Wesleyan Microgrant
$1,000 USD Wesleyan University Summer 2026 4 supported 3 pathways
One $1,000 grant. Four people who each needed exactly one thing.
Our first grant, and the entire budget for the pilot. There was no staff, no office and no overhead.
Rather than designing one program and requiring every participant to fit into it, we began by asking each young person what they wanted. Their answers were different, and that was the point.
| Pathway | People | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| Vocational training | 2 | Enrolled in a sewing and fashion design program at an existing training provider. |
| Entrepreneurship | 1 | Start-up support for a first business. |
| Nursing education | 1 | Support toward completing a nursing qualification. |
What it did
Every person we funded started. Two entered sewing and fashion design training, one continued toward a nursing qualification, and one began building a business of their own.
The grant covered the single obstacle in front of each person rather than a standard package: a training fee for two of them, the cost of staying in a qualification for one, and start-up capital for the fourth.
Photographs
On camera
What we learned
Our first cohort was small by design. We were learning how to provide support that is personal, responsible and sustainable before trying to expand it.
The clearest lesson: paying for training is the easy half. The hard half is what happens the day after the training ends, and that is what our next chapter is built around.