Investing in Youth Social Action in England

In partnership with the #iwill Fund, GFC launched this initiative to tackle the gender gap in youth social action and to overcome the limited access to large scale funding in rural areas and a lack of research on how child poverty affects ethnic minorities in these communities. Working with four community-based organizations in Bradford, engaging boys from diverse backgrounds, this initiative aims to:

• Provide high-quality social action opportunities for boys aged 10–14, such as campaigning, fundraising, and volunteering.
• Foster learning about effective practices for creating engaging and sustainable social action for boys.
• Contribute to positive impacts for children and youth in partnership with the local community of Bradford.
• Strengthen connections between local partner organizations, increasing their capacity to influence long-term systemic change.

In recent times, given the increasing debates about masculinity and gender roles in society, the importance of demonstrating boys’ positive contributions to society while challenging negative stereotypes is paramount.  GFC’s #BoysBeyondBias campaign – partly funded by The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) through the #iwill fund and People’s Postcode Lottery – features four short films depicting the role of boys and young men in their communities and aims to shift the narrative surrounding young men and boys, particularly from diverse communities.

The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to a £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities. Global Fund for Children is acting as a match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund.

The #iwill Fund brings together a group of organizations who all contribute funding to embed meaningful social action into the lives of young people. The #iwill Fund supports the aims of the #iwill movement – to make involvement in social action a part of life for young people, by recognizing the benefit for both young people and their communities.

Project Partners