Funding priorities

Young people are the future, and that makes them society’s greatest asset.

And yet too many people face disproportionate barriers when they are young, and aren’t given the right opportunities to build the strong foundations needed for a healthy and happy life when they are older. This includes things that many of us take for granted, such as having a safe place to call home, supportive relationships with friends and family, and a chance to learn and experience rewarding work.

SYP Trust aims to bring about positive change where it is needed in the lives of children and young people in London.

Through our grants we aim to:

• Reach children and young people who may be disadvantaged due to their physical or intellectual capacity, citizenship status, race, health and life expectancy, sexual orientation or previous criminal activity.

• Reach children and young people who fall between the gaps of high and low attainment and privilege, who are often left without access to opportunities and whose potential is frequently overlooked.

• Encourage organisations to be flexible and creative in their approach, to be bold and try innovative and untested ideas that have the potential to have meaningful impacts and bring young people into their leadership and decision making.

That’s why our grant-making programme focuses on supporting organisations that are providing one or more of the following outcomes for children and young people in London:

• Opportunities and encouragement for young people to access learning and employment: We know that with the right education and learning opportunities and support to keep going, young people are likely to experience a range of positive personal outcomes, affecting where and how they live, and the choices they make in the future.

  Our focus area under this priority is currently:
  Work with those disengaged or excluded from compulsory education to achieve qualifications or training that supports their interests and employment aspirations. Primarily for groups where unemployment is demonstrably higher (such as refugees, those with disabilities, school avoiders and young people from traveller communities).

• Empowering young people to lead the healthiest lives they can: Being healthy and active makes you feel better, have more energy and can lead to fewer health problems. We want to empower young people to be as healthy as they can be (physically, mentally, emotionally and sexually), regardless of ability or life expectancy.

  Our focus area under this priority is currently:
  Medium to long-term support to improve and protect their mental health through tailored and small-scale support that meets their individual needs as identified by the young people themselves.
  
  

• Engaging young people to feel empowered in their choices, to be able to act independently and to have a voice. Especially when it comes to decisions that affect their today and tomorrow: Young people are the workforce and leaders of tomorrow. By providing opportunities for young people to volunteer, to be involved in important conversations, and to take on responsibility, we can enable them to bring about positive impacts for themselves and others.
  Our focus areas under this priority are currently:
  a) Projects which enable them to develop and demonstrate leadership skills with a practical application.

  b) Creative projects that enable them to speak out and express their views on key issues, that are presented to the decision makers and communities they wish to influence.

If you think your work is helping to create some of these outcomes for children and young people in London, we’d love to hear from you.