Youth services to benefit from a new Refurbishment Grant Programme to renovate and improve their offer to young people in England and reach more young people. The Youth Investment Fund, funded by the UK Government, is transforming out-of-school opportunities for young people in the most underserved and deprived areas in England. In a drive to ensure as many young people benefit as possible, the Youth Investment Fund is now offering youth services the chance to apply for a Refurbishment Grant of up to £150K to help services reach more young people and ensure youth services are there for future generations.   The new Refurbishment Grant Programme means that every eligible youth service, however small, has a unique chance to apply for funding to renovate their service, recognising that some services only require a modest investment to improve, update and refurbish their offer to young people. The Youth Investment Fund has been designed to help youth services reach more young people across England. The Refurbishment Grant programme will increase that reach and ensure youth services are there for future generations of young people. The programme should appeal to smaller youth services, who may not have the capacity to deliver large capital projects. A Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grant could cover a wide range of improvements and refurbishments including:
  • Roof works
  • Accessibility adjustments
  • Insulation
  • Fitting of a new boiler
  • Fitting of new windows
  • Fitting of new doors
  • Fitting of new bathrooms / toilets
  • Fitting of a new kitchen
  • Damp proofing
  • Rewiring or electrical works
  • Plastering
  • Asbestos removal
  • Moving/removing an internal wall
  • Contingency costs
  • Fees
  • Other – anything else that will improve your youth services and enable you to reach more young people or preserve your youth service.
Alongside capital costs, youth projects can also apply for revenue and contingency costs, as long as the total applied for does not exceed £150K. A revenue grant request cannot exceed 20% of the capital grant requested, and contingency costs should be no greater than 10% of the total capital costs.  Eligible youth services can apply for a Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grant via an easy-to-use application form. The Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grant Programme operates in rounds. The application window will be open over a period time where organisations are able to submit their application. The three grant rounds run from:
  • 28 March to 11 April 2023
  • 24 April to 12 May 2023
  • 29 May to 9 June 2023
Find out if you are eligible to apply:  Youth Investment Fund Refurbishment Grants up to £150,000: apply here Youth Investment Fund (applications greater than £150,000): apply here The Youth Investment Fund is delivered by Social Investment Business, in partnership with National Youth Agency (NYA), Key Fund and Resonance. Fusion21 is the Youth Investment Fund procurement partner.     The Youth Investment Fund, a fund of over £300 million, launched in August 2022, aims to level up some of the most deprived areas in England, where youth need is high and provision is low, giving young people equal access to local youth services. 45 local authorities and around 600 district wards in most underserved areas of England are eligible to apply for the Youth Investment Fund, paving the way for up to 300 youth facilities to be built or renovated over the next three years. This will increase the number of regular positive activities undertaken by new young people in the targeted areas by 45,000 per year by 2026/27.

The Youth Investment Fund has the potential to be transformative for young people, levelling up youth services where they are needed most. The Fund’s new Refurbishment Grants aim to support smaller organisations providing youth services to renovate and improve their offer, enabling more young people to benefit from new and improved facilities. We want to ensure the Fund is open to those requiring a more modest investment to expand and broaden what they provide. This will help the Fund reach greater numbers of young people, in a wider range of places, especially in rural and coastal areas in England.

Nick Temple

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