As the 2021 Young Grant Makers, we have been having lots of conversations about the issues that face us as young people, as we want to fund projects that benefit young people in the best way possible. We see ourselves in each other – if one person is down, everyone is down. We are a community and we want to lift everyone.
There are so many issues facing us as young people. We have spoken about poverty, inequality and cuts to services. We’ve spoken about how boredom and a lack of support is at the root of a lot of issues. Home-life is key to the opportunities open to young people: whether it’s stable or not; whether it’s encouraging or not; whether there is money or not. We also know that how a young person feels about school and/or college can change their future: does it feel ok to be at school or not; are teachers supportive and interesting; do the subjects interest everyone? We’ve also had conversations around what safety looks like for different people – including knife crime, assault, harassment and racism. We’ve spoken about how young people might lack trust in authorities and many people don’t expect much from young people or give us opportunities.
As a result of our discussions, we believe it is important that young people have safe spaces to spend time in and have the power to change the narrative around our own lives.
Young Grant-Makers 2021 with part of the staff team during a Zoom session.
We are inviting applications from projects that help young people get a picture of what success means for them, and then gives them the right support to get what they need in order to realise their own, individual potential.
These could include projects that:
- Help young people transition out of lockdown, and particularly supporting mental health.
- Develop young people’s life skills to help us at transition points – such as between school and college, college and university, or into work.
- Develop young people’s skills around fields they’re interested in so they can take the next step in their careers.
- Give young people interesting things to do, and the chance to explore their talents, do things they enjoy, or try something new – particularly around creativity, arts, and language skills.
The deadline for applications is 9am on Monday 10th May
Decision-making timeline
- Applications should be submitted by Monday 10th May, at 9am.
- Applicants will be informed of decisions to award grants by Friday 23rd July.
Contact
You can also contact Anne Shewring (Programme Director at Islington Giving) on our behalf to ask questions about the call: T: 020 7288 6947, E: anne.shewring@cripplegate.org.uk
