What is CATAPULT?

CATAPULT is a funding platform run by young people for young people. Here, voices are heard, ideas are unconventional, and projects challenge the status quo. Young people aged between 14 and 25 can not only apply for funding through CATAPULT, but also have a say in which projects are supported and how the platform develops. This creates a space where young people can take on responsibility, try out new things and help shape their own world.

Since its launch, hundreds of young people have used CATAPULT to carry out projects, make funding decisions together and make Basel a little fairer and more youth-friendly. It is particularly important to us that young people with little project experience and those from marginalised communities also have access to funding and are taken seriously. Therefore, we make the funding process straightforward and the decision-making participatory.

CATAPULT is what we young people make of it.

We are currently supported by the Fondation Botnar and the Mercator Switzerland Foundation. These two charitable foundations enable our work, ensuring that young people’s ideas can be put into practice in Basel and that CATAPULT can continue to exist and develop as a platform. However, as young people ourselves, we decide on the submitted projects and funding decisions. This means that the foundations finance CATAPULT but have no influence over which projects are submitted to us or receive funding.

Under the motto ‘Supporting Basel’s youth’, the Fondation Botnar’s ‘Basel Youth Initiative’ project was launched in 2020. The aim: to support young people in Basel in bringing their own ideas and projects to life. The funding platform was set up by Joël Pregger, Naemi Meier and Sophia Schwager. From the start, they worked collaboratively with young people; the aim was not just to provide an opportunity for young people, but one that was shaped and driven by them.

After a year-long set-up phase, young people were able to distribute CHF 15,000 across various project ideas in an initial trial run. Over thirty projects applied. A wide range of them, spanning social, artistic and political projects committed to a fairer Basel, received initial funding.

The website was redesigned in 2022 in collaboration with young volunteers. The biggest change: the platform was given a new name, CATAPULT. The platform was also further developed in terms of content, and two new funding streams were created: the CATASTART grant provides quick, straightforward funding for trialling ideas; the CATACHANGE grant is aimed at projects promoting greater social justice. Following nearly 100 successful grants, CATAGROW was launched in 2024: A format that takes the initiative into the public space with the aim of promoting ideas that are creative, accessible and youth-friendly.

And what happened next? Since then, CATAPULT has held a big launch party, reorganised itself strategically and built a fresh website. People have come and gone, and countless new ideas have been proposed and tackled. To date, over 300 projects have been funded. Five years of participatory youth support are behind us, and the journey continues. Stay tuned for what’s to come!

As well as working with young people, CATAPULT thrives on its deep roots in the city. We try to ensure that applicants benefit as much as possible from existing structures, and we, in turn, rely on funding that we can pass on to them. Our partnerships therefore consist of funders and practitioners who work together to support young people in the city of Basel.

If you think your business, big or small, might be a good fit for us, get in touch here!