Since launching in September 2022, the SNG #iwill Fund 1.0 (Formerly Sovereign #iwill Fund) awarded 24 projects a share of over £203,000.
Youth panel member, Emily said “The SNG #iwill Fund scoring day was a brilliant opportunity to get involved and support on awarding youth social projects funding. I felt empowered by having my own voice and opinion heard, which will go on to encourage youth to have their own say about other potential social youth action in SNG communities via #iwill funded projects."
SNG #iwill Fund 1.0 – Round 2 Grantees
Twelve more youth-focused organisations working in SNG communities have received a share of more than £104,000 thanks to funding from the SNG #iwill Fund 1.0.
In February 2023, we invited applications for the second round of the SNG #iwill Fund 1.0. We received 33 applications from organisations delivering projects which offered new opportunities for young people aged 10-20-years-old to get involved in youth social action.
Read more about each of the second round's winning projects
Intergenerational Music Making’s (IMM) Youth Social Action Project received £10,000 funding.
IMM aims to build bridges across generations, sectors and amongst professionals to create stronger, more cohesive communities. Their Youth Social Action Project supported 9 young people aged 10-18 years-old across Basingstoke and Plymouth who planned, delivered and evaluated 2 youth-led intergenerational social action projects and became IMM Youth Innovators.
As IMM Youth Innovators, young people completed a programme enhancing their creative, interpersonal and planning skills and went on to design and deliver creative workshops for the older generation in local care homes, positively impacting their local community through intergenerational practice. The young people taking part used music to explore how they could use this to express their emotions and help others, going on to perform for residents of local care homes.
Spotlight UK’s Youth Social Action Project received £3,773.70.
Spotlight UK used their grant to support 16 young people aged 10-18 years-old from schools across Reading, Southampton, Newbury, Andover and Basingstoke to get involved in fundraising, campaigning and volunteering through the project.
Spotlight UK believes it is important for young people to have a say in their future and that this project helped to boost confidence and self-esteem, build friendships, develop resilience and help develop team working and problem-solving skills.
Transition Chipping Norton’s Youth4Future Project received £10,000.
Transition Chipping Norton used their grant to support 87 young people aged 10-17 years-old in Chipping Norton to campaign to improve community facilities across the town, which was installed locally, while learning key skills such as cooking, communication and how to make a variety of creative media to get thoughts and feelings across.
The project has helped the town to achieve greater social cohesion by facilitating friendships across age and social groups, including establishing a communication pathway between the town council and young people so they can have a say in their community and be empowered to make changes.
Recreate Dorset's Social Action Programme for young people with learning differences received £10,000.
Recreate Dorset used their grant to support 41 young people aged 10-20 years-old with opportunities to develop their creative and communication skills. They did this through developing a collaborative creative project for the local annual arts festival.
The young people were able to design their project and lead on its delivery, learn new skills such as stop-motion animation, how to use design software and how to collect evaluation data as well as being able to volunteer at the festival and gather feedback from the public attending.
Didcot TRAIN’s Youth Empowerment Project received £9,960.85.
Didcot TRAIN used their grant to support 44 young people aged 10-20 years old in South Oxfordshire to run and develop their charity. The young people were involved in designing and running events at their premises The Base, as well as other community projects.
The project also enabled the launch of the Base Council, which is a youth council of 8 members who have influential decision-making capabilities at all organisational levels. Monthly meetings have been held since launch in June 2023, enabling young people to have an influence in the design and layout of their space and play a crucial role in supporting the recent recruitment of their CEO, contributing to both staff and youth panel interviews.
Youth Challenge Oxfordshire’s (YoCO) Abingdon Music Event Project received £10,000.
YoCO used their grant to support 31 young people aged 13-18 years-old from Oxfordshire to produce their own music, as well as plan and host a music event for their community.
The project idea was developed by the young people in the YoCO Abingdon group, who learned a variety of skills in event management and communication, as well as creative skills when producing their own music, while continuously growing their confidence.
Revive Newport’s Newport Youth Café, Impact Group and Detached Youth Work received £10,000.
Revive Newport used their grant to run a drop-in youth café two nights a week for 168 young people aged 13-19 years-old on the Isle of Wight, where they were able to enhance their social skills, improved their sense of self-worth and understanding, and improved their educational standards and employability.
Revive Newport also engaged 6 young people in their Impact group, which was a social action focused group giving young people the opportunity to discuss issues in their community and what steps they can take to resolve them, before going on to lead on planning and taking part in community projects of their choice.
Revive Newport also completed local detached work at least twice a week where they worked closely with the local police to target anti-social behaviour ‘hotspots’ and start discussions in these areas while providing support and direction for those they encountered.
Plymouth Sports Charity’s A Sporting Chance Project received £9,880.
Plymouth Sports Charity used their grant to provide 63 young people aged 12-14 years-old in Plymouth the opportunity to create, manage and develop a free sports programme and sports festival delivered to primary school children.
The young people were taught about a variety of topics they put into practice such as teamwork, cooking nutritious meals and mentoring others. Some young people were also able to achieve a recognised sports coaching qualification themselves.
Imayla’s Nature Well and Wildly Different Project received £8,319.13.
Imayla used their grant to deliver a programme to 26 young people aged 12-16 years-old in Bristol which consisted of ‘Nature Well’ ecotherapy sessions followed by youth-led social action planning and delivery sessions.
Imayla facilitated the space for young people to cultivate a deeper connection to nature, develop their skills around emotional literacy and help them find ways to relax.
Aspire Ryde’s Aspiring Citizens Project (ACP) received £7,330.
Aspire Ryde used their grant to support 12 young people aged 11-16 years-old on the Isle of Wight through their ACP where they learnt musical and communication skills that they took into the community to support and enhance the lives of older people and those with early onset dementia.
Each young person was given a platform to make real social change and create a positive, lasting impact in the local community with a focus on interacting with local residential homes, care providers and care settings.
North Bristol RFC’s Educational Sports Programme received £7,500.
North Bristol RFC used their grant to deliver an educational sports and nutrition programme, focused on volunteering and fundraising, for 37 young people aged 10-20 years-old. The programme included a variety of topics around sports, mentoring/coaching, nutrition, hospitality, clubhouse maintenance and social media/marketing.
The project worked to enable young people to become better leaders on and off the field, increased their confidence and started building the youth social action habit for life.
Young Gloucestershire’s Community Action Projects received £7,497.
Young Gloucestershire used their grant to engage 14 young people aged 16-20 years-old who weren’t in in education, training or employment in a variety of youth social action projects through their 12 week into work project.
Seven groups completed youth-led community action projects, which were shaped by the young people who chose their challenge, risk assessed, planned and presented the idea to the committee before delivering their proposed project.
SNG #iwill Fund 1.0 Grants – Round 1 Grantees
A total of 34 youth-focused community groups and charities applied for the first round of SNG #iwill Fund grants. In September 2022, 12 projects were awarded a share of almost £100,000.
Find out about the funded projects
Watch the video below to find out how the grant awarded to Koala Community Hub helped young people have new experiences and challenge themselves by getting out of their comfort zone, increasing their confidence, skills, and friendships.
Koala Community Hub | SNG #iwill Fund video transcript
00:00.2 – 00:03.0
My name is Tori Rest and I am founder of Koala Community Hub.
00:03.1 - 00:16.0
So a year ago, we moved to The Bridge, started with our teams groups and then we expanded quite rapidly. So within a year we've now got parents and then toddlers right
through to adults.
00:16.1 - 00:34.1
Sovereign have been amazing, because I think they were our, actually, I think they were our first people to provide funding so that we could start the groups. And they've just been a brilliant throughout the whole process. They’ve always believed in us, they've always, even though we were a small new charity, they've always just always believed in what we’re doing and our resource and always been really supportive.
00:34.2 - 00:44.7
What Sovereign are funding for us is a really exciting project, because our young people often don’t have a chance to get involved in things like this. Social action it’s a difficult thing to get your head around.
00:46.1 – 01:13.0
Stevie Chadwick, Community Development Officer - I reached out to Tori about a year ago.
When I saw that they were fundraising to start up their teens and kids groups for neurodiverse individuals and their families. So what I did with that is, I offered them £1,000 funding to help get the group starting up, and then from there on I’ve had a relationship with Tori and the Koala Community Hub and helping them to receive some external funding to help the group grow.
01:13.5 – 01:32.0
I reached out to Tori back at the beginning of the year when #iwill was launched and to let them know about the opportunity to receive funding for a social action project. Tori took up this idea and luckily they were successful with the grant. And, as you can see, they are now operating a social action group.
01:32.2 – 01:40.0
They’ve already had some idea sessions with the young people around what they would like to do for their community and for the group, social action-wise.
01:40.4 – 01:52.8
For more information about the Sovereign #iwill Fund and to apply, please visit www.sng.org.uk/sng-iwill-fund.
Watch the video below to find out how Solent Youth Action used the grant to support young people to develop an outdoor kitchen at their new skills centre, The Routes.
Solent Youth Action | Sovereign #iwill Fund video transcript
00:00.6 - 00:09.8
Hi, I'm Daisy, I’m the project manager for the Sovereign #iwill Fund. We're here visiting Solent Youth Action, which are one of the 13 projects we funded through the first round.
00:09.9 – 00.18.5
We’re here in the rain, but it's glorious still seeing about all the amazing stuff they're doing with young people, converting the outdoor kitchen space here.
00.18.6 – 00:42.2
Kailea (Solent Youth Action) - The money that we have been given from Sovereign is going to help us develop the outdoor kitchen. The money specifically is going to pay for the staff to support the young people to be able to do that. And then the things that we grow in our outdoor kitchen will be able to be prepared and service and eaten by the young people. So then they get to understand how food grows and how to make it into some delicious meals.
00.42.6 – 00:53.9
For more information about the Sovereign #iwill Fund and to apply, please visit our website at www.sng.org.uk/sng-iwill-fund.
Watch the video below to find out how the grant awarded to Berkshire Youth gave young people new opportunities to be involved in and lead social action activities.
Berkshire Youth | SNG #iwill Fund video transcript
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Hi, I'm Ellie.
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I'm the project officer for
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The Sovereign iWill Fund.
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Today we are here visiting Berkshire Youth
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who are doing a really exciting project that we've funded.
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I'm George, I'm a, uh,
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young leader here at the Waterside Center.
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because like since I've becoming a young leader, I think
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it's, I find it a lot more easier to speak to people.
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I'm Millie. I am a young leader.
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I help out with, um, primary school kids
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and when there's events, for example, the, um,
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opening thing, which was a few weeks ago.
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Hi, I'm Miller and I've been coming
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to the Ward site for over a year now.
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We're currently being put through youth work level one so
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that we can train to be youth workers.
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And we are also young leaders down here at the Waterside.
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We're really excited to have, um, I will funding and,
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and support from Sovereign Housing
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for our leadership programs.
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Um, part of our leadership program is running23
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through our youth cafe, which is
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where we bring young people all together
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to access the facilities here in an open access way.
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Very typical traditional style youth
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work in an open building.
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Um, and the idea is that the activities
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are chosen by young people.
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They're led by young people.31
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The choices we make as part
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of the session are led by young people.
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Um, you've already heard from a few of our young leaders,
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um, who are also developing their skills as leaders,
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as young people who want to lead in those decision making,
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um, in those activities and,
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and be those mentors to other younger children, which is,
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But we're very, very lucky that the support we're getting
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through Sovereign and I will means
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that we can develop their skills further
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by doing specific leadership courses
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alongside their delivery that then is supported
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by practical experience here in the Youth Cafe.
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For more information about the Sovereign iwill fund
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and to apply, please visit our
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website@www.sovereign.org
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uk slash sovereign.
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I will fund.
Read more about each of the first round's winning projects
Solent Youth Action’s Skills Centre Development project received £8,412.
Solent Youth Action used their grant to support young people develop an outdoor kitchen at their new skills centre, The Routes. 35 young volunteers aged between 10-20-years-old designed, planned, fundraised and built the space, which will benefit hundreds of people over the coming years.
The centre is entirely run by young people, who volunteer their time whilst gaining practical skills in carpentry and using power tools, as well as horticulture, planning, teamwork, admin, youth work and landscape design.
Mayfield Nurseries’ Change Champions project received £9,144.49.
Mayfield Nurseries used the grant to engage around 22 young people aged 10-20 in their Change Champions project, particularly those who were struggling to engage in formal education or were facing life barriers in relation to mental health, poverty and housing.
The young people learnt about horticulture, sustainability, environmental issues and mental health and were able to plan and lead a series of events to engage others in the community in understanding more about nature, the environment and sustainability.
Shine Pinehurst’s Wonky Pizza Project received £10,000.
Shine Pinehurst used their grant to support 46 young people aged 11-15 set up and run a pizza oven in the heart of communities across Swindon. The young people led the project and were in charge of choosing locations, days, times, the menu, advertising and making and delivering the pizzas.
The young people completed training in food hygiene, health and safety, food preparation, allergen training and in how to use the pizza oven to equip them with transferable skills for life.
Youthline’s Young Ambassador Scheme received £2,300.
Youthline used their grant to set up their ‘Young Ambassador Scheme’ for 9 young people aged 14-18 from across Bracknell Forest.
The project gave the Young Ambassadors the skills, knowledge and confidence to act as peer mentors through training sessions and increase awareness of healthy lifestyles, present in educational settings, fundraise and promote good health across the community.
Clean our Patch’s Litter Picking in Schools Project received £10,000.
Clean our Patch used the grant to extend their schools programmes to 12 new schools across Plymouth, engaging 1272 young people aged 10-20 in litter picking training and activities.
Clean our Patch delivered workshops in schools to upskill young people to then lead on developing litter picking initiatives across the city, with the aim for young people to learn how to plan and run events, work together as a team, interact with members of the public and instil a passion for caring about communities and the environment.
Berkshire Youth’s Social Action Project received £9,815.86.
Berkshire Youth used their grant to give 39 young people aged 10-15 new opportunities to be involved in and lead social action activities.
With three entry levels of the project, young people were able to decide what level of involvement suits them best and were supported to develop skills and competencies, as well as given opportunities to complete accredited training including Youth Achievement Awards and Level 1 Youth Leadership Qualifications.
Koala Community Hub’s Neurodivergent Youth Social Action Project received £9,752.32.
Koala Community Hub used their grant to give 45 young people aged 10-20 empowering opportunities to lead, have a voice in their community and feel safe, by encouraging them into a variety of youth-led social action projects.
Young people were able to have new experiences and challenge themselves by getting out of their comfort zone while increasing their confidence, skills and friendships.
Cianna’s Smile’s Youth Advocacy Programme received £7,950.
Cianna’s Smile used their grant to engage 34 young people aged 10-18 in a variety of training opportunities to educate, empower and support them to make a positive difference for themselves and/or their peers that face life challenges because of Sickle Cell disease. The young people made choices on how to develop campaigns for Sickle Cell, learnt transferable skills and received real-life experience in campaigning and thinking about social change.
Reverse The Trend Foundation’s Youth Mental Health Project received £10,000.
Reverse The Trend used their grant to engage 110 young people aged 10-14 to campaign for schools in Bristol to add mental health learning and resources to the curriculum. The young people received training on youth social action, confidence-building, presentation skills, media skills and how to get their voices heard.
Reverse The Trend targeted young people from less affluent areas to increase community awareness about mental health, create dialogue about how feelings happen and equip them with the skills to improve their mental health.
JIGSAW Thornbury’s Young Volunteer Scheme received £10,000.
JIGSAW Thornbury used their grant to set up two groups for young people: a young volunteers scheme for 20 young people aged 10-14 and a youth club for 10 young people aged 10-25. The young volunteers scheme enabled young people to build their skills and confidence while giving something back to their community through leading six campaigns and fundraising events.
The youth club, was run in partnership with Krunch South West as an informal service to help young people develop a different set of social skills and independence and members were supported to become youth leaders and get involved with the young volunteers scheme in different ways.
Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project’s Intergenerational Youth Social Action Project received £10,000.
Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project used their grant to support 55 young people aged 10-20 into leading intergenerational community events. Young people aged 10-13 led on the events with older young leaders aged 14-20 supporting them. Young people were given opportunities to achieve accredited AQA courses and were supported to develop their skills and confidence.
Find out more information on Abingdon DAMASCUS Youth Project 
.
YES! Brixham’s Christmas Grotto project received £1,835.
YES! Brixham used their grant to support five young people aged 14-20 to lead on their annual, youth-run Christmas Grotto in December 2022, which was available to anyone and offered children the chance to see Santa and receive a present.
The young people led on organisation, building and delivering the event, helped with fundraising and actively engaged with the community.
Find out more about the SNG #iwill Fund
