Disadvantaged Youth

Since 2011 the Foundation has been making grants to charities working with children and young people born into disadvantage. Our aim is to help level the playing field a little between this group and its peers.

We make grants to organisations working in different parts of the UK in early years, in education and youth work, and in employability; with organisations large and small, some that are early-stage and others well-established in the field; funding alone or in partnership with sector experts. The Foundation does not have a grant application process but searches proactively for opportunities where funding could make a difference.

The common thread to the portfolio is that we only partner with organisations we believe to be addressing a clear need, and which are making a verifiable impact on the lives—and life chances—of children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Foundation makes around £1m in grants to organisations in this portfolio each year.

Most grants support core costs of the charities and are often multi-year commitments.

The Foundation would like to fund organisations that:

  • Target disadvantaged children and young people, and focus mainly on bringing their outcomes up to the level of their peers
  • Deliver activity or services directly to disadvantaged young people that focus on improving educational attainment, their relationships and confidence/resilience, and/or their chances of stable work and income
  • Have a strong focus on impact measurement, and can demonstrate positive outcomes
  • Support and encourage youth-led interventions and/or youth-led decision making

For organisations working primarily to improve young people’s mental health outcomes, please click through to the page on our Mental Health portfolio.

Portfolio
Show

Resources

These external resources provide further information on the issues experienced by young people in the UK
Children’s Society – The impact of COVID-19 on children and young people
Read more
Impetus Research
Read more