With support from ChildFund Korea, the Foundation incubated six nonprofit startups working across Korea to address social issues faced by children and youth. By developing and providing new types of content that were not easily available through existing community child centers and welfare centers, the program created diverse opportunities for children and youth to participate in activities and demonstrated the strengths of topic-based incubation.

Selected Teams and Key Activities
Ground Move(그라운드뭅): #InvisibleYouth #ArtsMentoring #SelfDrivenMomentum

Dream Building School Social Cooperative(꿈을짓는학교 사회적협동조합): #CollectiveSenceOfAchievement #IntegratedEducation #Creativity

Domansa(도시를만드는사람들): #RevitalizingIdleSpaces #CollaborativeCity #RightToTheCityInEverydayLife

ZAONE(사단법인 자원): #DormantResources #NewCycles #ChildrensRightToPlay

Tantan Village Social Cooperative(탄탄마을관리 사회적협동조합): #CulturalAndArtsCreationExperience #MeetingWithArtists #VillageExhibition

With Harang Social Cooperative(함께하랑 사회적협동조합): #LearningCenterForSlowLearners #CustomizedEducationPrograms #SupportForSlowLearnersAndTheirFamilies

In partnership with the Financial Industry Public Interest Foundation, we incubated five nonprofit startup teams seeking to contribute to solving social problems through education-based solutions.

Selected Teams and Key Activities

Namdareun Sex Education Institute(남다른성교육연구소): #GenderEquality #ComprehensiveSexEducation #MenAndYouth

THE Isang(더 이상): #SocialSolutions #SocialParticipation #BusanYouth

Neurin Sori(사단법인 느린소리): #SlowLearners #Independence #Diversity

SpringME(스프링미): #Resilience #ImprovingAdaptability #PositiveHabits

Jayu Skole(자유스콜레): #EverydayDemocracy #Dialogue #ChangingLives

The Foundation launched an online service (https://ican.npostartups.org) that enables nonprofit startup teams to directly utilize the Impact Capacity Assessment for Nonprofit Startups (ICAN).

As part of the launch, the Foundation held an information session to introduce the service and ran a self-assessment support program, providing customized consulting based on the self-assessment results of 10 organizations.

In partnership with the Cheongdo Innovation Center, the Foundation provided six teams based in Gyeongbuk with education on the concept of nonprofit startups and entrepreneurship, workshops on defining local community issues and developing personas, and individual consulting on each participating team's startup plans.

A new initiative was launched to promote healthy attitudes toward beauty among teenagers, in partnership with Amorepacific and nonprofit startups Project Planet and Youth Voice. In launching the initiative, the Foundation analyzed the current landscape through an online big data study on youth beauty standards and awareness, held a public lecture series exploring diverse perspectives on beauty, and ran education programs to help teenagers move beyond uniform beauty standards and discover a beauty that is authentically their own.

The Foundation formed a consortium with three nonprofit startups working in the environmental sector (Wear Again Lab (다시입다연구소), Mindful Gardners (마인드풀가드너스), and Lovere Paper (러블리페이퍼)) to jointly develop and run five new volunteer programs for POSCO employees. Approximately 400 employees took part in the volunteer activities, which included repurposing fabric scraps and discarded yarn into knitted and sewn goods, creating potted plants and gardens for vulnerable households, and delivering goods made with upcycled cardboard waste to households.

Since its opening in 2020, Dongnakga has established itself as an incubation space for nonprofit startups and has drawn significant interest as a leading example of a nonprofit space.

Throughout 2024, organizations and schools from across Korea visited Dongnakga to learn from its experience. It was also actively utilized as a collaborative space for institutions and organizations involved in incubating nonprofit startups.

D.MZ regular meetings consist of three separate sessions where social sector activists in their 20s and 30s build networks with their peers by sharing stories about work and life.

Dates: (5th Cohort) Jul. 23–Aug. 6 / (6th Cohort) Sep. 3–Sep. 24, 19:30–22:00
Participants: 28 social sector activists in their 20s and 30s

D.MZ Let's Go is a one-time gathering where social sector activists in their 20s and 30s engage in in-depth discussions on topics of interest.

Dates: 9 sessions held between Aug. and Nov. 2024
Participants: 77 social sector activists in their 20s and 30s

Three D.MZ participants published columns in the public-interest media outlet The Butter, reflecting on their experiences after taking part in D.MZ. Through their columns, they shared the real-world challenges faced by social sector activists in their 20s and 30s, the need for networking among peers, their experiences at D.MZ, and the positive changes they experienced after participating. The columns helped raise awareness of the importance of supporting social sector activists in their 20s and 30s.

The 2024 ChangeON Conference delivered messages relevant to the nonprofit sector under the theme of “Love — Seeds of Liberation,” exploring love as one of the fundamental values of nonprofits.

Session 1. Love Is Birth

The Birth of Love: Lee Jeong-mo, Former Director of the National Gwacheon Science Museum
Love and Care: Noh Myung-woo, Professor at the Department of Sociology, Ajou University

Session 2. Learning Love from Technology

AI and Software that Understand People and the World: Ryu Seok-yeong, Professor at the KAIST School of Computing; Chairman at Kakao Impact
AI Technology, How Can We Make Use of It?: Kim Seung-il, CEO of Modulabs

Session 3. Love for Liberation

CODA: Between the World of Silence and Sound: Lee Gil-bora, Writer and Filmmaker; CEO, CODA Korea
Planting the Seeds of Liberation: Eun-yu, Reportage Writer

Ollybolly Illustrated Stories provides animations featuring the cultures and histories of regions that are not easily encountered in Korea. In 2024, 28,524 people visited the Ollybolly website, while 58,000 people participated in the Cultural Diversity Sensitivity Test, which is open to both children and adults.