Julia and Hans Rausing are pleased to unveil The Youth Centre Recovery Fund, an open application programme making £8 million available to charities running youth centres across England to support young people and youth services during the coronavirus pandemic.
Youth centres across the country have seen declining financial reserves and loss of income associated with the lock-down restrictions. Studies from The National Youth Agency show 1 in 2 youth charities will be unable to meet operational costs within 12 months. UK Youth estimate there are 1.6 million children from a vulnerable family background for whom support is either patchy or non-existent.
The Youth Centre Recovery Fund is being launched to help charities running youth centres survive and recover from the financial losses associated from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The aim is to ensure that youth centres remain viable and are able to re-open and continue to deliver much needed services to meet the increased demand from young people, as the country emerges from Covid-19 restrictions.
Julia and Hans Rausing commented: “We are pleased to launch this new funding programme which is available to registered charities running youth centres in England. We know youth centres perform a vital role in the community, providing the support and opportunities to transform people’s lives. Many are facing the prospect of further cuts and potential closure at a time when young people have been left vulnerable due to the pandemic.
We hope that the Youth Centre Recovery Fund will go some way towards supporting these important institutions to the benefit of the next generation.”
Applications opened on 15 March, and remain open until 16:00 on Wednesday 31 March 2021. Funding decisions will be announced in May.
The Youth Centre Recovery Fund follows £2.5 million investment by Julia and Hans Rausing in youth related charities so far this year including Greenhouse Sports and The Prince’s Trust Women Supporting Women initiative.
This will be the second time that the Rausings’ have run an open application programme. Their inaugural venture into this method of grant-making was the Charity Survival Fund in 2020, which delivered £18 million to 329 charities.
For more information about the fund and how to apply click here.