The Young Gamechangers Fund is a £4.5m partnership between the Co-op Foundation, Co-op and the #iwill Fund that aims to put young people aged between 10 and 25 in charge of change. The Young Gamechangers Fund is delivered by the Global Fund for Children and Restless Development, alongside the Co-op Foundation. This round of funding has a total budget of £600,000.
Young people have built this Fund from the ground up, co-designing branding and developing every aspect of the Fund from the application process through to grant decisions.
The funder is looking for young activists, campaigners, disrupters, co-operators, and social entrepreneurs to lead youth-led social action across the UK.
Two types of funding are available:
1. Funding for individuals.
2. Funding for groups or organisations with an annual income of less than £250,000.
Grant awards can cover core costs (for example, salaries and overheads) or project costs.
Support will be prioritised for young activists aged 10-25 who are committed to creating communities that are prosperous, safe, diverse, equitable and inclusive, healthy, and sustainable. In particular, grants will seek to support groups and communities that prioritise youth activism and shared power.
In addition, applications from the following are also likely to be prioritised:
o Organisations that traditionally have not had access to funding.
o Organisations that have previously experienced additional barriers to funding.
o Organisations that are led by and for marginalised groups and communities, such as:
- Communities that have experienced racialised discrimination.
- LGBTQIA+ communities.
- Disabled people.
- Care experienced, including those who are currently in care.
- Working class communities.
- Young parents.
As well as grant support, successful applicants will also be offered engage with peer support networks, training and mentoring to help their vision come to life – putting young people at the heart of change.
Funding is not available for:
o Activities or work that tries to convert participants to a particular religion or requires participants to join or convert to a religion to take part.
o Activities that make profits for private gain.
o Activities that support or oppose candidates for public office or party politics.
o Depreciation, amortisation, or impairment of its own fixed assets.
o Entertaining.
o Gifts to individuals other than promotional items with a value of no more than £10 a year to any one individual.
o Groups that conduct or support violent activities or violate criminal law.
o Loan or Interest payments.
o Local offices, affiliates, or projects of large NGOs, governments, or intergovernmental organisations.
o One-off activities, short-term projects, fundraisers, events, travel, or scholarships that do not contribute to bigger community change.
o Organisations that discriminate based on race, ethnicity, caste, religion, gender identity, disability, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation.
o Purchasing buildings or land.
o Reclaimable VAT, or
o The acquisition or improvement of fixed assets by the grant recipient (unless the grant is explicitly for capital use).
The application process is as follows:
1. Eligible applicants should complete the online eligibility quiz/checklist available on the Foundation’s website by Thursday 14th December 2023.
2. Applicants that successfully pass the eligibility stage will be invited to complete a full application by midday (12 noon) on Tuesday 19th December 2023.
Applicants are expected to be informed of the outcome of their bid at the beginning of March 2024.
Further information, guidance and the Eligibility Quiz/Checklist can be found on the Foundation’s website.
