Co-op Foundation: Future Communities Fund
Overview
The second round of the Future Communities Fund is focusing on supporting organisations that are helping young people with experience of the youth justice system to re-build their lives and settle back into their communities.
In this £1.75 million programme round, they’re looking to fund approximately ten organisations. Grants will be awarded on an unrestricted basis and to a maximum value of £150,000 over five years.
This builds on the £1.4m of grants they awarded in round one of the fund.
Why the youth justice system?
In 2022, they asked young people what how they wanted their future communities to look. They wanted communities that were safe and inclusive, where young people feel supported even when they make mistakes. Their vision now guides the second round of the Future Communities Fund on the youth justice system.
The statistics are stark. In the year ending March 2024, around 13,700 young people in England and Wales entered the youth justice system, with a concerning 32.5% reoffending rate within a year. These figures speak to systemic challenges such as poverty, discrimination, and a lack of access to education and support services, which perpetuate cycles of disadvantage.
Eligibility criteria
As part of this round, they’re looking to fund organisations which:
- Have a significant focus on supporting justice-experienced young people aged 10-25 to re-engage with their community
- Have an annual income of £250,000 or less
- Are not-for-profit organisations, who operate exclusively in the United Kingdom
- That primarily support justice-experienced young people aged 10-25 years old
- Have two or more unrelated directors or trustees on the Board
Fund criteria
In order to be successful, organisations should be able to demonstrate that they:
- Support young people to navigate the social stigma which can be associated for those with experience of the justice system
- Have strong, existing relationships with referral agencies to ensure a smooth transition out of the justice system
- Have experience of developing routes for young people transitioning from the justice system into training and employment
- Have experience of supporting young people to develop skills that help them feel empowered to make positive changes in their lives
- Value lived experience and have justice experienced young people involved in their governance and/or service delivery
- Have experience of building flexible, consistent, positive relationships with young people
About the Fund
Their Future Communities Fund is the first strategic fund launched under their ‘Building communities of the future together’ strategy. They’re pioneering a distinctly co-operative way of funding, and that’s why this fund is:
- Participatory – grant-giving will be led by their Future Communities Collective. This is a group of diverse young people who advise on our funding and strategy.
- Unrestricted – they’re funding organisations, not projects.
- Long-term – they’re providing funding for up to five years.
- Trusting – they’ll work with their partners to understand how their funding can increase their impact.
- Accessible – they introduced a two-stage application process for this fund and pledged to be honest and open with applicants as they trial new ways of working. This aligns to their IVAR commitments.
- Supportive – they’re here to help community groups to be the best they can be in whatever way they can. That’s why they’re funding them flexibly and amplifying the amazing work that they do.
- Facilitating co-operating – they’ll help to facilitate connections between groups so their partners can achieve more, learn together and co-operate for a fairer world.
Their Future Communities Fund was launched in November 2022. It brought together two strategic priorities from their youth-designed Future Communities Vision – ‘youth activism and shared power’ and ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’.
Their working definition of ‘diverse’ is people who have experience of being marginalised in society due to their race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, socioeconomic status or any other attribute that impacts their inclusion.