The UK Youth Fund

UK Youth and Pears Foundation have launched a new £10 million fund to champion an approach that works: providing multi-year, unrestricted funding alongside targeted capacity-building support to small youth organisations.

Expressions of Interest for this funding will open at 2pm, Tuesday 14 April.

The aim of the Fund is to strengthen the financial resilience and capacity of small youth and outdoor learning organisations across the UK.

We aim to achieve this through two key outcomes:

Outcome 1: Improved Financial Sustainability, supporting grantees to invest time and resource in strategic, organisational development through our multi-year unrestricted funding grant programme

Outcome 2: Increased Capability and Organisational Resilience through our capacity building programme

Organisations can apply for multi-year unrestricted funding of up to 10% of annual turnover. This approach ensures that funding is proportional to the size and capacity of your organisation to help ensure sustainability and resilience.

What we fund

Organisations are encouraged to apply the funding where it will have the greatest impact whether that is strengthening core operations, supporting sustainability, or investing in innovation to enhance outcomes for young people.

Grant Information Pack

FAQs

Eligibility

This fund is open to organisations with an annual turnover of less than £500,000 that are delivering services to young people based within our eligibility areas in England and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Eligibility is based on the communities and young people you support, rather than head office location. To be eligible, you must be delivering services for young people who are based within one of the key geographical areas below (top 3 deciles of the IMD).

There is no minimum threshold for the number of young people supported, if your organisation supports even one young person from any of the eligible locations below, you are eligible to apply.

Full eligibility criteria and additional information about this grant can be found in our grant information pack.

Eligible areas in England

Eligible areas in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Application process

We have developed a two-stage application process to identify organisations that will benefit most from multi-year unrestricted support while keeping requirements proportionate and accessible. We have set clear eligibility criteria to ensure funding reaches those who need it most, discourages ineligible applications early, and reduces time spent by applicants where possible.

Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)

This stage asks you to confirm your eligibility through a short set of multiple‐choice questions and an eligibility checklist.
Deadline to submit an Expression of Interest: 11:59 pm on Wednesday, 6^th May.

Stage 2: Application

Those successful at the EOI stage will be invited to apply at this second stage on Monday 11^th May.

Deadline for applications: 11:59pm on Tuesday, 3^rd June

Support for completing the Expression of Interest and Application can be found below.

Guidance to complete the EOI and Application

Submit an Expression of Interest

Expressions of Interest for this funding will open at 2pm, Tuesday 14 April and must be submitted online by 11:59pm on Wednesday 6th May 2026 via our online grant management system, Plinth.

You will need to create an account and sign in to access the application forms. After submitting an application, please check that you have received a confirmation email — this may be in your spam/junk folder.

Submit an Expression of Interest

How to apply on Plinth

EOI & Application Guidance

Information webinar

Join us online for an information session about the fund on Tuesday 21 April 2026 (2pm) to hear more about the fund, application process and eligibility criteria. You’ll also have the chance to ask our grants team any questions you may have. This session will take place on zoom, please register your interest to take part.

About the partnership

Over the past five years, UK Youth and Pears Foundation have built a strong partnership rooted in a shared belief in the power of youth work to transform young lives. Together we have delivered major national grant programmes, including the Covid Relief Fund (£2.2m) and the Cost-of-Living Fund (£7m), which have demonstrated the impact that flexible, multi-year investment can have on small grassroots youth organisations.

These programmes have provided hundreds of organisations with stability and hope during a period of profound uncertainty. We aim to continue to extend, the reach and quality of youth work across the UK at a time when dependable youth spaces are needed more than ever via the UK Youth Fund.

What we fund

Eligibility

Application process

Stage 1: Expression of Interest (EOI)

Stage 2: Application

Submit an Expression of Interest

Information webinar

About the partnership

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