My Community

1
My Community

• Citizenship Communication Information Pack
• May 2009

2
Introduction

• This months pack is designed to be delivered as
  a Youth Achievement Award - the individual units
  build a portfolio that can be submitted for
  accreditation and each young person will also
  achieve a recorded outcome (which will form part
  of that portfolio)
• Its important that you and the young person sign
  each piece of work and that you gather as much
  supporting evidence as possible photographs,
  videos, session plans etc. If a group of young
  people have collaborated on one piece of work,
  take photocopies and ensure that each individual
  signs their copy.
• More information about YAA is available from
  their website http//www.ukyouth.org/whatwedo/Pro
  grammes/YAA/
• For more information you can download a copy of
  the information pack http//www.ukyouth.org/Resou
  rces/UK20Youth/Documents/Youth20Achievement20Aw
  ards20Info20Pack-202009.pdf
• The pack places an emphasis not only on
  developing communities and citizenship but also
  on gathering cre3dible and up to date information
  about the activities and facilities available in
  your area. It is hoped that this unit will play a
  vital role in the development of the togogo
  website which is seeking to capture as complete a
  picture of the positive activities available for
  young people across the county, an undertaking in
  which young peoples input and participation is
  key. If you would like more information about
  togogo and the TAP (togogo advisory panel for
  young people) please contact me
  suze.youde_at_kent.gov.uk

3
Introduction

• This pack includes 4 core units
• My Ideal Community
• A Simple SWOT Analysis
• Designing a Survey
• Mapping your Community
• And 2 optional units
• Positive Activities for Young People
• Making it Better
• You may decide to deliver all 6 units or you may
  find that you can achieve the 15 hours necessary
  for a Youth Achievement Award Challenge by
  delivering the 4 core units. These 4 units make
  up the 4 targets for the challenge.
• You may find additional helpful information in
  the curriculum chapted on CITIZENSHIP
• Please note, to make links in this document
  live, click F5 to view as a slideshow (press
  ESC to exit)
• If you have any comments or queries, please
  contact me, Suze Youde suze.youde_at_kent.gov.uk for
  more information

4
My Ideal Community

• MATERIALS Pens and pencils, whiteboard or
  flipchart, computer access (optional), empty
  cereal boxes etc. suitable for use as model
  buildings, map of your community (see leaders
  notes), raw egg (or 2 or 3!), large roll of paper
  or several sheets taped together, map pieces
  (optional)
• WORKSHEETS My Ideal Community, diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Flying Egg ask the group to stand
  in a small circle. Give one member of the group
  and egg and tell the group that their aim is to
  work together to throw the egg around the circle.
  The first person passes to the person on their
  right and so on round the circle. Once the group
  have done this, ask them all to take 2 paces
  backwards so the circle gets bigger. Repeat,
  asking the group members to move backwards every
  time they successfully get the egg round. Have a
  short debrief how did the group feel? Was
  working together important to achieving their
  objective? Introduce the idea of community, and
  that members of a strong community work well
  together to achieve their objectives. A good
  community is like a good team ask for examples
  of communities that young people are part of e.g.
  Scouts and guides, senior members groups, or
  community work they might have done.
• ACTIVITY 1 Hand out maps of the area around your
  centre (see leaders notes for websites) and
  think about what facilities are available in your
  immediate area then mark them on the map. Discuss
  the following
• What do you really like about the community you
  live in?
• What do you dislike about it?
• Do you think it has good facilities and
  activities for young people?

5
My Ideal Community

• ACTIVITY 2 Now divide the group into smaller
  groups and give each group a worksheet (My
  Perfect Community). Ask them to think about what
  they would like to see if they were designing the
  community outlined on the map. What facilities
  would they have and where would they put them?
  Think about things like cost and transport.
• Now bring the group back together and display all
  the maps side by side. Discuss the following
  questions
• What are the similarities and differences between
  them?
• Did girls want to see different things in their
  community to boys?
• Would these communities be ideal for everyone
  what about people with disabilities, or older
  people?
• On the flipchart make a list of facilities for an
  ideal community that everyone in the group agrees
  with, making additional suggestions as
  appropriate. Now look at the designs which is
  closest to the ideal? Have a vote on the best
  design this will be used in the next activity
• ACTIVITY 3 Print out the pieces of the plan and
  tape together or draw freehand on paper (this
  looks effective if you use light colours on dark
  paper). Using old cereal boxes, drinks cartons,
  plastic bottles etc. construct a 3D model from
  the plan. Since this is an ideal community, the
  buildings can be as outrageous as you like.
  Divide the group into smaller groups and ask them
  to build their ideal multiplex/skate park/youth
  centre etc. The models can be accompanied by text
  or 2D drawings describing what theyre like
  inside, what facilities they provide, who the
  target audience is, what makes them ideal.

6
My Ideal Community

• ACTIVITY 4 Bring the group together for a
  discussion of the following questions
• Which elements of the ideal community are already
  present in your area?
• Which elements arent present but could be
  created e.g. A club night at your centre, land
  for a skate park to be built
• If you wanted to get extra facilities for your
  community, how would you go about it e.g. Form a
  pressure group, make a bid to the Youth
  Opportunities Fund?
• If its not possible to make your community
  ideal, what one improvement would make it a lot
  better?
• Keep a list of key words and suggestions from
  this discussion on a flip chart as it will form
  the basis for the next piece of work a simple
  SWOT analysis of your area.
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

7
A Simple SWOT Analysis of Your Community

• MATERIALS Pens, flipchart or whiteboard
• WORKSHEET SWOT analysis, Wish List,
  diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Divide the group into pairs and tell
  them they have 5 minutes to find out 4 things
  about the other person what theyre good at,
  what theyre bad at, what theyd like to do and
  what might stop them from achieving their goal.
  Then swap over for another 5 minutes. Bring the
  group together and ask each pair to share the
  information theyve gained.
• ACTIVITY 1 Explain that, just like youve been
  looking at each others strengths and weaknesses,
  now youll be looking at the strengths and
  weaknesses of your community. Start by thinking
  about what you feel makes your community
  different to any other youre looking for a
  list of things that make your real life community
  unique this could be a geographical feature, the
  kind of shops you have, the people who live
  there, good schools etc. These are the strengths
  of your community.
• ACTIVITY 2 Depending on how many strengths
  youve defined, split the group into a number of
  smaller groups who will look at 3-4 of these
  strengths each. Hand out the work sheets and
  divide up the strengths between the groups. Pin
  up the key words and phrases from the discussion
  in the My Ideal Community task as an additional
  reference and ask each group to complete the
  table. Then bring the group back together to
  compare and discuss their conclusions why have
  they come to the conclusions that they have? How
  can the community act on the strengths and
  opportunities and address the weaknesses theyve
  identified? You should now have a clear picture
  of whats good in your area/community and where
  there are gaps in provision and the need for
  facilities.

8
A Simple SWOT Analysis of Your Community

• ACTIVITY 3 Hand out the Wish List sheet and
  ask young people to complete it (this can be done
  individually or in pairs) Discuss your findings
• Is there one thing thats top of everyones wish
  list?
• Do wish lists vary between boys and girls and
  different age groups in the 13 19 range?
• Does the group feel that their views are
  representative of all the young people in their
  community?
• Keep notes about the discussion on a flipchart to
  use during the next session.
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

9
Designing a Survey

• MATERIALS Pens, flipchart/whiteboard,
  clipboards, evaluation/diary sheet
• WORKSHEETS Whats the Question? Sheet, survey
  design sheet, diary/evaluation sheet
• ICEBREAKER Get the group to stand in line
  according to their date of birth, youngest to
  oldest. Give them a few minutes to complete the
  task then go along the line to check that theyre
  in the right order. Now repeat but asking young
  people to arrange themselves in alphabetical
  order (can be first name or surname). Again,
  check the order. Hold a brief group discussion
  how did they get in the right order? What
  questions did they have to ask to get the
  information they needed to complete the task.
• ACTIVITY 1 Following on from the SWOT analysis,
  think about the questions you would need to ask
  other 13-19 year olds to find out what theyd
  like to see in an ideal community what
  activities, what provision, what cost and
  transport? Look at the worksheet and use it as a
  template to complete the survey design sheet
  ask the group to work in pairs on this. Then
  bring the group together and discuss write down
  recurring questions and look for group agreement
  on what questions need to be asked. Then write up
  and print out the survey questions.
• ACTIVITY 2 Agree a time and date to carry out
  the survey. Split the group into pairs and give
  each pair a copy of the survey, clipboard and
  pen. Agree a start and end time and the area that
  each pair will conduct their research.

10
Designing a Survey

• ACTIVITY 3 Compare the results of your survey
  and present the information in graphic form you
  could build a 3D model, use computer generated
  charts and graphs or draw them by hand. Encourage
  the groups to be as creative as possible in the
  way they present the information. When they are
  happy with the results, ask each group to feed
  back to the others on their findings.
• ACTIVITY 4 Group discussion
• What does the survey tell you about what young
  people in your community want?
• Is there one particular issue that stands out?
• If there is, what could you do about making it
  happen in your community?
• Make notes on the discussion as these will be
  useful for the mapping exercise.
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

11
Positive Activities for Young People

• MATERIALS Pens, flipchart/whiteboard,
  highlighters
• WORKSHEETS PAYP worksheets, diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Agree/Disagree. One end of the room
  will represent agree, the other disagree. Ask
  the group to stand in the middle of the room then
  run to the end of the room that represents their
  views on the following
• There are plenty of things to do in my community
• Going out with my mates is a positive thing to do
• Learning new skills is boring
• If I enjoy doing something then its positive
• Playing sport isnt positive
• Only educational activities are positive
• Have a brief discussion, highlighting why young
  people made the choices they made.
• ACTIVITY 1 Write the words positive activities
  in the middle of the flip chart invite the
  group to brainstorm what thoose words mean. If
  something is contested e.g. Chatting to my mates,
  encourage young people to give arguments as to
  why thats positive i.e. We help each other solve
  problems, we share information and make sure
  these thoughts are captured.

12
Positive Activities for Young People

• ACTIVITY 2 Hand out the worksheets and ask young
  people to complete individually again,
  encourage them to capture the thoughts behind why
  the activities they consider to be positive are
  positive activities for them
• ACTIVITY 3 Bring the group back together and ask
  them to feedback on what theyve just done add
  further thoughts and ideas to the brainstorm. Now
  highlight the activities that are easily
  available in one colour, ones that are available
  but difficult to access (travel, cost) in
  another, and ones that arent available in
  another. This brainstorm will help with the
  following mapping exercise.
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

13
Mapping Your Community

• MATERIALS Maps of local area (download from
  Internet), report from togogo (see leaders
  notes), copy of Yellow Pages/computer access to
  www.yell.com , cameras (camera phones/centres
  own camera/disposables), nametags and pieces of
  card
• WORKSHEETS mapping information sheets (you may
  need several for each group), diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Do you know me? Give each member of
  the group a piece of card and a pen and pin on a
  nametag (this will have the name of someone else
  in the group written on it). Now ask the group
  members to mingle with each other asking do you
  know me? and writing down the information they
  find out. When the group have had a good chance
  to mix, stop the ice breaker and ask each member
  of the group to feedback on what theyve found
  out about the person whose name is on their name
  tag. Have a brief discussion on the exercise
  what information did you get? Was it all true?
  Did you trust the source of the information?
  Frame this in the context of the mapping exercise
  to follow that the information youre going to
  gather needs to be from trustworthy sources and
  needs to be as accurate as possible.
• ACTIVITY 1 Using the map of your local postcode,
  split up the group into research teams and give
  each group a specific area to look at. Pin up the
  positive activities brainstorm and results of
  the survey as a guideline and give each group a
  copy of the togogo report for their area.
  Encourage each group to map their area as closely
  as possible to the information they can find from
  Yellow Pages, togogo report, their own local
  knowledge and get them to complete their sheets
  as fully as possible. Encourage the teams to get
  out and look at the quality of provision in the
  area so they can rate it did they get good,
  friendly service? Was there any access for young
  people with disabilities? Is the activity
  suitable for all 13-19 year olds? Is it easily
  accessible? Use the worksheets to capture
  information.

14
Mapping the Community

• ACTIVITY 2 Encourage the groups to develop their
  own rate and slate criteria and use them to
  give each activity/provision a rating that they
  choose. Make sure that young people document the
  facilities/activities they are mapping and
  evidence their own use of the facilities/activitie
  s. Provide examples of rating and slating e.g.
  Amazon reviews, star ratings which do young
  people find the most effective? Is it better to
  have a review with quite a lot of information or
  a quick at a glance system? Or would some sort
  of combination work best?
• ACTIVITY 3 Bring the group together to feedback.
  
• Did they find there was more going on than they
  imagined?
• Where did they find information and what were
  useful places to go for information?
• Was it more helpful to talk to people or to look
  on the computer/use the telephone directory?
• How would they rate the quality of activities and
  provision overall in their community?
• What could be improved or made better?
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

15
Build a Brochure

• MATERIALS Photos and portfolios from previous
  activities, computer access if necessary, printer
  if necessary, evaluation/diary sheet, sheet for
  Instructions icebreaker.
• WORKSHEETS Brochure template sheet,
  diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Rebel Foot get everyone to sit on
  the floor, with their legs straight and raise
  their right leg off the floor. Now circle the
  foot to the right. Once youve been doing that
  for a while, start to draw a number 6 in the air
  with your right hand what happens to your foot?
  It changes direction. Now hand out the
  instructions ice breaker and give the group a
  little while to complete it. Have a brief
  discussion about the way people handled the task
  frame this as a discussion about the importance
  of carefully following instructions or directions
  when working well together. It would also be
  effective to use a teamwork game as a warm up
  again, point out the importance of working
  together and following instructions to do a good
  job.
• ACTIVITY 1 Build a Brochure youll now have
  captured a great deal of evidence about your
  community whats available, whats good and
  whats bad, what could be better, what young
  people would like to be able to do in an ideal
  community. Use the photos, information and
  ratings to build a brochure of activities and
  facilities for young people in your community
  the more information there is, the better. Split
  the group into pairs/small groups and hand out
  the worksheets ask young people to design an
  entry for a brochure they can choose one of the
  templates or design their own. Bring the group
  back together and pin up all the designs. Ask the
  group to vote on which one is clearest this
  will be the template for the brochure entries.

16
Build a Brochure

• ACTIVITY 2 Divide the group into smaller groups
  who will be responsible for
• Page design the layout of the pages and the
  photos that are used
• Cover design
• Text what information is included about each
  activity/facility
• Editing Putting it all together, deciding
  whether it should be printed/kept as a
  pdf/produced by hand/
• Remind the group that no single job is better
  than any other job and that they all add value to
  the brochure
• ACTIVITY 3 Bring the groups back together and
  ask each of them to present to the others what
  theyve done. Encourage the rest of the group to
  ask questions about why decisions have been made
  and to agree/disagree with them. Encourage
  co-operation and constructive criticism. When all
  decisions have been made and have the support of
  the majority of the group, produce your brochure
  this could be by hand and photrocopied, printed
  out from a computer, you might even like to get
  it professionally printed. Remember, the greenest
  option is to save and send it as a word document
  of pdf.
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

17
Lets Make it Better

• MATERIALS Computer access if necessary (see
  leaders notes), flipchart
• WORKSHEET Time capsule sheet, SWOT sheet,
  funding checklist sheet, diary/evaluation
• ICEBREAKER Time Capsule Divide the group into
  small groups and hand out the time capsule
  sheet. Tell them they can choose 4 of the things
  on the list and 1 of their own to go into a time
  capsule to be opened in 2000 years time. When the
  decisions have been made, get each group to
  feedback to the others on their choices what
  impression of our community will those choices
  make on people in the year 4009? Do they
  represent the very best of your community?
• ACTIVITY 1 Youve looked extensively at your
  community and identified its strengths and
  weaknesses. Ask the group if there is one single
  thing that you could do at your centre that would
  make it better Brainstorm ideas and write the
  most popular ones on the flip chart. Decide on
  the 4 best ideas.
• ACTIVITY 2 Designate each corner of the room as
  the gathering place for young people who support
  a particular idea. Once young people have made
  their choice, ask each group to complete the SWOT
  worksheet for their idea. When these are
  completed, ask each group to nominate a spokesman
  to feedback to everyone their task is to try
  and win votes for their idea. They will have a
  few minutes to really sell the idea and then the
  other groups will be able to ask questions if
  their analysis has been thorough, theyll already
  have covered all objections. Give each group the
  opportunity to speak and answer questions then
  hold a preliminary vote. The 2 ideas that get the
  most votes go into the final. Give the two groups
  time to prepare and then give them a few minutes
  to sell the strengths and opportunities offered
  by their idea. Hold a vote this can be a show
  of hands or a secret vote on scraps of paper as
  in the first round, everyone can vote. The winner
  is the idea you will focus on making a bid for.

18

• ACTIVITY 3 Focus on the winning idea what do
  you need to make it happen? Ask the group if they
  know of any funding opportunities specifically
  for young people? Introduce funding opportunities
  if young people havent heard of them (see
  leaders notes). Which funding would be most
  appropriate for your idea? Once this has been
  identified, youll need to make a bid look at
  the website/guidance notes to see what you need
  to do. There are also helpful websites/downloads
  (see leaders notes). Brainstorm what youll need
  to do to make a successful funding bid (see
  leaders notes) and ask young people which tasks
  they would be interested in doing e.g. Designing
  plans for a skate ramp, filling out the
  application form, researching additional
  information to support the bid.
• ACTIVITY 4 Complete your funding bid, checking
  at every stage that you are meeting the
  guidelines (see leaders notes). Then submit and
  keep your fingers crossed!
• Complete evaluation/diary sheet

19
Evaluate the Evidence

• MATERIALS Pens, ball of wool
• WORKSHEETS Final evaluation, review and
  reflection sheets
• ICEBREAKER Ask everyone to sit in a circle. Ask
  the following questions if you agree, stand up

I enjoyed finding out about my community There was more happening than I thought
There isnt enough going on for young people I can help make my community better
Nobody listens to young peoples views I cant be bothered to change things
Ive learned a lot about the place I live Im glad I live in this community
Id like to do something to make my community better Ive had a lot of fun finding out what other people think
20
Evaluate the Evidence

• ACTIVITY 1 Group discussion centred on 4 key
  area
• One thing youve learned
• One thing you really enjoyed
• One thing youd do differently
• One thing youd like to find out more about
• ACTIVITY 2 Complete final evaluation sheets
• ACTIVITY 3 Form the group into a circle. Take a
  ball of wool and throw it to another member of
  the group saying What I enjoyed most was.....
  That person then throws the ball to someone
  across the circle saying what they enjoyed most
  and so on. Remind group member theyll need to
  hold onto the wool! When everyone has had a turn
  and theres a jumble of wool in the centre of the
  group, cut across the strands to symbolise the
  end of the group work youve been engaged in.

21
Leaders Notes

• AN IDEAL COMMUNITY
• There are several places to download detailed
  maps on the Internet Ive suggested some below
• Streetmap http//www.streetmap.co.uk/
• Google Maps http//maps.google.co.uk/maps?utm_camp
  aignen_GButm_mediumhautm_sourceen_GB-ha-emea-
  gb-bk-gmutm_termroad
• Multimap http//www.multimap.com/
• Ordnance Survey http//www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/os
  website/
• You may find it useful to look at some of the
  ideal communities that have been built or
  developed over the years.
• http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4229057.stm BBC
  story giving ideas on ideal sustainable
  communities
• http//www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/1.132441 article
  about young people entering ideal community
  competition
• http//www.princeofwales.gov.uk/content/documents/
  Poundbury20media20pack_2009.pdf Information on
  Poundbury, the Prince of Wales ideal village
• http//www.forum.crosshills-glusburn.org.uk/upload
  s/1/Parish_plan_-_ideal_community_notes.pdf
  Minutes from a parish meeting addressing the
  question What makes an ideal community?
• http//www.californiacenter.org/pdf/Online_Curricu
  lum/SA-15.pdf Lesson plan looking at building an
  ideal community in terms of budget.

22
Leaders Notes

• AN IDEAL COMMUNITY (Continued)
• You could use any of the Sims games as a graphic
  way of looking at how you build an ideal
  community. Or try a free online game like Virtual
  Villagers where you help a village rebuild from
  scratch http//www.hypergurl.com/onlinegames/virt
  ualvillagers.shtml
• SWOT ANALYSIS
• Some examples of SWOT analysis undertaken by
  young people
• http//www.heywood.org.uk/NDC/Youngsters.htm
• http//www.stockportcypdisp.org.uk/documents/swote
  asyread.pdf Presents a SWOT analysis in an easy
  to read format with graphics
• Straightforward information about SWOT analysis
  plus templates
• http//www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetempl
  ate.htm
• Clear step by step to doing a SWOT analysis
• http//interactive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/strategy/s
  urvivalguide/skills/s_swot.htm
• SURVEY DESIGN
• A good survey needs to look at the following
  questions

23
Leaders Notes

• SURVEY DESIGN (Continued)
• What are you trying to find out?
• Who do you want to talk to?
• How are you going to talk to them?
• What are you going to ask them?
• Entire books and theses have been written about
  good survey design and writing good survey
  questions. However, sticking to the above
  questions and having a clear idea of what you
  want to find out , young people should be able to
  write 10 survey questions to ask their peers.
• There are tools available online for designing
  surveys most offer free trials
• http//www.snapsurveys.com/samplesurveys/
• http//www.polldaddy.com/ online polls and
  surveys free for 10 questions and 10 responses
• http//www.feedbackfarm.com/ completely free and
  also a useful evaluation tool
• It might be interesting to see what happens if
  different groups use different methods of
  surveying e.g. By text message, online,
  traditional questionnaire
• POSITIVE ACTIVITIES
• The Governments report on Positive Activities
  http//www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-
  practice/EP00202/

24
Leaders Notes

• POSITIVE ACTIVITIES
• Links to PAYP websites across the country
• http//www.youthinformation.com/Templates/Internal
  .asp?NodeID92160
• Definition of positive activity and useful flow
  chart
• http//blogs.plings.net/

25
Leaders Notes

• POSITIVE ACTIVITIES (Continued)
• Regional Positive Activities websites
• Bored in Swale http//www.boredinswale.co.uk/
• Togogo http//www.togogo.info/
• MAPPING
• For a togogo report relevant to your postcode
  please contact Suze Youde suze.youde_at_kent.gov.uk
  You will need this in order to complete the
  mapping exercise effectively.
• Links to maps can be found under the Ideal
  Community notes or reuse the maps from that
  piece of work.
• When dividing up tasks
• Avoid overlap clearly delineate the areas
  groups will map. If a group of young people have
  good local knowledge of one area, encourage them
  to map it.
• Be realistic about the tasks for each group e.g.
  In urban areas, keep the chunks small one group
  might map one side of a street whilst another
  maps the other side
• Make sure the focus remains on positive
  activities use the flow chart to decide what is
  or isnt a positive activity

26
Leaders Notes

• MAPPING (continued)
• If you have computer access and young people who
  are interested, you could create an online
  community map at MapMe http//www.mapme.com/
  this is like an easy to use version of Google
  Maps
• You could also set up a Flickr account to share
  photos of your community N.B. If you intend to do
  this, make sure you get the relevant permission
  and follow the guidelines for images of young
  people http//www.flickr.com/
• You could also shoot a video of your mapping
  exercise and upload to Kent TV
• For the rate and slate activity, ask young
  people what kind of ratings system theyve used
  Amazon reviews, star ratings? Which do they find
  of use? This could be as simple as a tick or
  cross, rating from 1-5 or use of smileys, thumbs
  up etc.
• BROCHURE
• If young people want to use the computer to lay
  out their brochure, Publisher has a series of
  templates and design options which could be used.
  Or, instead of dividing up the design tasks, set
  each group the task of producing a brochure using
  different means e.g. Computer, by hand, using a
  software package and compare the merits of each
  system.
• Some useful links can be found here
  http//desktoppub.about.com/od/brochures/Brochures
  .htm
• Best of brochure design has graphic examples
  http//www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicsblog/2007/
  12/06/best-of-brochure-design-cool-samples-and-exa
  mples-of-brochures/
• If young people have previously designed and
  produced a similar brochure, use this exercise
  top revisit and review, explaining the importance
  of making sure that information is from a
  credible source and as up to date as possible

27
Leaders Notes

• MAKE IT BETTER
• There is a huge amount of information available
  on funding for young peoples projects and I
  suggest that, if you know of a good funding fit
  for your proposed project, you pursue it. You may
  find the following guidelines useful for putting
  together a funding bid
• BEFORE YOU START
• Make sure your idea is a good one ask friends
  and family what they think. If they agree with
  your proposal its probably a good idea
• Make sure that nothing similar already exists in
  your area
• Is the project available for all young people? If
  not, why not e.g. Special provision for young
  people with disabilities
• DOES THE PROJECT MATCH THE CRITERIA
• Does your funding proposal match the criteria for
  the funding? Youll need to check and doublecheck
  this at every step of the application
• Does the proposal match the Every Child Matters
  outcomes does it promote a healthy lifestyle,
  offer a safe place or safe activities, promote
  useful skills, help young people to bring about
  positive change or simply help young people to
  fulfil their potential.
• MAKING THE APPLICATION
• Check the deadline! Make sure you have plenty of
  time to fill out the application form and provide
  any additional evidence to support your
  application
• Make sure your proposal is clear, doesnt have
  spelling or grammar mistakes and is written by
  young people

28
Leaders Notes

• MAKING IT BETTER
• Direct.gov have more guidelines, links and useful
  information on making a bid to the Youth Fund
• http//www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/Youthfunds
  /DG_067060
• Good funding streams for young people are
• Youth Opportunity Youth Capital Fund
• http//www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-learning/yout
  h-services/youth-and-communities/yof-ycf.htm
• Mediabox
• http//www.media-box.co.uk/
• Comic Relief
• http//www.comicrelief.com/apply_for_a_grant
• Big Lottery Young Peoples Fund
• http//www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_ypf2_local_g
  rants.htm
• Sport England
• http//funding.sportengland.org/