The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Big Lottery Fund is to provide voluntary youth groups with £40m to develop youth projects in 34 of the most deprived communities in England (see box).
The funding is part of an £80m support package that also includes developing volunteering and social action opportunities for young people. How will the Youth Investment Fund work and what should voluntary organisations do to get a share?
What funding is available?
Voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as registered charities, community benefit societies, community interest companies and other types of social enterprise that provide frontline, open access youth service provision in the targeted areas can apply for up to three years of funding. Local authorities will not be eligible.
Applicants can apply for funding of between £50,000 and £250,000 annually over three years until 2020. VCSEs can also apply for "small scale capital funding" of up to £50,000.
The Big Lottery Fund says it understands "there has been a particular reduction in open access youth services" and the aim is to fund a wide range of activity accessible to all young people.
It also hopes the fund will be a catalyst that encourages local authorities, businesses and other local commissioners to invest in the youth sector. It is anticipated that 60 to 75 grant awards from the £40m pot will be made overall.
What can the fund be used for?
The Big Lottery Fund says it will pay for costs associated with expanding existing youth services, developing new youth services, and current services and activities.
The fund will also cover proportionate overheads and staff costs, and costs associated with developing an organisation so it can sustain delivery on an ongoing basis. This could include identifying new sources of income such as matched funding or social finance, improving the quality of provision or investing in the skills of the workforce.
Capital funding can be used to assist with purchasing equipment, refurbishing existing facilities and developing new ones.
What types of projects will it fund?
Funding will be awarded to open access youth provision within the 34 targeted areas that includes a range of leisure, cultural, sporting and enrichment activities that usually take place around youth and community venues.
But the guidance states youth provision being offered should not require a formal referral process, so if a young person requires a formal referral into a targeted service, it will not be eligible for funding.
How can you apply?
Organisations can apply if they have an annual income of £300,000 to £2m, an evidenced track record in delivering frontline services with and for young people, and can keep project deadlines.
Applications can be made now, with the process closing on 11 November. Applicants will be informed if they have been successful in March 2017.
First payments will be made shortly after, with a view to work starting within six months.
At least 75 per cent of project beneficiaries should be young people aged 10 to 18 (or up to 25 if they have disabilities or special educational needs) and based in the targeted areas.
After an initial contact form has been received by the Big Lottery Fund, organisations should email applications within 15 days.
AUTHORITIES BEING TARGETED BY THE YOUTH INVESTMENT FUND
- Bristol & Somerset: Bristol; North Somerset; and Somerset
- Eastern Counties: Cambridgeshire; Norfolk; Peterborough; and Suffolk
- Liverpool City Region: Halton; Knowsley; Liverpool; Sefton; St Helens; and Wirral
- London East: Barking & Dagenham; Hackney; Havering; Newham; Redbridge; Tower Hamlets; and Waltham Forest
- Tees Valley & Sunderland: Darlington; Hartlepool; Middlesbrough; Redcar; Stockton; and Sunderland
- West Midlands Urban: Birmingham; Coventry; Dudley; Sandwell; Solihull; Stoke-on-Trent; Walsall; and Wolverhampton
Three youth leaders identify their key priorities for the youth investment fund for voluntary organisations
Paul Miller, interim chief executive, National Youth Agency:
"Although the funding is being targeted at particular areas, government should start to shape a vision for young people which sets out some key priorities.
"We'd like to see a focus on young people's wellbeing; investment in support to help young people develop the skills to cope with the relentless pressures they face.
"A further priority is the transition from education to employment, where young people can easily fall off the radar and when failure has far-reaching consequences for their futures.
"More support for young people to help them move from school to independence would be money well spent."
Bethia McNeil, director, Centre for Youth Impact:
"It is possible that the potential of the fund will be overshadowed by a focus on ‘disadvantage' and how locations have been selected.
"The £40m will not go anywhere near replacing the funding that has been stripped out of youth provision since 2010. The fund should not seek to supplement what remains. It should focus on an effective and responsive system of support for all young people in targeted areas.
"It should also focus on building sustainable capacity among providers in targeted areas to share new models of continuous quality improvement, and to use evidence to inform the design and delivery of new and existing programmes."
Adam Muirhead, chair, Institute for Youth Work:
"Given the fund is targeted at disadvantaged areas, an asset-based narrative for the funding's criteria would be really welcome to recognise the skills, talents and character that already exists in our youth.
"We would like to see struggling youth work projects supported and an emphasis on working together for the good of the sector. Infrastructure, such as training and volunteer support, would go a very long way.
"Given the devastation to youth work's state support, this welcome (but relatively small) resource could be made available to the statutory sector as well, should the willing be there."
