Young Start

Out of the BluePrint
  1. Funding
  2. Funding programmes
  3. Young Start

Helping young people aged eight to 24 to become more confident and play an active part in realising their potential.

We know people, communities and organisations are facing increased demands and challenges as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. If you would like to talk to us about a project in response to this, please get in touch at advicescotland@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

Area
Scotland
Suitable for
Voluntary or community organisations
Funding size
£20,001 to £100,000
Application deadline

Ongoing

What’s it all about?

Through Young Start we are offering funding from £20,001 to £100,000 to help children and young people across Scotland become more confident, so they can realise their own potential.

We want to fund work that achieves at least one of the following three outcomes:

  • children and young people have better physical, mental and emotional wellbeing
  • children and young people have better connections with the wider community
  • children and young people get access to new skills and training opportunities which will help them to get a new job or start a business.

We also believe that the following three approaches are vital in making sure that our funding makes the biggest difference possible. We want to fund work that is:

  • people-led – meaningfully involving the young people you’re working with in the development, design and delivery of your activity
  • strengths-based – making the most of, and building on, the skills and experiences of young people and assets within communities
  • connected – having a good understanding of what others are doing locally, developing good working relationships and complementing and adding value to other relevant activity in your area.

How has Young Start changed?

We re-opened Young Start in August 2018 after taking some time to review and reshape the fund.

During this time we’ve made some changes to Young Start based on feedback from applicants, grantholders and the wider youth sector.

The biggest changes are that we will now fund projects for up to three years, and we have raised the maximum grant size to £100,000, though we are keen to spread our funding as best we can so we still expect to fund many projects below the maximum amount. We’d also like to talk to you about your ideas before sending you an application form, and over time we’re aiming to involve young people more in how we deliver this funding.

To find out more and about the kind of projects we fund you can read our most recent Young Start annual report.

Am I eligible?

You can apply if you’re a voluntary or community group, such as a:

  • voluntary association with a constitution
  • charity
  • sports club
  • co-operative
  • social enterprise
  • housing association
  • community interest company.

Your organisation also needs a governing document, a committee or board with three or more members, a bank account and annual accounts.

Read our blog for more details of what's needed.

We can’t accept applications from:

  • schools
  • statutory bodies, such as local authorities or health boards
  • individuals or sole traders
  • ‘for profit’ organisations and private companies.

We can fund some or all of your project costs, including:

  • staff
  • activity costs
  • training
  • volunteer expenses
  • equipment
  • premises costs
  • evaluation
  • overheads
  • minor building refurbishment or landscaping work as part of your overall activity.

We can’t fund:

  • anything you spend money on before your activity starts
  • religious or political activities
  • items that mainly benefit one person
  • work with people living outside Scotland
  • curricular activity in schools, or activities during teaching time
What’s the application process?

There are five stages to the process of being awarded funding:

  1. Check if you’re eligible
  2. Contact us
  3. Apply for funding
  4. Discuss your application
  5. Get a decision

1. Check if you’re eligible

You can apply if you’re a voluntary or community group, such as a:

  • voluntary association with a constitution
  • charity
  • sports club
  • co-operative
  • social enterprise
  • housing association
  • community interest company.

We can fund some or all of your project costs, including:

  • staff
  • activity costs
  • training
  • volunteer expenses
  • equipment
  • premises costs
  • evaluation
  • overheads
  • minor building refurbishment or landscaping work as part of your overall activity.

See our full eligibility criteria

2. Contact us

We’d like to talk to you about your ideas before sending you an application form so we can give you advice on whether or not this funding is right for what you want to do. This will also allow us to provide extra support if you need it.

To get in touch or if you have any questions, contact advicescotland@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk or call us on 0300 123 7110 Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm (not including public holidays).

3. Apply for funding

Email us your completed application form and budget.

4. Discuss your application

We’ll contact you to chat about your application, and may ask for some extra information to help us make a decision.

5. Get a decision

We’ll consider whether your application is strong enough to be awarded funding.

We’ll be looking at how well your activity will achieve one or more of our outcomes for Young Start. We’ll look at what approaches you are taking to this work – specifically, how people-led, strengths-based and connected your work will be.

We’ll also consider the capacity of your organisation to deliver the project.

We’ll aim to let you know around three months after receiving your application.

If your application is successful we’ll send you an offer letter and get in touch to discuss next steps.

If your application is unsuccessful we’ll send you a letter or email confirming the decision. You can also get in touch for more detailed feedback.

How do I apply?

Before you apply

  1. Check if you’re eligible
  2. Download and review our sample application form (PDF, 300KB)

Apply now

Get in touch to discuss your idea. You can email advicescotland@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk or call us on 0300 123 7110 Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm (not including public holidays).

If this funding is right for what you want to do, we will send you an application form to fill out.

You can also download our budget tool (Excel, 103kb) to help plan your project.

Why do I need to get in touch?

We’d like to talk to you about your ideas before sending you an application form.

This is so we can have an informal chat about your idea and give you advice on whether or not this funding is right for what you want to do. This will also allow us to give extra support if you need it.

Reduce your environmental footprint

The National Lottery Community Fund cares about our environment and are always striving to manage our environmental impact. We encourage and support projects and communities to do the same. Learn more about how you can make your project or event more environmentally sustainable and perhaps save money at the same time.

Run by The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland for the Scottish Government, Young Start awards money from dormant bank and building society accounts that have seen no customer-initiated activity for at least 15 years.

Already got funding? Download the Young Start logo as well as guidance on how to use it to acknowledge your grant.

Alternatively, if you need other colours or formats you can download the full pack of logo materials.

Young Start logo