The Impact Encyclopedia began with a folder of interviews that had nowhere to live. Young founders were being written about in press releases and school newsletters, in one-paragraph congratulations that flattened years of work into a photo opportunity. The conversations themselves — the failed first attempts, the grant applications, the arguments with city hall — were disappearing.
So we started writing them down properly. Each entry in the encyclopedia is a long-form interview with a founder under twenty-five who has started something that exists in the world: a charity, a youth council seat, a community project, a social venture. We are not interested in ideas that stayed ideas.
How founders are chosen
Founders are nominated by readers, teachers, community workers and occasionally by their own families. We look for three things: that the initiative is real and operating, that the founder can speak honestly about how it started, and that the story teaches something another young person could use.
Two new stories are published every week. We do not accept payment for coverage, and nobody can buy a place in the encyclopedia. If a founder is not ready, we say so and often check back a year later.
How we report
Every story is based on at least one long recorded interview, usually more, plus documents: registrations, budgets, the emails that show a project actually happened. Founders read their quotes back for accuracy before publication. Numbers are checked with the organisation.
We write in plain language and we name the boring parts, because the boring parts are the story.