ACT's search for the next generation of community leaders begins

18 September, 2023 |Ardonagh Group | Ardonagh Community Trust

The ACT Bright Future Prize 2023/24 is officially open for applications!

One again, ACT, the independent charity of The Ardonagh Group, is searching the globe to find young people aged 13-19 with ideas to make their communities and the world around them better, brighter and stronger – and turning those ideas into reality through a £40,000 prize fund.

Now in its third year, the Bright Future Prize continues to go from strength to strength. Already, ACT has invested £60,000 in our winning teens and in 2022 we had three times more entries than ever before. With The Ardonagh Group having further grown internationally, it’s safe to say we’re hoping this Bright Future Prize 2023/24 will see even more young people worldwide get involved with this fantastic opportunity.

Discover more about the prize, how young people can enter and spread the word in your networks.

The story behind Bright Future

The Bright Future Prize is rooted in its connection to young people, right to its origin. The prize was founded in 2020 in memory of Freddie – son of Ardonagh colleague David and his wife Sarah, who this year joined the ACT board of Trustees.

Aged seven, Freddie was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer and over the next four years he and his family were supported by a number of charities. To continue Freddie’s legacy, David and Sarah help select our Bright Future Prize winners every year.

Freddie in a helicopter over his favourite football club, Liverpool FC.

How young people can apply

ACT’s Bright Future Prize is open to young people aged 13-19, who live in any region around the world where The Ardonagh Group has a presence, including the UK, Ireland, Australia, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece and Italy.

To apply, candidates – individually, or as a group – need to enter their bright idea using the form on the Bright Future Prize page of the ACT website.

In this application they will need to:

share their bright ideas for a community project
outline how they will use the funding to make their idea a reality
explain how their idea will make a positive difference now and into the future.

Applications are open from Monday 18 September – Friday 3 November.

Following the closing date, a shortlist of fantastic finalists will be selected by our ACT Trustees in December. Then, those top teens will have the chance to share more and further develop their idea when we share our finalists showcase at the start of 2024, before our winners are chosen in March.

Please note, the Bright Future Prize is open to external candidates only. Immediate family members of employees of The Ardonagh Group and its subsidiaries are not eligible to apply. Ardonagh colleagues have access to other funding avenues from ACT, including match funding and community grants.

Discover our four prize categories

There are four prize categories to enter, all connected to a different way young people can lead positive change in the world around them. The winners of each category will share the £40,000 prize fund.

Our four prize categories.

Share this opportunity in your networks!

If you have young people in your network who are passionate about giving back and have an idea to make a difference, share this brilliant opportunity with them!

Perhaps you’re connected to a school or youth organisation, or volunteer in your community. If so, make sure these teens know about Bright Future Prize.

Alternatively, you might share a post on socials or LinkedIn – you can find us @ArdonaghCT on Facebook or Instagram and The Ardonagh Group on LinkedIn.

Our winners to date over the past two years.

Discover our inspiring winners to date

Since Bright Future Prize began in 2021, we have been privileged to see some incredible ideas sent in from teens worldwide.

Last year, our four winners – Kaydi, Jeffrey, Sara and Muhammad – came from around the globe. Equally diverse were their winning project ideas, ranging from innovative designs for a recyclable wind turbine, martial arts for elderly people, establishing a community hub to support neurodivergent young people, and upcycling school uniform to invest in a community food bank.

Watch this video to hear more about their bright ideas and what the Bright Future Prize has meant to them.