Your Best Friend Fund

It is run by 11 charities and creative organisations working with young people to provide trustworthy practical information about keeping themselves and their friends safe from toxic relationships or get them to safety.

Grants totalling £300,000 are available to organisations and groups based in England and Wales to create their own ideas and projects that support Your Best Friend’s aims.

How much and for what?

The organisers expect to make up to 40 small grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 each and eight large grants of £10,000 to £25,000. Organisations can only apply for one grant at a time. Small grants are run on a rolling programme and can be applied for at any time.

Grants can be used to pay for staff, professional help (like a graphic designer), venue hire and printing, but not websites and apps. Applicants will need to provide a simple budget.

Organisations can apply for a grant to use the tools and resources Your Best Friend creates in their own community or to develop ideas and activities of their own. Projects should focus on girls, young women and non-binary people aged 13 to 24. The fund says it is interested in getting tools and resources to those who might not find the help they need easily and need it in a language, style or place where they feel safe.

What should bids focus on?

Your Best Friend canvassed hundreds of young people to find out what they see their friends experiencing in relationships and what stops young people from spotting toxic behaviours and warning signs. From this work, 11 themes were identified covering issues from online pressure to controlling behaviours. These can be read on the Your Best Friend website and can be the basis for applicants to develop their ideas.

All projects and ideas should:

• Increase understanding about healthy, unhealthy and toxic relationships

• Give people the knowledge and confidence to know how to keep their friends safe.

Who can apply?

Applications are open to groups and organisations including:

• Schools (eg, pastoral teams, peer mentors, feminist societies, sports and drama teams)

• Colleges and universities (eg, student union, societies, sports and drama clubs, pastoral teams)

• Community-based social and health services (including sexual health, pregnancy and young mothers’ support)

• Charities and community groups (national, regional or local)

• Religious groups

• Youth clubs, groups and societies (including activism, sports, drama, music, uniformed youth organisations, adventure, craft and support groups).

Grants are not available to individuals, but the fund suggests those interested in getting involved should email yourbestfriend@safelives.org.uk

Any examples to share?

The organisation’s website suggests applicants “think about what a good way to raise awareness about toxic relationships in your community might be”. This could be sharing stories, creating a poster campaign, writing and performing a play or song, or setting up a peer support group. Ideas being developed include:

• Connected TikToks that give practical information, tips and skits showing the challenges faced by lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in their relationships

• A commercial video that provides information on relationships, red and green flags, and tips and advice for organisations that work with teenagers

• An Instagram campaign with quotes about what a good relationship looks like

• A Time to Step In Navigator where questions are answered that explain when to step in and what advice should be given to help friends

• A podcast of young people in conversation about how to open a friend’s eyes about their relationship.

What are the key dates?

Applications opened on 24 November 2021 and can be submitted through the online portal, via email or by post.

The next small grants panel meets on 24 January 2022, with applicants informed if they are successful within 10 days. The next large grants deadline is 18 February, with a large and small grants panel meeting being held on 7 March.

• More from: https://yourbestfriend.org.uk/fund

Funding roundup

• The Department for Education has awarded a £1m contract to charity Kinship for the development and delivery of a peer-to-peer support service for kinship carers across England, as part of programmes and investments committed to in 2021. It will create nine regional networks, a microsite, an online e-Learning platform and an online peer support chat. Peer support groups will be able to book free themed workshops.

• Selhurst-based youth charity Legacy Youth Zone is launching a major community fundraising drive to support its growing membership of 6,000 young people. One of Legacy’s major donors has offered to match fund any new donations for the next year, doubling any donations made by new monthly givers. Donors will get their donations doubled when signing up to giving by direct debit each month, ensuring the charity can support more people in Croydon.

• Researchers at the University of Surrey have secured £74,000 from the Nuffield Foundation to inform ways for youth justice services to enhance their engagement work with young people and their families. The aim is to help frontline practitioners work more effectively with children who offend and their parents to address the causes of youth offending and cut reoffending.

• Impington Village College and its sixth form, Impington International College, have been awarded £1m by the Turing Scheme to fully-fund student trips to one of 12 countries around the world across this academic year. The Turing Scheme is the government’s programme to provide schools with funding for students to experience life-changing opportunities abroad.