Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF)

Members of the Grant Makers Panel and Cllr Krishna at the Youth Opportunity Fund showcase in March 2009

Want to have a say in activities in your area? Want up to £5,000 (YOF grant) or £3,000 (YOF residential only) for your ideas? 

The YOF budget for 2011/2012 is £200,000 which was made available directly from the London Borough of Hackney. Hackney recognises the importance of young people’s involvement and development by planning activities for other young people and would like to continue to support the creative and varied projects put on by young people each year.

We anticipate that competition for the funds will be quite intense, so make sure you fill in the form correctly. For help, read the Guidance notes or contact a member of the YOF team on 020  8356 2865.

You can download the Application Forms and Guidance Notes for YOF here.  

Applications close at Midnight on the respective deadline dates above.

Youth Capital Fund

The Youth Capital Fund is not available this year, so please do NOT submit any YCF applications (if this should change in future it will be advertised on this website and by email mail-out).

*   Please note that the above YOF deadline dates may be subject to change as a result of the restructure to the Youth Service which will be re-branded Young Hackney.

**  Applicants are asked to ensure that when planning projects they pay special attention to the application deadlines. Any project starting sooner than 6 weeks after the application deadline is likely to be rejected (Please use the “Activity taking place” periods as a guide).

About YOF

The Youth Opportunity Fund (YOF) is grant funding made available by the London Borough of Hackney to funds projects designed by young people and run by young people for the benefit of other young people in Hackney. The funds are totally young people led. Young people come up with the ideas for activities other young people would enjoy and learn from and young people make the decisions about which projects to fund. Each project must also be supported by an adult project leader connected to a Charity or constituted (community) organisation.

The aims of the funds are to:

• Give young people a voice in making decisions
• Improve ‘things to do and places to go’ for young people
• Help involve disadvantaged and hard to reach young people
• Invest in youth facilities, particularly in deprived areas

What we fund

The YOF grant can be used for an activity or project that benefits you and your friends/youth group and other young people in Hackney.

YOF can fund a wide range of activities and projects including sports, arts, culture, citizenship and volunteering. There are no restrictions on the types of activities as long as they support at least one of the 5 Every Child Matters outcomes (be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, achieve economic well being) and involve young people from Hackney.

The YOF grant can also be used to pay for small pieces of equipment such as computers, musical instruments, sports gear, arts and crafts supplies and props for creative activities.

You will also need to show in your application how your project or activity:

• supports learning opportunities for young people, like confidence and new skills
• rewards and recognises young people, for example gaining accreditations or qualifications such as AQA, ASDAN or Duke of Edinburgh
• promotes young people’s involvement in decision making

YOF will not fund:

• activities/projects planned without young people involvement
• a project that has already taken place – your project must be planned for the future
• a project which it has already funded for the same group unless – (a) your group is applying for a new project;  or (b) the project is for the benefit of a new and different cohort of young people from the same group.

Grant Makers complete their OCN accreditation in Leadership Skills

How to apply

Download the Application Forms and Guidance Notes here.

The funds are for young people from Hackney.  Groups of 3 or more young people can apply.  Young people should be between 13 - 19 years (up to 25 years for young disabled groups).

You can apply for up to £5,000 to the Youth Opportunity Fund or £3,000 for a YOF residential only.

Young people should decide the activities and things to do and plan the project.

Groups of 3 or more young people from Hackney should make the application, with the support of an adult connected to a Charity or constituted body, e .g. teacher, youth worker or professional adult.  Wherever possible, the application form should be filled in by a young person, unless they require adult support. But we recommend that the adult supporting the project assist to complete the budget, the project plan and the activity risk assessment(s).

Click here for Tips on Filling in Your Application

Application forms should be returned to linton.harper@hackney.gov.uk or posted to:

Linton Harper - Project Officer, YOF
Youth Opportunity Fund
Hackney Youth Service
Hackney Service Centre
1 Hillman Street
London
E8 1D

If you need any help or guidance with your application, please contact Linton Harper:

Tel:  020  8356 2865
email: linton.harper@hackney.gov.uk 

Your decision

Hackney's Grant Makers YOF Panel meets to decide how the money is spent and which applications are to be awarded grants. The YOF Panel are a group of young people trained in Grant Making and Decision Making. The Panel uses a set of criteria which they developed to assess and score each application.

You will be informed in writing of the outcome of your application within 6 weeks of the deadline date.

If your application is successful, you have until the 1st March 2012 to spend the grant money – or risk losing it. Failure to claim your grant by the stipulated cut-off dates in the grant award letter may result in YOF grants being withdrawn.

If your application was unsuccessful and you wish to appeal you should write or email the YOF project worker outlining the reason you wish to appeal.