The government has granted £12m of its £380m Youth Investment Fund to youth organisations across the country.
A total of 419 organisations received funding from the £12m tranche, with grants ranging from £1,500 to £337,000.
This first phase of funding was distributed by BBC Children in Need to local youth charities and organisations in areas including Manchester, Coventry, London and Yorkshire.
The remaining £368m tranche of the fund will become open to applications in the summer to youth services across 45 local authorities and over 600 district wards in the most deprived parts of England will be eligible to apply.
Largest grant awarded was £337,000
Among the recipients of the largest cash injections was Bolton’s Lads & Girls Club, which is based in Greater Manchester.
It received a grant of over £337,000 to fund the refurbishment of its youth group centre. Some items which will reinvent the space have been chosen by children and young people with lived experience of poverty, abuse, and neglect.
A huge thanks to @dcms & @BBCCiN as BLGC received a grant from the Youth Investment Fund to help us with furniture for the re-opening of our centre - so we can provide even better outcomes and opportunities for even more children & young people!
— Bolton L & G Club (@BLGCofficial) May 29, 2022
Thank you!#InvestingInYoungPeople pic.twitter.com/3kX5lRhXpl
Another charity that received a grant was the Education Futures Trust. The trust received over £41,000 to fund sports and IT equipment as well as safety measures to “increase fun, enjoyment and participation for young people who are disaffected and lack aspiration.”
Fund now part of £560m investment
In 2019, the fund was announced by then chancellor Sajid Javid as a £500m fund as part of a series of announcements about Britain's post-Brexit future.
And in September 2021, a spokesperson for the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “The £500m Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for this parliament.”
The Youth Investment Fund is now only £380m, but it is part of a larger £560m investment called the National Youth Guarantee which aims to give young people more access to activities, trips away from home and volunteering opportunities.
DCMS has said the remaining £180m of the National Youth Guarantee will be invested into the NCS Programme, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award and more.
‘Giving young people the best start in life’
Nigel Huddleston, minister for sport, tourism and civil society, said: “We want every young person, no matter where they're from, to have the chance to get the best start in life.
“Today we are firing the starting gun on the rollout of our National Youth Guarantee and putting more money into improving access to youth services where it is most needed.”
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