The Alec Dickson Trust funds volunteering projects run by individual young people or teams of young people aged under 30. Projects should:
o Be run by a young volunteer, or team of young volunteers.
o Encourage volunteering. The more volunteers you can get involved, the better!
o Have a clear benefit to others in the wider community, and
o Take place in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Grants of up to £500 are available for young people or groups of young people who want to use volunteering or community service to do "brilliant things" in their community. The funding is designed to enable young people to put their ideas into action and run projects that benefit the lives of others – particularly those who are most marginalised and disadvantaged.
The Trust will ask all applicants to provide a detailed budget for their funding project as part of their application, with a breakdown of exactly how any grant is to be spent.
Applications are assessed against the following factors:
o Volunteering: the Trust supports projects that enable and encourage youth volunteering. It particularly like to fund projects that involve lots of volunteers, and/or encourage young people to stay engaged as volunteers in the long term.
o Need: the Trust supports young people who run projects that have a positive impact on disadvantaged communities and individuals. It looks for projects that identify a specific need and propose to carry out activities that will clearly help to address this need. It is particularly interested in projects that will have a deep and meaningful effect on those it reaches, as well as projects that are as long-lasting and as sustainable as possible.
o Innovation: ultimately, the Trust is looking for youth volunteering projects that help to improve communities, but if the project is new and exciting then it's more likely to be funded as the Trust especially likes to support volunteer initiatives that are innovative and try to do things a bit differently, such as using social media creatively or applying existing resources in new ways.
Further information, guidance and an online application form is available on the Trust’s website.
The deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday 19th February 2023.
