Our Borough
Funding more sustainable local voluntary organisations for children and young people
Since 2020, Young K&C has distributed over £2.5 million in grants to over 80 local voluntary organisations across Kensington and Chelsea, in partnership with key stakeholders such as the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), John Lyon’s Charity, The Lightbulb Trust, NHS CNWL and Julia Rausing Trust.
Over the past 5 years, Young K&C has distributed the following:
Grant Fund | Funder | Description | £ Distributed amount | Number of grants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
TOTAL | 3,062,698 | 262 | ||
Digital Inclusion for Supplementary Schools | John Lyon’s Charity | Distribution of laptops and grant funding to 14 Supplementary Schools across the borough | 7,500 | 14 |
Detached Outreach | RBKC | Supporting 4 local youth clubs to support young people during the COVID-19 lockdowns | 7,213 | 4 |
Holiday Activities and Food Programme | Department of Education and RBKC | Providing free holiday clubs for children and young people who are eligible for free school meals | 1,455,345 | 120 |
Exploring Culture, Heritage and Identity | John Lyon’s Charity | Funding small organisations to deliver projects that explore culture, identity, and heritage | 80,500 | 25 |
Our Choice | John Lyon’s Charity | Funding small organisations to support girls, young women and LGBT+ young people | 51,375 | 12 |
Lancaster Youth Hub consortium | RBKC | Delivering youth activities at Lancaster Youth Hub | 157,600 | 12 |
Young Adult Mental Health Pathways | Central North West London NHS | Funding youth clubs to support young adults mental health pathways in partnership with the NHS | 65,970 | 6 |
Supplementary School Fund | Lightbulb Trust and John Lyon’s Charity | Core funding for local Supplementary Schools to support learning and education. | 105,000 | 25 |
Wellness From Within | Central North West London NHS | Helping to address the risks
of disordered eating for
young people | 65,000 | 4 |
Making Space | Julia Rausing Trust and RBKC | Supporting inclusion of disabled children and young people in local youth activities | 215,880 | 12 |
Youth Empowerment Main Grants | RBKC | Funding core cost for youth clubs and community adventure play | 757,500 | 17 |
Youth Empowerment Small Grants | RBKC and John Lyon’s Charity | Small grants and project grants for local voluntary organisations | 93,815 | 11 |
We worked with RBKC to support their grant programmes to fund local voluntary organisations to work with Parent Carer Champions and to develop community responses to reduce serious youth violence.
Our grant making supports local voluntary and community organisations to deliver high quality services for children and young people by giving
them the resources they need to develop and grow their service delivery.
Access to funding for local children and youth services is becoming more challenging every year, particularly for smaller, grassroots organisations. Local voluntary organisations face challenges with rising costs, recruiting and retaining good staff and sustaining support for children and young people.
We reduce the barriers to funding by:
- Working with Young Ambassadors to ensure decisions are informed by local young people
- Visiting organisations in person to give our applicants the best opportunity to showcase their work
- Aiming to keep application forms as short as possible, and using plain English
- Supporting our members with monitoring and reporting, skills and development
- Building positive relationships with our members, to support them throughout the grant process and beyond
We believe in participatory grant-making, bringing together the voices of young people, professionals and stakeholders as key decision makers across all stages of the grant process.
“Grant making should not be made in isolation to the people it is affecting.”
— Young Ambassador, 2024
By working in collaboration with our members and local young people, we make decisions that are fair and representative of local need. We have built strong, trusted relationships with the organisations we fund and have seen the real impact of our support within communities.
Our Young Ambassadors help to shape a process that reflects the lived experiences and priorities of local young people, ensuring our funding remains relevant, inclusive, and community led.
Case study
Fit For Life Youth
Fit For Life Youth (FFLY) is a youth organisation supporting children and young people through sports, mentoring, and youth work. Their journey from a small community-led CIC to a registered charity has been significantly shaped by the targeted and ongoing funding support of Young K&C.
Through first receiving Young K&C’s Small Grants, FFLY were able to run activities focused on wellbeing, fitness, and inclusion. These early investments created space for innovation and community engagement, laying the groundwork for further growth.
As the organisation proved its impact, Young K&C enabled FFLY to scale its services by unlocking longer-term funding. FFLY successfully partnered with London Sports Trust to win the tender to both Lancaster Youth Hub and Chelsea Youth Hub, offering critical continuity for young people in the area.
Alongside grant funding, Young K&C provided 1:1 support with financial planning and fundraising strategy. This guidance helped FFLY to successfully convert from a CIC to a CIO, an important milestone that expanded its eligibility for larger grants and strengthened its long-term sustainability. Young K&C also facilitated introductions to new private funders, broadening the organisation’s funding base beyond the voluntary sector.
Today, FFLY runs a wide range of programmes through its FFLY HQ, Lancaster Youth Hub and Chelsea Youth Hub, including tailored projects for girls, SEND youth, and those at risk of exclusion. With more than 200 young people engaged per year, the organisation’s growth reflects not just community need, but also the impact of consistent, well-placed funding.
