What will it fund? Schemes that provide young people with the chance to engage in worthwhile activity, coupled with the prospect of personal development through increased skills, confidence or learning. Applicants must also be able to demonstrate tangible outcomes for the organisation and its beneficiaries or the local community. Three types of opportunities will be supported in this first funding round: full-time placements where a young person makes a structured commitment to volunteer for a minimum of 30 hours a week over a period of at least 13 weeks; part-time activities of at least one hour a week over at least eight weeks; and short-term opportunities for young people to get a flavour of volunteering and a sense of its potential value to themselves and their community. Full-time volunteers will receive an allowance of 60 a week.
Who can apply? Established local and national voluntary and community sector organisations with a firm track record of involving volunteers. Commercial and public sector organisations can also apply if they work in partnership with voluntary bodies.
How much is available? There's no upper or lower limit and v wants to support a range of programmes. This first round is likely to give out about 7m.
Application procedure? For full- and part-time opportunities, applicants must submit a two-page "expression of interest" by 9 June, after which those invited to apply will have until 28 July. For the short-term scheme, a full application is needed by 23 June, with decisions announced in July.
- Application forms are available at www.wearev.com.
