LEGO Foundation

In pursuit of its goal to empower children to become creative and engaged lifelong learners, the LEGO Foundation is proud to announce a commitment of $5 million to launch the Early Learning Initiative with New Profit, Inc. The Initiative will convene a cross-sector community of thought leaders, practitioners, researchers and philanthropists who will build on shared learnings to identify and lift up approaches that offer scalable, high-impact results for young children. By forging connections between developmental science and the systems that can deliver outstanding early childhood programs, this $20 million effort will select and support a set of six to ten investments in organizations that emphasize whole-child development in reaching children and the parents, caregivers and educators who support them.

Leveraging New Profit’s exceptional 15-year track record of venture philanthropy that enables proven social entrepreneurs to grow their organizations and strengthen their impact, the LEGO Foundation hopes its commitment will catalyze additional financial commitments and activate a results-driven network to drive lasting impact on the sector. The LEGO Foundation believes that learning through play should be at the heart of our discussions about what quality early learning looks like, and looks forward to this collaboration as a way to share its experience, to learn from others in the field and to think together about how to use the transformative power of learning through play to benefit young children around the world.