Funding information

Here we have gathered together information about youth work funders.  

You can also find more information on funding on the funding pages of Youth Scotland's website.

Youth Scotland Small Grants

The following Small Grants Schemes are available through Youth Scotland:

CashBack for Communities Small Grants
Grants of up to £2,000 are available for local volunteer led groups, who may not have previously had access to funding, to enhance their programmes for young people and get positive projects off the ground.
Next Deadline: 1st June 2012
For more information click here

Girls on the Move Participation programme
Grants of up to £2,000 are available for projects and initiatives that increase physical activity levels among girls and young women aged 12- 18.

For more information click here

Young Start Fund

Young Start is a new fund aimed at unlocking the potential of Scotland's children and young people which has been launched by the Big Lottery Fund. The Young Start Fund will award grants of between £10,000 and £50,000 for projects lasting up to two years.

The fund, which uses money from dormant bank accounts, is forecast to invest £8.9 million by March 2013. The Young Start fund is aimed at third sector organisations including voluntary organisations, community groups, social enterprises, housing associations, sports organisations, cooperatives and charities.

Young Start aims to create opportunities for children and young people aged 8 to 24 to help realise their potential. It can support projects that meet one or more of the following outcomes:
• Confident - Children and young people have more confidence and skills
• Healthy - Children and young people have better physical, mental and emotional health
• Connected - Younger and older generations are better connected and have more understanding and respect for each other
• Enterprising - Young people are better prepared for getting a job or starting a business

Projects will have a better chance of success if they can show young people have been meaningfully involved in the development, design and delivery of the project.

Further information, application form and guidance materials are available here.

There are no deadlines and applications can be submitted at any time. Applicants will hear if they have been successful within 8 weeks of submitting an application form. Groups can keep in touch with the latest Young Start news on Facebook or follow Young Start on Twitter.

Scottish Community Foundation

The aim of the Foundation is to help Scotland’s communities become stronger, believing that stronger communities will be more successful communities, with a better quality of life for everyone.
The Foundation runs two community grant programmes:
• Express Grants (up to £2,000)
• Main Grants (up to £5,000)

Both of these offer one-off awards to fund activities for up to 12 months, and are open to registered charities and constituted community groups, with an annual income of less than £250,000 per year. There are no deadlines. For more information visit the website: www.scottishcf.org/apply  

YouthLink Scotland Funds

CashBack Anti-Violence Fund
The CashBack Anti-Violence Fund will provide ring-fenced grant funding to projects dedicated to addressing the perception or experience of violence in Scotland among young people aged 10 - 19 who are at risk of becoming involved in violence.

This may include dealing with issues such as knife crime or gang violence, building on the successful No Knives, Better Lives youth engagement initiative. Projects must be located in areas of multiple deprivation or areas with a history of violent incidents or knife crime.

The £500,000 fund is administered by YouthLink Scotland. There are no upper or lower limits for awards and as it is a rolling programme, there are no set deadlines for applications.

For more information visit www.youthlinkscotland.org  

British Council - Youth in Action Programme
 

The British Council’s Youth in Action Programme (2007-2013) is funded by the European Union and provides young people with a variety of opportunities for non-formal and informal learning with a European dimension. They are particularly interested in receiving proposals for:
• Youth Exchanges - projects which bring together groups of young people from two or more countries
• Youth Initiatives - projects which young people initiate, set up and carry out themselves
• The outward part of European Voluntary Service - in which young people carry out voluntary services in Europe.

The deadline for applications is 1 May 2012.

Further information on applying, including 2011 application forms and recent changes to the programme guidelines can be found here

People's Postcode Lottery

The People's Postcode Trust aims to make the UK a better place for both people and the planet. They want to make a real difference to small organisations and community groups through grants ranging from £2,000 to £10,000.
The Trust acts within six fields of operation:
• Poverty prevention
• Advancement of health
• Community development
• Public sports
• Human rights
• Environmental protection

Applications for grants of under £2,000 are considered on a rolling monthly basis in Scotland.

For grants of over £2,000 the next application process has a deadline of 25 May 2012. Visit the website for more information

The North Face Explore Fund

The Explore Fund will support organisations that encourage youth outdoor participation, focusing primarily on creating more connections of children and young people to nature, increasing access to both front and backcountry recreation, as well as providing education for both personal and environmental health.
Financial support will be given up to €2,500. For more information and to apply visit the website  

The deadline for applications is 1 February 2012.

Creative Enterprise Fund

Young Scot and Creative Scotland's Creative Enterprise Fund is now open for applications. The fund supports young people aged 15 - 22 to flourish within the creative industries. It offers awards of up to £200 for individuals or £750 for groups. Eligible activities might include running local youth dance classes, managing theatre productions or getting a band up and running. The Grants Committee meets every two months.
For more information visit the website 

Awards for All

The Big Lottery Fund's Awards for All gives groups a quick and easy way to get small Lottery grants of between £500 and £10,000. Projects can encourage a wide range of community, arts, sports, heritage, health, education and environmental projects. This is an ongoing programme.

For more information visit the website

2014 Communities

Big Lottery Fund's 2014 Communities is a micro grants programme, offering local sports clubs, voluntary and community organisations, community councils and schools grants of £300 to £1,000 to support and stimulate grass roots involvement in sport and physical activity, in the run up to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

For more information visit the website 

Children in Need

BBC Children in Need grants are open to organisations working with disadvantaged children and young people who are 18 years old and under. Small grants of up to £10,000 are available, as well as Main Grants of £10,000 and over.

Deadlines for 2012 are: 15th January, 15th April, 15th July, 15th October.

For more information visit the website