Engaging young people who are disappointed by what is going on in their communities, getting ethnic groups together and including disadvantaged and disabled young people in sports and healthy living activities are among the fundamental challenges youth, community and health workers in the Northwest face today.

Young people aged between 11 and 24, who have ideas about how more could be done with the right funding, and who want to become actively involved, are the driving force behind YouthBank, a grant-making initiative which helps young people benefit their communities. They decide who receives funding, how their YouthBank is managed and run and, through a board of young people, direct the UK-wide programme.

Young people aged 11 to 24, with ideas about how more could be done with the right funding, and who want to become actively involved, are the driving force behind YouthBank, a grant-making initiative which helps young people benefit their communities. They decide who receives funding, how their YouthBank is managed and through a board of young people, direct the UK-wide programme.

In the first year of a two-year pilot, six YouthBanks in the Northwest have distributed funds, allowing over 300 young people to partake in local sports development and healthy living projects initiated by disadvantaged and disabled young people.

Learning points include:

Young people often met ‘a wall of bureaucracy’ in their attempts to gain funding to add to their grant pots, but are raising their profile and talking to possible funders by networking at local and regional events.

Competition for funding from local young people was at times intense – YouthBank managers had to draw up criteria to decide who got the cash.
Young people are able and willing, with the right support, to take their own decisions and manage programmes – respect!

 Young people, communities.

Local partners in the six YouthBank areas:

The Funding was from the Football Foundation, YouthBank UK, with a budget of £79,000 for year one, plus funding from local partners.

Renew North West
Mark Farrar (Development Officer), tel. 01704 513 960

//1999

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration

Community development, Quality of life, Integration of social groups