Launch League

Corporate partnerships · 2027 season

Don't just sponsor the next generation. Help build it.

Want to back local young people without running a program yourself? Launch League connects Ontario students with real business education, real businesspeople, and a real chance to turn an idea into something more. We built the infrastructure and run it. Our partners supply the business community around it. Chamber, municipality or community organization?

Curious who's judging before you sponsor an award? Meet the local business owners and professionals reviewing entries.

See Our Judges

Deadline:

Our supporters

Backed by

Organizations putting their name on real prize money for Launch League founders.

Steve Aiken, Co-operators Insurance

Steve Aiken, Co-operators Insurance

Presents the Agriculture Business AwardChatham-Kent award

Waste Connections of Canada

Waste Connections of Canada

Presents the Green Future InitiativeProvince-wide award

Libro Credit Union

Libro Credit Union

Presents the Community Impact AwardChatham-Kent award

The gap

Talent is everywhere. Opportunity isn't.

Young people hear about careers and entrepreneurship, but many never get the chance to test an idea of their own.

Many will never

  • Pitch an idea to a real entrepreneur
  • Get business feedback that means something
  • Meet someone who has actually built a company
  • Compete for something with real stakes
  • See entrepreneurship as something available to them

A young person with a good idea shouldn't need the right parents, the right school or the right connections to have someone take them seriously.

What we do

We build the infrastructure. Our partners make it real.

Turnkey for partners

Launch League gives a company a turnkey way to invest in young entrepreneurs. We provide the schools, the students, the entrepreneurship education, the competition structure, the judging process, the technology and the measurement.

Our partners provide the business community around those students — experienced people, industry insight, mentorship, awards and opportunities.

Students learn how business works, develop an idea, build a plan, pitch it, and get written feedback from working businesspeople. Every completed entrant gets that feedback, not only the winners.

Why partners

Community impact that creates business value too.

  • Build future talent

    Help develop the employees, managers, entrepreneurs and community leaders your organization will depend on.

  • Engage your people

    Give your team meaningful ways to take part — as judges, mentors, speakers and advisors. Always optional, never a condition of partnering.

  • Strengthen your communities

    Back young people in the places your employees and customers actually live.

  • Show your industry

    Help students understand the careers, the businesses and the opportunities that exist inside your sector.

  • Build your employer brand

    Show students, families and educators what your organization stands for, years before you are hiring them.

  • Create measurable community impact

    Participation, completed entries, written feedback delivered and communities reached — reported back to you, not a logo on a banner.

Where the money goes

What your sponsorship funds

A named award’s prize is paid to the student who wins it. Everything beyond that funds the season it is won in — Awards Night, the platform, the travel to classrooms, and the people who run it. A free program still costs money to run, and we would rather say so than quote you a percentage we would have to defend later.

Award categories
12
Each one can carry a sponsor name
Province-wide target funded
$2,500 / $15,500
1 of 12 province-wide awards has a sponsor
Complete entry gets feedback
Every
Written, from volunteer judges, by June 15
Awards Night 2027
May 31
In Chatham-Kent, livestreamed

Your future employees, customers and business owners are sitting in classrooms today.

Don't just advertise to the next generation. Help build it.

How it works

Getting involved is simple.

  1. Choose how you want to take part

    Back a school, a region, an industry category, or the Ontario-wide program.

  2. We do the heavy lifting

    We coordinate the schools, the students, the programming, the competition, the judging and the reporting.

  3. See what your support creates

    Meet the students, involve your team if you want to, and see the ideas your partnership helped make possible.

Four directions

Point it wherever it matters to you.

Four ways to direct a partnership. The levels and prices are the same ladder either way — this is about where your support lands.

  • A school

    Back the students at one school — often one a company already has ties to, or where employees' children go.

  • A region

    Southwestern, Central, Northern, Eastern Ontario or the GTA & Hamilton. Your name on the award and the programming where you operate.

  • An industry

    Name the award in your own sector — agriculture, skilled trades, manufacturing, energy, health, hospitality and more.

  • All of Ontario

    The whole program, every region we reach, with your name carried across it.

Real communities. Real opportunity.

The communities we’re targeting

The communities Launch League is targeting for the 2027 season. These are the places a partnership would reach.

Communitieswe’re targeting
13
Schools & boardsin those communities
12
Ontario regionscovered by the targets
4 of 5
ONTARIOLake HuronGeorgian BayLake ErieLake OntarioBarrieOttawa →↑ Sudburyfurther north12345678910111213N

Launch League

Students. Ideas.
Stronger communities.

Big ideas happen everywhere

13 communities

For schools

Every pin is a community Launch League is targeting, and each count is the schools and boards there that we are aiming to reach. None of it describes a running program yet, and saying so is more honest than implying otherwise. We name the community, not the school.

Same mission. More communities.

Bring Launch League to your community.

A school, a board or a whole region — it costs nothing to take part, and we do the heavy lifting.

Start the conversation

Available awards

Every category. Every region. Every community.

Each of the 12 categories can be sponsored province-wide, in each of the 4 regions and in each of the 13 communities we're working in. That is 216 awards: 213 are open, 3 have a sponsor.

  • Tech Innovation Challenge

    $2,500 target · open

  • Green Future Initiative

    Presented by Waste Connections of Canada

    Sponsored

  • Young Entrepreneur Spotlight

    $500 target · open

  • Community Impact Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Creative Ventures Challenge

    $1,000 target · open

  • Health & Wellness Innovation

    $2,000 target · open

  • Agriculture Business Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Skilled Trades & Construction Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Hospitality & Tourism Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Manufacturing & Making Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Transportation & Logistics Award

    $1,000 target · open

  • Energy & Utilities Award

    $1,000 target · open

Regions and communities appear here once a school, board or community organization there is taking part or in active conversation with us. We do not sell an award where we cannot yet deliver it: 1 of Ontario's 5 regions are not open yet.

Local awards: Chatham-Kent community awards are confirmed for the 2027 season, because Launch League is based in Chatham-Kent. Community and regional awards anywhere else are not guaranteed. A local award in a category opens only once that area has at least 10 complete entries in that category and a local sponsor has confirmed the prize. Until then, entrants from that area compete for the province-wide awards, which are open to everyone in Ontario.

Partnership levels

Sponsorship levels

Pick the reach you need. Every level names a real competition award, and the card says exactly what your money pays for.

  • Community Award

    $1,000 – $2,500 / season

    One award, one community

    Local businesses, chambers, service clubs and community foundations naming an award in their own town or county

    • Your name on a real competition award
    • Logo on the competition page and award materials
    • Named in the announcement when the award is won
    • Invitation to Awards Night
    • Keeps entry free for every student in Ontario
    Or pay now

  • Regional Partner

    $5,000 / season

    One of 5 Ontario regions

    Employers who want a presence in the schools in their own community

    • Everything in Community Award
    • Named award in your region
    • Classroom visits to schools in your region
    • Employee volunteering: your people can apply to judge or advise through the same independent process as anyone else
    • Logo on school-facing materials for that region
    Or pay now
  • Most partners land here

    Provincial Partner

    $12,000 / season

    Province-wide

    Organizations that operate across Ontario and want reach to match

    • Everything in Regional Partner, in every region we operate
    • Named award carried province-wide
    • Classroom visits across participating school boards
    • Logo on every school-facing material
    • Recognition from the stage at Awards Night
    • Annual impact report on what your funding delivered
  • One partner only

    Presenting Partner

    By conversation / season

    Province-wide, one partner only

    One organization that wants its name on the whole program — priced against what the program is worth at the time, not off a list

    • Everything in Provincial Partner
    • "Launch League, presented by your organization" on every page and material
    • Category exclusivity — no competing organization at any level
    • Named in every press release and media mention
    • Speaking slot at Awards Night
    • First right of renewal for the following season

A named award's prize is paid to the student who wins it. Everything beyond that funds the season it is won in — Awards Night, the platform, the travel to classrooms, and the people who run it. A free program still costs money to run, and we would rather say that than pretend this operates on air. What does not change: entry stays free for every student, every entrant gets written feedback, and sponsors never influence judging.

Prices are in Canadian dollars and HST is added on top — HST registration 72585 8757 RT0001. Launch League is a company, not a charity, so sponsorship is a service with named recognition rather than a donation, and your receipt is a payment receipt, not a tax receipt. The youth program, the free course and the competition are free and stay free.

Or underwrite one thing, for a year

Put your name on a part of it

The levels above are about reach — how far your award travels. These are the other question: which part of Launch League do you want to make possible? One partner each, twelve months, and the recognition is worth something precisely because it is not shared.

Founding Learning Space Partner

$15,000 + HST

12 months, one partner

“Launch League Learning Lab — made possible by your organization”

One locally visible organization that wants a permanent, physical connection to young people in Chatham-Kent

  • Twelve-month presenting partnership of the workshop and training room
  • Permanent, tasteful recognition inside the space itself
  • Recognition on this site, and on workshop registration pages where it fits
  • Named in Launch League impact reporting
  • Recognition when programming is photographed or written about — always subject to youth and media consent, which we will not waive
  • Your employees can take part as mentors, speakers or judges, through the same independent process as anyone else
  • A limited number of seats in adult Launch League workshops
  • Two to four approved community or business sessions hosted in the room each year
  • Quarterly impact update: young people served, workshops held, volunteer hours, programmes delivered

What you get to say: “We helped make this place available to young people all year.”

Career Launch Partner

$25,000 + HST

12 months, one partner

“Career Launch — made possible by your organization”

An employer that wants its name on how young people find a direction in the first place

  • Named partner of the career discovery pathway for a full year
  • Recognition across the career pages, guides and family-facing material
  • Your people hosting career conversations, in the work they actually do
  • Named in impact reporting on young people served and placements explored
  • Quarterly impact update

What you get to say: “We underwrite the programme that helps teenagers work out what to do next.”

Skilled Trades Partner

$25,000 + HST

12 months, one partner

“The skilled trades pathway — made possible by your organization”

A trades employer, contractor or union that wants the trades taken seriously earlier

  • Named partner of the trades and apprenticeship pathway for a full year
  • Recognition across the trades guides, OYAP and apprenticeship material
  • Site visits and shop tours where practical and safe
  • Your tradespeople as mentors and speakers
  • Quarterly impact update

What you get to say: “We put the trades in front of young people before they have already ruled them out.”

Awards Partner

$10,000 + HST

One season, one partner

“Awards Night — made possible by your organization”

An organization that wants to be in the room on the night the work is recognised

  • Named partner of Awards Night
  • Recognition from the stage and across the event
  • Named in the announcements and the coverage that follows
  • Seats at the event for your team
  • Recognition in the season's impact reporting

What you get to say: “We host the night these young people get recognised for what they built.”

Community Service Partner

$10,000 + HST

12 months, one partner

“Serve First — made possible by your organization”

An organization that believes young people should learn to give before they learn to sell

  • Named partner of the Serve First community work for a full year
  • Recognition on the service pages and on the projects themselves
  • Your employees alongside young people on project days
  • Named in reporting on projects completed and volunteer hours
  • Quarterly impact update

What you get to say: “We underwrite the part where young people go and do something for a neighbour.”

A programme partnership underwrites a named part of Launch League for a year — the space, a pathway, or the night the work is recognised — and the programming run out of it. Young people reach all of it free. Adults and businesses pay for the workshops they attend, and that revenue helps keep the youth side free, which is the point: a partner establishes the thing, and the commercial side helps sustain it. Launch League is a company and not a charity, so your receipt is a payment receipt and not a tax receipt, and HST applies.

Program partners

Put your partnership behind a program.

Regional, Provincial and Presenting partners can attach their support to the part of the founder journey that matters most to them. Same levels, same prices — no separate tier.

Program partners get recognition on that program. They never choose winners, influence judging, receive student submissions or get participant information.

Judging stays independent

Sponsors can name an award and get visibility across the platform, but sponsors never select winners or influence judging. Every entry is scored independently by volunteer judges — see our Competition Rules for details.

From $25

Not naming an award? You can still chip in.

From $25, become a Builder: a permanent Builder number and your name on the Builders Wall, or stay anonymous. It helps deliver the free program: the platform, travel to classrooms and Awards Night. Prize money comes only from named award sponsors.

Launch League is not a registered charity, so contributions are not tax-receiptable. If that changes, we'll say so here.

Become a Builder

Who sponsorship is for

A good fit

  • — You want your name beside something real that young people in your community take part in.
  • — You are aligned with youth, education, careers or local economic development.
  • — You want to know what you funded, with every deliverable you agreed completed.

Not the right fit

  • — You only want a logo placed somewhere.
  • — You expect a promise about sales, leads or hiring results. We do not promise those.
  • — You want influence over judging, the rubric or who wins. Sponsorship never buys that.

The deliverables guarantee

Every deliverable we commit to in your sponsorship is completed, or the value rolls forward to the next season until it is.

This guarantees what we deliver, not a business result for you.

By industry

Where does your organization fit?

Integrity first

Partnership without pay-to-play

Corporate partners help fund Launch League. They do not buy access to participants, and they do not influence competition results. Student privacy and the integrity of judging come first — always, and without exception.

  • Partners do not choose winners
  • Partners do not influence scoring, including for an award they fund
  • Partners do not receive student submissions
  • Partners do not automatically receive anyone's contact information
  • Partners cannot purchase student data
  • Any introduction involving a student or minor follows our privacy and parent/guardian consent policies

Where we are

Early, and honest about it

Launch League is early, and we would rather say so. The program is built, the awards are defined and the season runs to March 2027 — what is not built yet is the group of organizations behind it. There is no track record to point at, and that is precisely what a founding partner gets to be part of.

The long view

Be there at the beginning.

What if the next great Ontario business starts with a student someone finally took seriously?

Years from now, we want our partners to be able to say: we were there at the beginning.

Whether a student becomes a founder, an executive, a trades business owner, an innovator, or simply a better employee — building and pitching something real changes what they think is possible.

Founding partners

Help build the entrepreneurs Ontario will depend on next.

We're looking for organizations that want to do more than put a logo on an event — companies willing to help create real chances for young people to learn, build, pitch and be taken seriously.
Talk to Launch League

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