Donor: LEGO Foundation
Apr 6, 2022
The LEGO Foundation is inviting organizations for Build a World of Play Challenge to fund bold and impactful global solutions focused on early childhood.
This Challenge, the biggest public grant ever provided by the LEGO Foundation, reaffirms the commitment of the LEGO® brand in its 90th year to ensure children globally are given opportunities to learn through play.
The Challenge seeks solutions designed to meaningfully impact the well-being and holistic development of young children (birth-to-six) in a sustainable way. It asks the question: what if the needs of the world’s youngest children, their families and their communities were a driving force in everything from the way societies design care and education systems, plan health systems, design cities and infrastructure and tackle the climate crisis?
Award Information
Up to ten finalists will be selected in September 2022. Each finalist will receive DKK 6.5 million (approximately USD 1 million) to strengthen their proposed plan, start building their team, and scale up to successfully implement their innovation.
Selecting from amongst the finalist organizations, the LEGO Foundation will announce up to five awards by the end of 2022.
There will be three grants awarded for DKK 200 million (approximately USD 30 million) each and two grants awarded for DKK 100 million (approximately USD 15 million) each.
Prohibited Use of Award Funds
Award funds must be used for the project for which they are awarded, and may not be used:
For non-charitable purposes; (for profit organizations, see 'Guidance Related to Non-Charitable Applicants')
For activities that do not benefit children, education, or research either directly or indirectly;
For general funds used for broader purposes than the solution proposed
To make a grant to any individual for travel, study, or other similar purposes, or to make a grant to any organization that is not part of your proposed solution/strategy;
Individuals, sub-contractors, and sub-grantee organizations that are not registered to do business (observing the current legislation) in their base country;
For lobbying as the primary purpose of the proposed project. Any organization who is preforming lobbying activities must be careful to follow all applicable laws within their jurisdiction and cannot act as an agent of the LEGO Foundation;
For the creation of any endowment or for the aggregation of philanthropic capital by organizations that regrant to nonprofit organizations;
For the creation of a venture capital fund, or pooled funds to invest in or distribute to for-profit organizations;
For loans or microloans to individuals, nonprofit, or for-profit entities unrelated to the proposed solution;
To fund general operating support for the Lead Organization and/or any partners;
Revenue loss;
Cash payments to beneficiaries.
Eligibility Criteria
For the Build A World Of Play Challenge, organizations eligible to serve as the Lead Organization must be:
An entity that is recognized and registered under the law of the applicable jurisdiction as a non-governmental organization, an educational organization, a charitable organization, a social welfare organization, a not-for-profit, or similar-type entity that is not a government agency.
A for-profit entity qualified to do business and in good standing under the laws of the local jurisdiction in which it operates.
The Lead Organization is a single legal entity that has the legal responsibility, authority for and control of the use of any grant funds, be responsible for the reporting on any grant funds, and must be able to exercise in fact and law direction, control, and supervision of the proposed project and the grant funds.
Eligible organizations are welcome to partner or collaborate with government agencies, sub-contractors, and other entities in order to implement the initiative.