The £1m We Move Fund: Youth Social Action aims to empower Black children and young people through Youth Social Action. We define youth social action as when children and young people use their voice to tackle subjects that matter to them.

The We Move Fund: Youth Social Action is part of the We Move Fund, in partnership with BBC Radio 1xtra. Through the We Move Fund, with the support of BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Children in Need will commit £10m over 10 years to create and invest in opportunities for Black children and young people.

The We Move Fund: Youth Social Action is also part of our £4m Sharing Power (Youth Social Action) Programme. It is one of two Youth Social Action funds, being delivered in partnership with the #iwill Fund (a £54million joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport), which are open this year. If your organisation or project is not focussed on Black children and young people, you can read about our other fund here

BBC Children in Need wants to place children and young people at the heart of what we do. We want to create opportunities to support and nurture children and young people’s voices, ideas and leadership in the UK. We also know that children and young people experienced a reduction in their chances to participate during the pandemic.

We know that Black children and young people face many barriers in British society. Racial inequality, racism and discrimination prevent Black children and young people from accessing many opportunities including:

• accessing similar opportunities and services, compared to their peers.

• engaging in social, cultural, education and economic activity.

This impacts a child or young person’s emotional wellbeing, mental health and ability to thrive and be the best they can be.

The We Move Fund: Youth Social Action aims to:

• Reach Black children and young people with opportunities to have their voices heard. It will empower them to create change about issues that matter to them
• Achieve positive outcomes for Black children and young people through Youth Social Action
• Learn about what Youth Social Action means to Black children and young people. We will share this learning with the sector.

For us, youth social action is about the activities that young people do to make a positive difference to their lives and their environment. Youth social action is when children and young people use their voice and activity to tackle subjects that matter to them. Through social action, children and young people develop solutions to issues they and their local communities face.

Youth social action comes in many forms. There are so many ways that young people ‘do’ youth social action, across a range of contexts, formal or informal activities.

It’s important to us that young people don’t feel like they need to save the world on their own. They shouldn’t have to. Social action for Black children and young people does not have to focus on racial injustice and inequality. This fund is here to support Black children and young people to create change and develop solutions to whatever issues they choose to focus on, however big or small.

When done well, youth social action benefits the young people involved and the communities or causes they are trying to help.

Some examples of Youth Social Action are;

• Community Changers in Wolverhampton are a group of Black young people re-imagining mental health support in their area
• Kidz Campaign in Cardiff are redesigning Iconic film posters to feature an all-Black cast
• K4C Community Organising in Glasgow running a community food response programme, distributing culturally appropriate dishes, and bags of shopping.

Our principles of high quality youth social action are:

• Children and young people take the lead, focusing on the social change they want to see.
• Developmental and reciprocal for children and young people.
• Provides young people with life enhancing experience, new skills, and confidence.
• Prioritises the wellbeing of children and young people.
• Recognises and is protective of lived experience.

We understand that for some organisations youth social action may be new. We do not expect organisations to be experts at this, or to know all the answers right away. We also do not expect you to have a fully worked up project plan when you apply. Each grant will have a development phase of up to six months. This will give you the time to develop your ideas, and your capacity to deliver.

This fund focusses on providing Black children and young people with the opportunity to engage in youth social action. When we say Black we mean; Black African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx descent, or Black with mixed heritage.

To be part of the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action  at least 75% or more of the children and young people you are working with on this project should self-identify as Black.

We particularly encourage you to apply if your organisation is Black-led.

By ‘Black-led’, we mean that:

• the most senior leader (CEO or Chair of Trustee Board) self-identifies as Black; and
• 50% or more of the Board of Trustees/ Management Committee, the senior staff self-identify as Black.

We are aware that in some places there may not be existing Black-led organisations in a position to make an application. We are open to funding organisations that are not Black-led, in this instance. We will want you to be able to show us:

• Your track record of working with Black children and young people.
• That at least 75% or more of the children and young people you are working with on this project self-identify as Black.
• The ways in which your organisation reflects the community you work in

What will being part of the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action involve?

Organisations funded through the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action will:

• Connect with organisations who support Black children and young people to engage in social action
• Be part of an evaluation focussed on the experience of Black children and young people and the organisations who support them
• Have the opportunity to be part of the development of the wider We Move Fund
• Receive development support (if needed) from our Community Partner. This support will focus on the needs of Black children and young people, and Black-led organisations

Up to £15,000 for unregistered organisations and up to £50,000 for registered bodies (please read the detail below carefully)

• If you are not registered with an appropriate regulatory body, you can apply for up to £10,000 per year, or £15,000 over the 18 months. An appropriate body includes the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the Scottish Charity Register. If you are a Company limited by Guarantee or a Community Interest Company, you must have registered with Companies House.
• If you are registered you can apply for up to £50,000 over the 18 months

• We will fund grants of any length up to 18 months
• We expect there to be an initial development phase of your work, to allow you to design and prepare according to the choices of the children and young people you are working with.

We will award grants in September. Delivery must be completed by the middle of March 2024.

We expect all successful organisations to take part in a self-directed development phase for up to six months at the beginning of their grant period. We know it takes time to plan and develop work in detail, and to build the capacity of children and young people to take part in youth social action. The content and length will be bespoke to the project and organisation. In your application, you can ask for up to 10% of your budget for development support. We will also provide some capacity building support for your organisation and children and young people during this stage. We will discuss this more in the information session. We expect that the development stage will be used to:

• Develop project plans, recruit and refine your budget
• Build the capacity of the children and young people to take the lead in shaping the project
• Build the capacity of the organisation to run a successful project.
• Refine your budget

After the funded development phase, organisations will have until the middle of March 2024 to deliver and evaluate their social action projects.

At the end of the bespoke development phase, successful organisations will meet with their grants officer to finalise their project plan and expenditure.

The We Move Fund: Youth Social Action has a budget of £1m. This will allow us to make between 50 and 70 grants in total.

We expect that there will be more interest in this fund than we have the budget to support.

When making decisions about which applications to fund, we will be guided by:

• Fund aims
• Core principles of youth social action
• The views of Black children and young people involved in our assessment and decision making process

Also, we will prioritise:

• Black-led organisations; and
• Organisations who we have not funded before

But, we are aware that in some places there may not be existing Black-led organisations in a position to make an application. We are open to funding organisations that are not Black-led, in this instance. We will want you to be able to show us:

• Your track record of working with Black children and young people.
• That at least 75% or more of the children and young people leading the project should self-identify as Black. When we say Black we mean; Black African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx descent, or Black with mixed heritage.
• The ways in which your organisation reflects the community you work in.

If you plan to work predominantly with Black children and young people then you should consider applying to We Move Fund: Youth Social Action.

However, some organisations may prefer to apply to our Youth Social Action Fund which you can read about here.

Please note, we will only consider one application from each organisation across the two funds in our Sharing Power (Youth Social Action) Programme.

Throughout the application period you can also talk to us to help decide which programme is a better fit for you. You can email any questions to: [email protected]

BBC Children in Need uses Minimum Standards for Grantmaking to help us understand the strengths of an applicant’s finances, governance, and Safeguarding.

Working with grass roots groups who might need some development support is key to the aims of the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action. We want to support organisations with development support to meet these standards as part of our commitments through the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action. Therefore:

• Organisations that do not currently meet all the Minimum Standards for Grantmaking can apply.
• They will be expected to work towards meeting the Minimum Standards if they are awarded funding.
• This work can be done during the development phase of the funding.

You can find out more about the minimum standards and how they are being used in the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action here.

We will accept applications from new applicants and from organisations which already have a BBC Children in Need grant.

But, we will prioritise applications from organisations who have not received BBC Children in Need funding.

Applications to the We Move Fund: Youth Social Action are now closed.

• The Ubele Initiative are our Community Partner. They are a Black-led plus infrastructure organisation. They will help us:
  • promote the fund to the charity sector
  • reach organisations we might not otherwise reach; and
  • provide bespoke support to Black-led organisations and organisations working with Black children and young people.

The Ubele Initiative was founded in 2014, following dialogue with African diaspora leaders. Community-rooted and collaborative in character, Ubele focused on effective solutions to persistent social and economic issues. Ubele is taken from Swahili meaning “The Future”.

As an African diaspora led, infrastructure plus organisation, they believe in empowering Black and Minoritised communities in the UK to act as catalysts for social and economic change. To achieve this, they work with community leaders, groups, and organisations in the UK and beyond to strengthen their sustainability, resilience, and voice. Ubele supports the growth of individuals and community-based groups and organisations through intergenerational leadership initiatives, capacity support, enterprise, and asset development

• BBC Radio 1xtra are founding partners of the We Move Fund, alongside BBC Children in Need. BBC Radio 1xtra are sitting alongside BBC Children in Need as we shape the aims and direction of the 10 year commitment. BBC Radio 1xtra will help us publicise the fund. BBC Radio 1xtra will also be leading on telling the story of the We Move Fund, highlighting the impact on children and young people from the projects we fund.

• The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £54 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. BBC Children in Need is acting as a match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund.

We want everyone to be able to apply for our funding. We’re committed to being as accessible as possible, wherever we can. If you need support, please contact us on 0345 609 0015 or by emailing [email protected].

For the information sessions, this support might include:

• Making transcripts available after the information session
• Enabling closed captioning
• A conversation rather than attending an information session

For the application process, this support might include

• Requesting guidance in other formats
• Using a translator

You know what you need best, so please talk to us and we will do what we can to support you.

Am y dudalen Cymraeg cliciwch yma.