BBC Children in Need
Up to £15,000 (Small) or £15,000–£120,000 (Main)
Focus: Children and young people facing disadvantage
One of the largest open funders for youth work in the UK.
Funding guide
Grants for youth projects
Youth work has a strong and well-defined funding ecosystem in the UK, with several major funders dedicated to projects for children and young people. The list below covers active funders across uniformed groups, open-access youth work, mentoring and youth voice.
Who this is for: Charities, CICs, schools and community groups delivering work with children and young people aged roughly 5–25.
What to look for in a funder
- Funders aligned to your age range (some focus 8–14, others 16–25)
- Programmes that fund youth voice and co-production, not only adult-led activity
- Safeguarding and DBS evidence ready before you apply
Active funders to consider
Always check current eligibility and deadlines on the funder's own website before applying.
John Lyon's Charity
Variable, often multi-year
Focus: Children and young people in 9 London boroughs
London-only. Multi-year unrestricted funding for established youth providers.
Youth Endowment Fund
£50,000 – £1m+
Focus: Preventing youth violence
Evidence-led; suits organisations with robust M&E or evaluation partners.
UK Youth Fund
Variable cycles
Focus: Open-access youth work
Run with The National Lottery Community Fund.
Cattanach
Variable
Focus: Early years and children, Scotland
Scotland-only.
Application tips
- Lead with the young people's voice. Funders increasingly weight co-design and youth involvement heavily.
- Be explicit about safeguarding leads, DBS coverage and training — funders look for this before they fund.
- Quantify outcomes using validated tools (Outcomes Star, Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale) where you can.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need accredited youth workers to apply?
Not always, but it strengthens applications — particularly for larger or statutory funders. Document staff training and supervision.
How do funders measure success in youth work?
Increasingly through outcomes-based frameworks (e.g. emotional wellbeing, agency, social connection) rather than activity counts alone.
Next step
From finding funding to a completed application
Most platforms stop once you've found a grant. Serin surfaces application questions and guidance inside the platform — so you can move from discovery to a stronger completed application in one workflow.