The additional funding will contribute to the provision of social action opportunities for young people across England.

The National Lottery Community Fund and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have each announced an additional £6 million of funding into their partnership programme, the #iwill Fund, taking its total investment to £66 million.

The Funding is distributed through collaboration with Match Funders to develop social action projects, introducing young people to activities such as volunteering, campaigning and fundraising. Past awards have included a grant to Scouts and Guides, who joined forces to extend their reach into more deprived communities; and Co-op Foundation, which ran a £2 million grants programme using youth social action to tackle loneliness.

Commenting on the additional investment, the National Lottery Community Fund’s Chief Executive, David Knotts said:

“Thanks to National Lottery players and Government investment, this further funding will be invested into providing even more opportunities for young people, so they can help create prosperous and thriving communities and make a positive difference to their own and others’ lives.”

Funders interested in partnering with the #iwill fund to deliver youth action work must provide match funding on a 1:1 ratio.

Organisations looking for grant funding for direct delivery, rather than to partner as a Match Funder, can apply directly to the Match Funders depending on their available programmes.

Details of Match Funders and opportunities to get involved can be found on the National Lottery Community Fund website.