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 closed at 11:59pm Wednesday 6 May 2026. Decisions will be communicated to applicants on the afternoon of 12 May 2026.

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) – CLOSED

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

We are no longer accepting questions regarding the Expression of Interest form.

Stage 2: Application

Those successful at the EOI stage will be invited to apply at this second stage on Tuesday 12^th May.

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

Support for completing the full Application can be found below.

How to apply on Plinth

EOI & Application Guidance

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.