£1.3m youth fund opens for applications

The £1.26m Youth Social Action Fund, which is backed by the Cabinet Office, will be open for applications until Friday 28 August.

A specification document published today reveals that the Cabinet Office and Pears Foundation, the organisation administering the fund, are interested in receiving applications from organisations to improve the reach and impact of existing programmes that are "sustainable and scaleable".

"We would also be interested in bids which wish to pilot, within existing programmes, innovative approaches to addressing issues of need, access or inclusivity, or which embrace cross-sector partnerships with the health, education or social care sectors," the document states.

The majority of the funding provided to organisations will run for two financial years with all money to be spent by July 2017.

In order to receive funding, organisations will be expected to demonstrate that their programme follows the "quality principles of great youth social action", in that it is: reflective; challenging; youth-led; socially impactful; progressive; and embedded.

The investment from government is part of its pledge to support charity Step up to Serve’s #iwill campaign, which aims to increase young people’s engagement in social action.

There will also be an additional local fund worth £510,000 available to organisations working with young people in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

Youth minister Rob Wilson said: “As part of the government’s commitment to building a truly compassionate society, this additional funding will tackle the challenges facing disadvantaged young people and help embed social action in young people’s lives.”