Partnerships Last updated: July 2025

Engaging in local partnerships with non-governmental organizations, foundations, companies or government bodies can be incredibly beneficial to support hub projects, events and initiatives. Global Shapers can initiate partnerships at the local level to broaden their impact. They can also leverage grant-based or in-kind partnerships facilitated by the Global Shapers team with World Economic Forum members and partners interested in youth movements, leadership development, and our impact areas.

The Hub Partnerships section in the Charter highlights the principles and procedures governing collaborative relationships and engagements with external entities.

Approaching partners of the Global Shapers Community or World Economic Forum partners without first consulting with the Global Shaper Team, for funding, in-kind contributions or miscellaneous requests or invitations, is not permitted.

Types of Hub Partnerships

Building community capacity and partnerships are vital for the sustainability of Shapers' work. Hubs are encouraged to explore local partnerships with non-governmental organizations, foundations, companies or government bodies. There are two types of support:

Financial Partnership: You are asking a supporter for a monetary, charitable donation.
In-kind Partnerships: A partner will help your project by contributing goods or services.

Hubs should follow their local/national regulations related to charitable work and donations. Donations and partnerships should not be undertaken with organizations and individuals directly engaged in: arms or weapons manufacturing, gambling, human rights abuses, pornography or tobacco manufacturing.

Hubs are allowed to partner with companies, NGOs and initiatives that are led by hub members or any Global Shapers or Alumni from another hub. To ensure that there is no conflict of interest, the decision to enter into such a partnership should be voted by the hub and passed by consensus. At any moment, members can raise flags about a perceived conflict or process-oriented concerns with the advisory council or HQ (via the Community Manager).

Here are various ways to establish partnerships with the Global Shapers Community:

Provide Access to Resources: Offer tools, technology, financial resources, mentorship, or other support that can empower Global Shapers in their projects and initiatives.
Propose Scalable Initiatives: Suggest local projects or global campaigns that hubs can adopt and scale to maximize impact.
Support Youth-Led Innovation: Become a donor and mentor of the Global Shapers Innovation Prize, helping accelerate solutions developed by young leaders in key areas.
Integrate Youth into Events: Involve young people in sessions and speaking roles during events to ensure their perspectives are represented on global stages.
Sponsor Events and Campaigns: Sponsor events, initiatives, or campaigns led by Global Shapers, enhancing visibility and aligning with youth-driven impact.
Co-Host Collaborative Events: Co-host workshops, webinars, training sessions, or events with Global Shapers, focusing on skills development, leadership training, or other areas of mutual interest.
Collaborate on Research and Thought Leadership: Partner with Global Shapers on research projects or thought leadership efforts to highlight the importance of youth perspectives on key global issues.
Facilitate Intergenerational Mentorship: Organize "Meet the Leader" sessions to promote mentorship and knowledge-sharing between established leaders and young innovators.
Expand the Global Shapers Network: Nominate a Founding Curator to establish a hub in city where there is none.

Step-by-step to Approaching Potential Partners

Define the Type of Partner you Need: Assess what the hub should get from this partnership, how to measure success for this partnership, whether it is time-bounded or long-term, what the hub has to offer to the partner, and what are the brand cost/benefits for both parties.
Do your Research: Look for an organization that shares the same goals and purpose as your hub project. Shared values are crucial for the success of a partnership. Start with local organizations.
Assess the Potential Partner’s Strengths:Consider the possibilities for financial or in-kind support and think about what you can offer each other. A partnership is a win-win relationship.
Contact Potentoal Partners: It is always best to be introduced rather than cold-calling. When reaching out, include information about the Global Shapers Community and your hub, a short description of the project, potential partnership opportunities, and a proposition of what each party can contribute.
Formalize the Agreement: After agreeing to partner, clarify roles and responsibilities of each party through a Memorandum of Understanding or formal grant agreement. Watch this tutorial on how to write a grant proposal (often used for financial contributions).
Maintain the Relationship: Regularly update your partners on the project they're involved in and maintain the personal relationships within the organization.

Additional Tips

Register Your Hub as a Non-Profit or Secure a Fiscal Sponsor: This will enable you to receive grants or company sponsorship. To establish your hub as a legal entity or nonprofit, you will need to have strict governance and financial controls in place and hub members who are willing to commit time and energy to the administration of the hub. This process is different in every country. If this is not feasible in your country, look for a fiscal sponsor (a legal entity or NGO with a bank account that will accept and disperse funds on your behalf. Fiscal sponsors usually charge 5-10% of your grant for their service). To get started, reach out to see if hubs nearby have experience receiving grant funding. Be advised that this process can take longer than anticipated and set clear expectations with potential donors on your ability to receive funds.
Create a Fundraising Committee: Clear roles and responsibilities help with fundraising. Recruit members with fundraising expertise.
Clarify the Issues Your Hub Will Focus On: Tailor your approach to potential sponsors by connecting your hub’s mission with local challenges.
Set a Timeline and Realistic Budget: Develop a plan for allocating resources and a detailed budget. For example, if you require a funder to sponsor your project with a six-month timeline, develop a plan for allocating resources accordingly. Drafting a detailed budget will be useful to estimate costs and show funders you are committed to transparency.
Search for Grants: Conduct research on corporate and foundation websites for funding opportunities. In some countries, there are websites that provide a search directory for grants. Foundation Centre hosts databases that allow you to look for available grants by issue area. Watch this webinar on how to begin a grant search.
Storytelling is Crucial: Build a narrative around your hub to inspire and maintain the interest of donors. By encouraging donors to become part of your story, you can create a sense of ownership and compel them to want to work with you. Read more about the power of storytelling for a social cause.
Draft a Strong Proposal: Create a general template and adapt it based on funder preferences. Use resources like Grant Space for a tutorial on how to write a proposal and review grant proposal examples. If helpful, ask Global Shapers HQ for an email template to send to potential partners or sponsors.
Ask for In-Kind Contributions: Requesting meeting spaces from local universities, cafés, co-working spaces, or museums can significantly reduce costs.
Make a Good Impression: Research potential donors thoroughly and present a clear and concise pitch highlighting your hub’s expertise and achievements. Develop a clear ask around what your hub project needs: for example, particular resources, in-kind sponsorship, a specific amount or endorsement. During the meeting be professional, present the Global Shapers Community and what makes your hub unique, as well its proven track record of projects and achievements. After the meeting send a thank you note or email to participants with follow-up items and next steps.

Be Realistic About What the Hub Can Provide: Examples include: Build visibility for the partner by sharing the story of your partnership on TopLink and social media adding their logo to materials created by the hub around the topic of the collaboration; offer the hub's time and expertise while being realistic with your volunteer hours.

Don’t sell yourselves short. Don’t be afraid to negotiate and don’t underestimate the value a collaboration with your hub and young changemakers can provide to a partner.
Be sure to consult all Shapers in the hub before engaging in a partnership. Don’t rush into a partnership. Take the time to hear other hub members opinions, ideas and concerns about the partnership, the partner or the project before creating a formal agreement. Having internal buy-in will facilitate the delivery of a successful partnership.
Don’t skip documentation or it may result in issues for the hub. Keep track of the interactions with your partner in writing so that you have a record of what you agreed. If you have a call, send a summary email with the key elements of your conversation.
Consider your timing when reaching out to partners for monetary contributions. Most companies and organization have a set budget and financial cycle for giving grants.
Hubs must conform to the non-governmental and charitable donations regulations and laws in their local jurisdiction. Foundation Centre hosts databases that allow you to look for available grants by issue area.

Fundraising Don'ts

No Pursuit of Commercial Interests: All profits must be re-invested into hub projects.
Use Your Hub Logo Only: Do not use World Economic Forum or Global Shapers Community logos in marketing materials.
No Offering Benefits Beyond the Hub: Hubs should not offer benefits related to another hub, the Global Shapers Community, or the World Economic Forum.

Hub Partnership Examples

Partnering with an NGO: Led by the Amsterdam Hub, the cross-hub collaboration Shaping Fashion has partnered with the non-governmental organization Fashion Revolution. Local teams of industry experts from Fashion Revolution help hubs organize different events such as clothe swaps, workshops and film screenings around Fashion Revolution week every year in April with the goal of creating a citizen movement for sustainable fashion. The hub and Fashion Revolution have co-created resources, co-written articles (see Fashion Revolution Week: Global Shapers make their mark), and promoted their work across their communication channels (see Fashion Revolution Impact Report 2019).

What Works Well: As both the organization and the hub work with volunteers, there is a common understanding of expectations.
What Could be Improved: There are sometimes issues regarding commitment and continuity because both organizations work with volunteers. In the long run, the partnership will need to be formalized with the creation of an MOU.
Additional Tip: For cross-hub collaborations, please contact your community manager to determine whether or not an MOU should be at the hub level or with the Global Shapers Community.

Partnering with a University: The Geneva Hub created an informal partnership with the University of Geneva to offer financial literacy workshops through their project FinLit. Participating students, mainly from the International Organizations MBA programme, were highly engaged in the material and grateful for the additional courses provided by FinLit. The university received the time and expertise of the Shapers, while the hub gained exposure and was able to recruit new members.

What Worked Well: The workshops provided access to a new network for the hub.
What Could Have Been Improved: The Geneva Hub is a legally registered association, which would have allowed for the establishment of a strong formal partnership. By developing a legal agreement with the university, the hub could have explored the possibility of financial compensation for their contribution to the curriculum.
Additional Tip: Academia has more structured cycles of work, so integrating a new module into the programme needs to coincide with their schedule. It’s important to consider the project and financial cycles of any organization or company.

Partnering with Governments: The Guadalajara Hub partnered with the city’s Secretariat of Mobility to raise awareness about sustainable mobility under their project Citizen Sidewalk. The project participants led the construction of a sidewalk in an area of the city that incurs a high number of accidents. The government issued a permit for the hub to close some streets during the construction phase, provided mobility officers and safety equipment to protect participants working in the street. The hub also partnered with other NGOs to secure other types of resources.

What Worked Well: The government was very engaged in the project as the work the Shapers did directly aligned with their objectives. It was a way to move forward and bring attention to the issue that there was currently little budget for.
What Could Have Been Improved: More detailed objectives and asks could have resulted in a greater outcome of the project.
Additional Tip: Working with government can require significant time and resources, and often entails going through several official procedures. Remember to plan additional time when planning a project with government.

How Can You Help?

Our Partnerships team actively pursues relationship opportunities that advance the Community and increase our impact. The best way for hubs to help our efforts is to actively tell your story:

Upload your projects to Forum Spaces and inform your Community Managers of project developments.
Promote your hub and its activities, projects and impact in your local community to build awareness of the Global Shapers Community.
Inform the team of any partnership leads and facilitate those connections. Consult your Community Manager before initiating any discussion or agreement.

Return to Homepage

CREATED BY

Global Shapers Community