The three strands of funding cover local projects (11.5m), innovative projects (4.75m) and projects for hard-to-reach young people (2.85m).
Each application will go to a central office, which will decide which strand it is most suitable for. It will then be sent to one of 32 local panels, which will grade the application before sending it to the Young People's Fund committee for a final decision.
The projects must be inclusive and based on local needs. Initiatives that help teenage girls, young people with multiple issues, young people with few opportunities for volunteering, and young people with problems engaging with others will be more likely to gain funding.
Young people will serve on the local boards and the committee. The youngest committee member is Alan Newbigging, 14, from Alloa, Clackmannanshire.
He said: "I think it is very good that the Big Lottery Fund is involving young people in this. The experience will be great because I want to become a community education worker."
John Naylor, chairman of the central committee and a member of the Big Lottery Fund board, said: "The key thing is that young people - and people that work with them - are at the heart of the fund."
The projects must work with 11- to 25-year-olds to give them confidence, skills and opportunities for decision-making. The awards will be between 5,000 and 1m.
England's Young People's Fund launched last September.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
