silver and gold awards
• JigsawminorOthersIreland's National Centre for Youth Mental Health; partnered organisation supporting youth wellbeing
• BelongTominorOthersNational LGBTQ+ youth organisation; partnered to support inclusion and youth voice
• NYCI (National Youth Council of Ireland)minorOthersMembership organisation representing voluntary youth organisations; supports shared interests of youth sector
• KPMGminorOthersCorporate partner supporting YSI initiatives
• Aviva IrelandminorOthersHost venue partner for YSI Awards 2026 at Aviva Stadium Dublin
• Vodafone IrelandminorOthersCorporate partner cited as inspired by YSI's vision for youth of Ireland

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Foróige: Ireland's largest youth organisation delivering youth work programmes to adolescents aged 10-18 through schools and communities. Most direct domestic peer given shared Irish geography, adolescent target segment and overlapping non-formal education delivery model.
• Jigsaw: Ireland's National Centre for Youth Mental Health and a YSI partner; peer because it delivers school- and community-based adolescent wellbeing programmes across Ireland with overlapping beneficiary cohort and funding environment.
• Junior Achievement Ireland: Non-profit delivering enterprise and work-readiness education programmes to Irish secondary school students. Directly comparable in combining school-based delivery, business skills and youth social innovation outcomes such as those YSI targets through CatalySE and YSI Den.
• Gaisce: Ireland's national youth awards programme; YSI is a Challenge Partner so participation in YSI programmes counts toward Gaisce awards. Operates in the same Irish post-primary school ecosystem and competes for the same adolescent engagement.
• BelongTo: Irish national LGBTQ+ youth organisation and YSI partner; relevant peer given work with the same Irish adolescent cohort on inclusion, identity and social change projects.

Broad incumbents

• NYCI (National Youth Council of Ireland): Umbrella membership body for Irish voluntary youth organisations; comparable as broader sector infrastructure shaping youth policy and funding, of which YSI is an affiliate via shared ecosystem.
• SAGE (Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship): International youth entrepreneurship programme of which YSI is the Ireland coordinator; functions as both partner and peer competition given overlapping teen social-enterprise agenda and annual World Cup format.
• Design for Change International: Global social innovation movement for school students of which YSI is Ireland Country Champion; comparable because both organisations run youth-led social innovation curricula with similar age cohorts and school delivery.
• Ashoka Ireland: Global organisation supporting leading social entrepreneurs including young changemakers; comparable as a wider social innovation movement operating in Ireland and overlapping with YSI's mission to empower young people tackling social issues.

Emerging players

• Enactus Ireland: International student social enterprise and entrepreneurship programme active in Irish universities; comparable as a pipeline builder for student-led social enterprise but operating at tertiary rather than secondary level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@youngsocialinnovators
• Instagraminstagram.com/youngsocialinnovators
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-social-innovators

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Young Social Innovators