£200,000 up for grabs with 2014 Youth Opportunity Fund
Ambitious young people who want to make a difference in Hackney are being given the chance to bid for a share of this year’s £200,000 Youth Opportunity Fund.
Hackney Council is giving 8-19 year-olds the chance to apply for the grant to provide opportunities for other young people in the borough. Last year the fund supported nearly 50 projects, involving over 2,000 young people.
Projects funded through Hackney YOF over the past year include Hackney Empire Youth Forum's Epicentre club night; residentials to Slovenia, Gambia and Spain, and arts projects such as the Mouth that Roars’ film, Chicken Shop, which was premiered at the BFI.
In December, a group of young people used funding to hold an event to celebrate 25 years of youth charity Hackney Quest. Shadai Eshun, 16, one of the organisers of the night, said: “I loved the whole process, from writing the YOF application to seeing it all come together at the end. It helped me build a lot of confidence, organisation and leadership skills and if the opportunity arose I'd love to do it again.”
Groups are able to apply for up to £5,000 of YOF funding. The fund is open to groups of three or more young people who live, work or study in Hackney. All applications are assessed by a panel of young people, who have the final decision over which projects receive funding.
Hackney is full of ambitious, enthusiastic young people, and this is just one of the opportunities for them to have their say about how we spend some of the Young Hackney budget. Whether you’ve got ideas for projects you want to see funded, or want to take part in deciding which of the nominated projects are taken forward, I’d urge all of our younger residents to get involved in this exciting project.
The deadline for round one applications, for activities taking place over the summer and early autumn, is 30 April. The deadline for round two applications is 23 September.
For more details visit www.younghackney.org and click on 'Get Involved'.