Six of the panels, which will decide how cash from the Grants to Organisations strand of the Young People's Fund is allocated, are already in place. The remaining three are expected to meet in the next few weeks.
Last week, the lottery said that YouthBank UK would act as its partner. The organisation, which sets up local grant-giving schemes run by young people, will be responsible for finding young people to sit on the panels for the next two years.
Mark Farrar, a development officer at YouthBank UK, said: "It is very exciting for us. One of our aims is to have young people making decisions about where money is spent."
Each panel will consist of three 13- to 25-years-olds and four adults.
The panels will meet every six weeks to assess applications.
The 40m will be spent over two years and split between nine regions.
Each region will receive varying amounts of funding depending on the number of young people living there and the amount of social deprivation.
The Grants to Organisations strand is aimed at groups that operate at a regional level and run projects for 11- to 18-year-olds or disadvantaged young people aged under 25. The grants available range from 5,000 to 150,000 over three years.
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk.
