Tinder Foundation
Tinder Foundation is a UK-based registered charity that is working towards a world where everyone benefits from digital. They are responsible for managing the UK online centres network and the Learn My Way learning platform. The charity was originally known as Online Centres Foundation - a staff-owned social enterprise - before rebranding in 2013.
Tinder Foundation’s chief executive is Helen Milner OBE.
History
Originally known as Online Centres Foundation, this staff-owned mutual was established in December 2011 to manage the UK online centres contract after a history of overseeing the network on behalf of Ufi Ltd (now known as learndirect).
In July 2013, they rebranded as Tinder Foundation, to reflect the widening remit of the organisation, including community action and digital strategy, as well as digital inclusion and learning.
Through their management of the UK online centres network and the Learn My Way online learning platform, Tinder Foundation has helped more than 1.6 million people gain the skills they need to use computers and the internet more confidently.
What they do
Tinder Foundation has three strategic goals: to reduce the scale of digital exclusion across the UK; to improve people’s lives by opening up the vast range of learning delivered through digital technology; to tackle social challenges with digital solutions.
They aim to achieve these goals through numerous different projects, including the Widening Digital Participation programme, run in partnership with NHS England, and the Reboot UK project, which is funded by Big Lottery and is being delivered with consortium partners Mind, Homeless Link and Family Fund.
Funding
Tinder Foundation receive funding from a mixture of public, private and third sectors, including the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, NHS England, Lloyds Bank and EE.
People
Helen Milner OBE is the Chief Executive of Tinder Foundation. Working closely with Government Ministers and officials since the 1990s, Helen’s ambition is to ensure that no one is left behind as the world becomes increasingly digital.
Lord Jim Knight is the Chairman of Tinder Foundation. He is currently Managing Director of Online Learning at TES Global, chair of HTI Academies and deputy chair of Nominet Trust. He was a Labour MP from 2001-2010 and is a former Schools and Employment Minister. He became a Life Peer in 2010. Jim has long been a supporter of UK online centres, and is passionate about the benefits being online can provide to everyone.
Learn My Way
Learn My Way is Tinder Foundation’s online learning platform, built especially to make getting online easy. Since 2010, over 1.8 million new people have got online in the UK using Learn My Way, with many of them progressing on to employment or further learning.
Courses are combined to create packages to help people follow a logical path through the site. The Online Basics package is the first step along the road for absolute beginners to the internet. Many UK online centres also deliver a City & Guilds approved assessment based on the package, offering learners a Level 3 accreditation. For those who have mastered the basics, Online Plus allows people to progress to more in-depth learning, adding job hunting, shopping and managing money online to the repertoire of skills available to learners.
The majority of the UK online centres network use Learn My Way to guide people through digital development, with one-to-one or small group sessions designed around the Learn My Way courses. The unique learning planner means that each user can tailor the site to their own specific needs, picking the skills that will be most useful to them.
Learn My Way is continually growing and being developed by Tinder Foundation, with a new version set to be launched in late 2016. Over the past few years Tinder Foundation has worked with partners, including Comic Relief, NHS, National Careers Service and the Money Advice Service to create courses with up-to-date content for learners. Courses are developed to be device-neutral, meaning that learning can take place on PCs, tablets or even smartphones.