Central government and local authority support

We aim to make sure our information about funding is accurate and up to date. However, please do check with the funding organisation too.  

Youth Funds

The Youth Funds refer to the Youth Opportunity Fund and the Youth Capital Fund. These funds are available to anyone aged between 13 and 19 years who wants to improve their local neighbourhood. Until March 2011 £173m is available to give teens the opportunity to makeover their local facilities and help create better activities in their area.

Youth Opportunity Fund money is awarded to actual projects and the money can be used to buy equipment such as computers or sports gear.

Youth Capital Fund projects tend to be larger and the funds help to pay for buildings and facilities that are required by projects, as opposed to the cost of running the project.

How do you apply?
To apply for Youth Fund money, you need to create a project that can improve your area, and fill in an application pack to show how your idea will work. Coming up with a project will involve a number of people and so you should decide what’s missing in your area and who should play each part in your plan.

Who decides and how?
Your local authority will have a ‘Youth Funds co-ordinator’ or ‘YOF co-ordinator’ working for them, who will be able to tell you more about how the decision is made in your area. Young people can play a part here too. Some local authorities have set up panels of teenagers from their area to help choose the best projects. Others are asking all young people in their area what they think the money should be spent on. If you’d like to get involved in your local youth panel, find out what’s going on in your area from your local authority. Local authorities award the money, so you’ll need to apply directly to your local authority.

• Find out about youth funding in your area here.

• Find out how to prepare a great Youth Fund application here.

Deadline for applications: March 2011