The foundations' contributions are being matched through the #iwill Fund, the youth participation initiative, meaning a total of £3m will be available.
The fund will provide resources for young people to challenge social injustice, find ways of overcoming inequality and give voice to issues they are experiencing. In January, the seven organisations to receive support from phase one of the fund were announced. They will share a total of £687,000. The second phase of the Act for Change Fund opens soon to bids from organisations with a track record in helping young people lead change.
What is it trying to tackle?
The fund aims to promote the potential of young people with experience of disadvantage to devise and develop activities and programmes to shape the world around them.
The foundations say they hope the funding programme will "add to the debate" on the impact of youth social action on young people and explore the effect this has on skills and capabilities that are developed in the process of leading change.
How much is available?
The foundations expect grants to range from £20,000 to £100,000 over two years, although larger grants will be considered "on an exceptional basis", it says.
It expects to award grants to 30 organisations in the second round, with around £2.5m being available.
How does phase two link to phase one?
Lessons learned from phase one will be used to inform the application process and decision making in phase two. While any application that meets the criteria will be considered, for phase two, the foundations would be keen to hear from organisations working in rural communities or outside of big cities; or in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They would also welcome applications from organisations supporting young people who experience disadvantage on the basis of: poverty, debt, benefits, housing and austerity; disabilities; sexuality and gender; migration status; and religious discrimination.
Who received funding in phase one?
- Beatfreeks, £100,000 - will support staff to develop REACT, an approach that helps young people launch art activism responses to issues in their lives and communities.
- Just for Kids Law, £87,000 - to pay for a youth engagement officer to bring together young people who have been excluded from school to organise and undertake social action.
- Northern Ireland Youth Forum, £100,000 - to support development of a leadership studio for young activists in central Belfast, and pay for a youth worker who will support disadvantaged young people.
- The Advocacy Academy, £100,000 - to pay for a programme director to further develop its six-month social justice fellowship for passionate young people.
- The Warren of Hull, £100,000 - to develop The Thing, a youth-led empowerment and governance structure at The Warren. It will fund a support worker and digital media expert and resources for the project.
- UpRising, £100,000 - to recruit a campaign officer to develop the organisation's alumni networks in ongoing social action once its leadership programme's end.
- Youth Access, £100,000 - will contribute to improving the charity's rights advocates training programme and boost the impact of the Our Minds, Our Future mental health campaign.
What is the application process?
The foundations say they want to support organisations that have not benefitted from youth social action funding to date, and are keen to strengthen their impact and sustainability.
They are looking for applications that will support young people with lived experience of inequality and injustice to challenge the root causes of disadvantage and create change. This could be, for example, through campaigning, lobbying, advocacy or direct action.
Applications need to cover how young people lead change in organisations or, alternately, show how organisations are taking steps to make sure that young people can lead change in the future, including involvement at all different levels. The foundations want to see how funding can help applicants improve their impact, reach and/or sustainability in relation to youth-led social action for change.
Successful bids are to be decided by September 2019, with funds being used by Autumn 2021.
More from: https://www.phf.org.uk/funds/act-change-fund/#application-process
or email: actforchangefund@phf.org.uk
Funding roundup
- Sport England is investing £6.65m of National Lottery funding into a new three-year partnership with StreetGames that will tackle inactivity among young people in 50 of England's most disadvantaged areas. The funding follows £500,000 awarded to StreetGames last year.
- Young people with learning disabilities will be matched with volunteers who will help them plan nights out and go to gigs, thanks to funding from Co-op Foundation. Mencap's Gig Buddies project is one of 16 schemes awarded funding by the foundation through the #iwill Fund, for which it is acting as a match funder. Other projects supported include Make Some Noise, which will support primary pupils to transition to secondary school, and Off The Record that will support young people who have experience of mental ill health to co-ordinate and deliver campaigns. All projects will receive £70,000 over the next two years as part of a £1.12m investment by the foundation.
- The Lyric Hammersmith has been awarded £10,000 of National Lottery funding to support its REWIND programme. REWIND is an arts-based early intervention programme for young people aged 11 to 16 who are at risk of dropping out of school. The funding will re-engage participants with education through the use of theatre activities.
- A support network for Worcestershire families with special needs has been awarded £300,000 by The National Lottery Community Fund, formerly the Big Lottery Fund. The charity supports children who have disabilities and additional needs, as well as their families, across Worcestershire.
