Case Study

Investing in UK youth

Supporting The Amos Bursary in creating pathways to top universities and careers

Opportunity

Developing a sustainable financial strategy

Since 2009, the nonprofit The Amos Bursary has been supporting talented young individuals of African and Caribbean heritage in Britain’s state schools, providing them with wraparound services to achieve their academic ambitions and secure top university placements and fulfilling careers. Around 60 percent of its alumni go on to mentor current students, creating a ripple effect of support.

Although a surge in donations in 2020 allowed The Amos Bursary to fund its operations until the end of 2024, its leaders knew they needed a robust financial model for long-term viability.

To address this challenge, McKinsey supported the nonprofit in strengthening its corporate partnerships strategy and establishing a reliable funding pipeline.

Hear from the Amos Bursary’s co-founder and CEO, Colleen Amos OBE; regional director of West Midlands, Stephen Brooks; Amos Scholar, Leon Gidigbi; and the McKinsey team about how McKinsey supported Amos in uplifting the next generation of UK students in education and business.

Solution

Extending the reach

McKinsey’s support focused on developing a three-year plan to increase funding through corporate partnerships.

The journey began with a crucial step: redifining The Amos Bursary's value proposition to resonate with prospective partners. A comprehensive landscape analysis followed, pinpointing priority sectors for expansion and potential partnership models by examining industry best practices across the entire partner life cycle.

This thorough analysis allowed The Amos Bursary team to identify four strategic priorities to close the funding gap in five years:

  • strengthening relationships with existing corporate partners to secure increased cash and in-kind contributions
  • attracting new partners to diversify and balance the funding portfolio
  • expanding the network of universities and corporations directly contributing to students’ educational expenses
  • developing a social enterprise proposition to reduce dependence on external partners over time

The partnership between McKinsey and The Amos Bursary has been transformational. They reviewed everything we did as an organization, worked with us to reimagine our funding strategy, and created a blueprint for closing the potential funding gap for the next five to ten years.

Colleen Amos OBE, co-founder and CEO, The Amos Bursary

Impact

Unlocking new resources

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