Philanthropy

Rêv’Elles offers innovative career guidance programs (free of charge and outside school hours) for young women from modest backgrounds so that “every young girl, regardless of her social background, can dream, choose, and take control of her own personal and professional life, with full knowledge of the facts.”

Apprentis d’Auteuil supports young people in difficulty through reception, education, training, and integration programs in France and internationally, enabling them to become free and fulfilled adults. Evolem Citoyen supports the rollout of the Hello Persévérance program in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, which works in conjunction with the French Ministry of Education to encourage young people aged 12 to 25 who are vulnerable or socially excluded to stay in school.

Proxité supports young people in difficulty to achieve academic success and find their chosen career path. The project specifically targets young people receiving child welfare services in the Lyon metropolitan area and the Drôme department. Thanks to mentoring provided by employees of partner companies or local authorities, these young people benefit from a network and crucial moral support to secure their career path and access to sustainable employment. The project also aims to train the association’s employees and volunteers in mental health.

Founded in 2022 by civil society organisations active in the field of career guidance, the Collectif Orientation and its 32 members are united by a shared ambition: to work together to support young people’s career guidance. The project being supported aims to fund the overall running of this network hub, as well as the carrying out of a meta-analysis to formulate recommendations and influence future public policies on career guidance for young people.

JobIRL is a charity that has been working since 2013 to promote equal opportunities by helping young people engage with the world of work. The “Career Guidance and Parenting” project helps to organise a nationwide support service for parents focusing on their children’s career guidance.

As France’s first digital school for under-18s, EDEN School is continuing its mission to rekindle a love of learning through digital professions. Enrollment figures for 2024-2025 remain stable, with 67 students between Paris and Lyon. The school’s success is clear to see: all apprentices have obtained their web developer qualification (two years of higher education), proving the quality of an educational framework that is now well established. The school is engaged in strategic thinking to ensure the sustainability of its economic model and adapt its training courses to market needs. Supported by a committed ecosystem, EDEN School offers each young person a supportive environment to ensure their long-term integration into the sectors of the future.

Valdocco works with young people to promote education and professional integration in order to prevent them from dropping out of school and becoming marginalized. Since 2022, Evolem Citoyen has been supporting the experimental program “Valdocco Insertion.” This is a personalized support program that facilitates access to independence and integration for the most vulnerable 18-24 year olds (without qualifications and leaving the Child Welfare, Unaccompanied Minors, and Youth Judicial Protection systems, etc.) who lack career plans. In 2025, 37 young people received support from the association.

For 60 years, ATD Fourth World has been fighting extreme poverty. Since 2022, Evolem Citoyen has been supporting “Réussir Ensemble” (Succeeding Together), a national action research project promoting employment and vocational training for young people who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), initiated by ATD. A pillar of the project, the association L’Archipel des Métiers, launched in 2024, aims to experiment with the conditions needed to enable young people to reconnect with learning in the workplace, train for a trade, and move towards traditional training or employment. Following the restoration in mid-2025, a carpentry workshop will be launched in early 2026 to diversify the career paths on offer.

Weavers supports the social and professional integration of refugees in France through training and the building of social ties with the host community. Objectif Emploi is an innovative, full-time, vocational pre-training programme leading to employment, aimed at young refugees (aged between 18 and 30). This programme aims to bring about systemic change by simultaneously training young refugees for roles in sectors facing labour shortages and encouraging businesses to make the necessary adjustments to integrate these individuals sustainably into the French labour market. Following support from Evolem Citoyen between 2023 and 2025, the project is now entering its roll-out phase and aims to provide training and support towards employment for 252 young refugees by 2028, thanks to the commitment of 100 companies across six new regions.

The Foyer Notre-Dame des Sans-Abri is a long-established Lyon-based organisation specialising in emergency accommodation and social integration, whose PERLE scheme (Progressive Pathway to Housing through Employment) supports residents of its accommodation centres in returning to housing through employment. Evolem Citoyen is continuing the support it began over 10 years ago by funding an impact and cost-avoidance assessment to demonstrate and highlight the economic and social effectiveness of this programme to local authorities.

Possible has been working since 2014 to promote social integration and combat youth crime and reoffending amongst young people in the justice system. Through the “La justice en commun” project, we are supporting a pilot programme across the metropolitan area, as well as research and development initiatives, aimed at involving these young people in shaping the public policies that affect them.

Founded in 2024, the Le TAF association facilitates the integration of vocational training interns, mostly vulnerable 16-30 year olds, by securing their vocational training pathway. It brings together a group of training organizations (Les clés de l’Atelier, Weavers, IF2M, CFPH, etc.) to jointly develop innovative solutions and pool social support solutions. In 2025, 130 people benefited from this integrated social support, which is essential for removing barriers related to rights or housing, for example. One of the key pillars is the “1 Toit pour se former” (A Roof for Training) program, launched with several social landlords and social housing providers, which offers temporary accommodation solutions in Lyon. This innovative model thus guarantees that vocational training students can continue their training on a long-term basis.

A historic vocational training institution in Lyon, SEPR (Société d’enseignement professionnel du Rhône) has been working for 150 years to help young people enter the workforce. Through its Horizon endowment fund, SEPR has launched the “Donner pour une vie!” (Give for Life!) project with Evolem Citoyen to support learners in highly precarious situations. The aim of this initiative is to remove financial barriers (housing, health, transportation) to prevent school dropouts. In 2025, this program provided living grants to seven young learners below high school level who were experiencing difficulties. Each beneficiary receives €700 per month for 10 renewable months. In addition to this grant, enhanced social support ensures equal opportunities and perseverance toward graduation and employment.

Le 107 is an innovation hub serving the Lyon region, working to foster collaborative initiatives that drive social and environmental change. Building on its commitment, which began in 2025, to this Social Innovation Lab, Evolem Citoyen supports the “Housing and Employment Support Network” component of the Youth Housing Lab, a practical pilot scheme designed to smooth the path to sustainable employment for young people aged 18 to 25 who are described as having “no safety net”, through the means of training and housing.

Chapter 2 supports vulnerable young people (aged 14–25), the majority of whom have been in the care of the Child Welfare Service (ASE), on their path to independence. Evolem Citoyen is continuing the commitment it began in 2023–2025 by supporting the association’s two programmes: “Côte à Côte”, which uses peer mentoring to combat isolation and develop psychosocial skills, and “Trait d’Union”, which offers specific administrative and social support to young people leaving the ASE who are facing difficult circumstances, to help them become independent.

The organisation supports students from working-class backgrounds so that they can pursue long-term higher education through a dual model of mentoring and financial grants. Evolem Citoyen has supported Propulseo since its inception in 2021, and will continue to do so for the next three years by funding the organisation’s expansion and development phase, with a view to creating a network of autonomous regional branches.

A long-standing player in community-based educational prevention, the charity supports young people and families living in extreme poverty in working-class neighbourhoods. The project aims to transform their work in the Barges-Cachin neighbourhood (in Vaulx-en-Velin) – an isolated area plagued by violence – by combining their outreach work on the streets with the creation of a permanent base: a Social Life Centre.

For 80 years, L’Amicale du Nid has been committed to the day-to-day fight against sexual exploitation and supports victims to help them rebuild their lives. Our support will enable the Rhône branch to provide comprehensive care for young girls (aged 11–15) through the recruitment of a psychologist specialising in psychological trauma, rehabilitation activities (theatre, dog-assisted therapy) and prevention initiatives.

Evolem Citoyen is a founding member and is represented on the Board of Directors of this regional endowment fund initiated by Alain Mérieux, bringing together companies from the Lyon metropolitan area in the fight against homelessness. Since its creation in 2019, L’Entreprise des Possibles has been a collective of 175 responsible and socially-minded companies that supports associations working in the Lyon metropolitan area to help homeless people and those in extreme poverty. It supports projects providing shelter, housing, and reintegration. This initiative is not intended to replace the work of associations, but rather to amplify their efforts by strengthening relationships between companies and associations, raising funds, mobilizing employees, and providing material and real estate resources. L’Entreprise des Possibles also explores innovative solutions and new avenues for solidarity.

For 50 years, Alynea – Samu Social 69 has been working in Lyon with homeless and isolated people. Evolem Citoyen supports action research focusing on young people in distress who have been in the care of child welfare services and have broken ties with institutions. The aim is to better understand the specific needs of this group in order to improve reception and support services in the region, in coordination with local public institutions.

SoliVet trains and supports social services in caring for homeless or vulnerable people who have pets. The association also runs a solidarity-based dog boarding facility that temporarily cares for the pets of vulnerable people and helps employees in integration programs return to work. It trains social workers in animal behavior approaches and organizes veterinary care for the pets of homeless people. By removing the obstacle that pets can represent, SoliVet facilitates access to accommodation and care facilities for young people in precarious situations.

Since 2024, the INSPIRE action research project, jointly led by Ronalpia and Inter Made, has been exploring the factors that either undermine or strengthen leaders in the social and solidarity economy (SSE). It has a twofold objective: to have a direct impact by supporting peer groups to help one another, and to contribute to society by developing and disseminating accessible knowledge on the risk mechanisms inherent in these leadership roles. Between now and 2028, the action-research project will focus on two areas: the creation of a resource and discussion centre to raise awareness of the issues and equip those providing support, and the development of support mechanisms to create spaces for reflection and foster a culture of care within organisations.