What will it fund? Under the first strand, it is looking for a variety of organisations in England to help the body assess the potential for new or expanded volunteering opportunities for young people under the Russell Commission proposals in 2006-07. Under the second strand, it will support organisations to look at past and current programmes to involve volunteers and find out what works and what doesn't. In particular, it wants to record successful attempts to reach out to traditionally under-represented groups and to foster innovation in this area. The main point of the grant is to pay for staff time to develop this work. Note that neither strand will support the actual delivery of youth volunteering places - that will wait for the implementation body itself.
Who will it fund? Established voluntary and community sector organisations that have a track record in developing and managing volunteering activity.
Partnership bids involving local authority youth services are welcome, providing they are led by a voluntary organisation.
How much is available? A total of 600,000. There will be two levels of funding under each strand - 2,000 to 9,000 and 10,000 to 24,000.
Application procedure: You'll have to be quick - the closing date for applications is 2 December. Forms and guidance notes can be found on the web site www.russellcommission.org.
