New fund alert: If you’re developing diverse leaders of the future, we want to hear from you
Update 23 Dec 2022: This Fund has now closed. Sign up to our blog to find out first when new funding is available
We’re launching the first round of our new Future Communities Fund today (Friday 25 November)!
This unrestricted fund will support organisations with charitable aims to help diverse young people become leaders and activists.
It’s informed by our new five-year strategy and youth-led vision and it’s a really exciting step forwards into participatory, co-operative grant-making. We can’t wait to get started.
Read more on our Future Communities Fund webpage, where you can complete our first stage application form, with built-in eligibility checker.
Join us and let’s build communities of the future together.
Fairer communities
We’re Co-op’s charity and we’re co-operating for a fairer world.
We believe co-operation is at the heart of strong communities and this makes us a different kind of funder.
Our bold, new Future Communities Fund is just one of the ways we’ll build future, fair communities and deliver on Co-op’s vision.
We’re really proud that it aligns with our IVAR commitments to flexible funding and the seven principles laid out in our new funding approach.
We believe this is the right way to fund for our partners now, and in the future.
What’s on offer
We’re planning to award unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 from this round of the £1.5m Future Communities Fund. Funding will be available for up to five years.
Eligible organisations should be working to help diverse young people to become leaders and activists.
Our working definition of diverse is people who have experience of being marginalised in society due to their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status or any other attribute that impacts their inclusion.
Organisations must also:
- Have an annual turnover of £250k or less
- Have young people’s voices from all backgrounds and abilities at the core of their delivery
- Advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in all areas of society
- Actively engage with young people from diverse communities in a meaningful and inclusive way
- Have experience of removing barriers and providing opportunities for young people
- Have experience of delivering meaningful youth social action which supports young people into leadership roles, and
- Be able to demonstrate they have experience of co-operation/collaboration
You can watch our webinar, below, for more information.
Nick Crofts, our CEO, says:
“The Future Communities Fund is born out of our bold, new five-year strategy, ‘Building communities of the future together’. We worked with young people to develop this vision, and now we’re pioneering a co-operative way of grant-giving to bring it to life. Today’s funding will help by offering unrestricted, flexible and trusting grants to organisations passionate about supporting diverse young people to become leaders and activists. Good luck to any organisation that applies. Let’s build communities of the future together.”
Applications are open
First stage applications for the Future Communities Fund are now open. Applications will close at 12pm (midday) on Friday 23 December.
Submit your first stage application now, and let’s build communities of the future together.
If you’re not eligible, subscribe to our blog (below) to hear first when we launch other Funds.
