Energise YOUth funding

Energise YOUth exists to help young people become and stay active.

Just 44.6% of the nation’s children and young people are meeting the recommended level of physical activity. 47% in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight do the recommended level of physical activity. But, there is more to do to make sure all children and young people have the opportunity to be physically active.

Sport makes me feel worried because of people judging how I look, what my size is, if I sweat too much and so on.

Teenager, Hampshire

Getting young people active

The Energise YOUth programme exists to help children and young people across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to move more. We aim to:

  • provide positive experiences, designed with young people, that make them feel good about physical activity and sport
  • change behaviour by supporting young people to exercise at a moderate intensity and to build regular activity habits
  • create opportunities for young people (and adults!) to try new things, to learn new skills, and to lead change in their communities

Who is it for?

Energise YOUth is for young people who are not regularly active. In particular, we want to support those who are vulnerable or facing disruption in their lives. We also want to support those who are underrepresented in sport e.g. girls and young people with disabilities.

Since joining our boxing club, Kit has transformed physically and mentally. He is healthier and he has a new found confidence.

Energise YOUth club leader

Benefits for young people

Energise YOUth club members report all kinds of benefits:

  • Feeling fitter and healthier
  • Gaining confidence
  • Achieving personal goals
  • Relieving stress and anxiety
  • Learning new skills

But there are also benefits for activity providers:

  • Reaching new participants
  • Shaping activities with young people to improve delivery
  • Attracting funding and resources
  • Developing coaches, leaders and volunteers
  • Creating new partnerships

Andover Young Carers Story

In 2019 we were able to support Andover Young Carers to set up an Energise YOUth project. The young carers were consulted and they decided they would most like to take part in swimming and climbing. The swimming sessions were set up to be 50% instructed lessons and 50% ‘free play’ to create a good learning environment and help the young people learn new skills. The young carers attended sessions with project workers who they knew well and trusted.

All the young carers were given a journal to log how they felt throughout the sessions. At the start of the sessions, many wrote about being nervous and finding activity scary. By the end of the sessions, their views had changed. With one young carer writing “I am an awesome human being! (Happy face emoji)” and many expressing that they were having fun and becoming more comfortable.

Read more about Andover Young Carers Energise YOUth project here.

Young people climbing. (Andover Young Careers)

Here are some examples of how our Energise YOUth projects have impacted the young people who attended

Energise YOUth funds

Sport England has confirmed our funding to deliver Energise YOUth (formerly Satellite Clubs) until March 2023. To apply for funding you will need to demonstrate that you:

  • are meeting an identified want or need from local young people
  • have worked with young people to design your proposed Energise YOUth project
  • will support vulnerable and/or inactive young people through your project
  • will increase young people’s activity levels and/or confidence to take part in physical activity
  • can provide appropriate wraparound support to help young people take part
  • have plans to make the project sustainable

You can also apply for small amounts of funding to help with the costs of consultation and project design. Get in touch with Emma to chat through ideas.

Making your project sustainable

To enable young people to build long-lasting physical activity habits, your project needs to be sustainable. This might mean:

  • training up staff members to deliver physical activities
  • building partnerships to allow young people to continue being active outside of your project
  • looking for funding to continue running the project beyond the Energise YOUth funding

Hear it from the young people themselves

Hear from the young people themselves as they tell their stories about joining an Energise YOUth Project, starting watersports sessions and becoming more active. Find out how the sessions have a positive impact on them and changed their lives for the better.

The practical stuff

What can you use the Energise YOUth funding for?

  • Direct project costs e.g. activity leader costs, equipment costs, venue hire, volunteer expenses, marketing costs, etc.
  • Training costs for staff and/or young people to support the sustainability of the project.
  • Travel costs to enable access. But, not where this will present a barrier to young people taking part as soon as the funded period of delivery comes to an end.
  • Salaries or contributions to salaries for new hours/roles directly involved in delivering the proposed activities. However, applicants will need to consider and explain how the salary/role/post will be sustained beyond the term of the Energise YOUth funding.
  • A reasonable and proportionate share of an organisation’s overheads linked to direct delivery of the funded project e.g. project admin, rent, utility costs, etc. But, requested contributions towards any additional costs not related to direct project delivery cannot be supported.

What costs are ineligible for Energise YOUth lottery funding and can’t be included?

  • Energise YOUth funding must not duplicate the purpose of any core or grant funding already held by the applying organisation.
  • One-off events unless they have a clear purpose for youth consultation/engagement or are at the beginning of a wider piece of physical activity for those involved. We look for projects that want to inspire young people to continue to do regular physical activity.
  • Activities or costs already covered by other government funding including rates.
  • Retrospective costs.
  • Capital works (including fixed items of equipment including goals and nets that cannot be easily moved, as well as fixed equipment which may require planning permission or impact on a lease).
  • Activities promoting religious or political beliefs.
  • Where there is personal benefit to an individual (including membership fees, clothing, vouchers/prizes/incentives with a cash value, etc).*
  • Sole traders or any private business or profit-making organisations unless they are a Social Enterprise or Community Interest Company.
  • Replacement of general equipment for reasons related to wear and tear (broken, tired, torn etc).
  • Contingency costs and VAT organisations are seeking to recover.

* We can support reasonable costs of items linked to the activity to encourage participation and/or overcome barriers to taking part e.g. water bottle, T shirt.

How much funding can we apply for?

You can submit applications for £500 to £10,000.

How do we apply?

To apply for Energise YOUth funding, you will need to fill in an Expression of Interest form which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Please return this to Emma Dovener, whose details can also be found at the bottom of the page.

We encourage and are happy for people to get in touch prior to submitting an Expression of Interest form to discuss their ideas.

Is there a deadline for submission?

Submissions will be considered on a rolling basis. Projects should be prepared to start within three months of approval, and on or before 31st March 2023.

Get in touch

Read About Some of Our Projects

Community Action – Isle Of Wight

This project connects young people with local activities.

Our Partners

Helping us tackle inactivity to boost health and happiness

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