The Youth of Today Leadership Fund open for applications to £1million grant fund.

PLEASE NOTE ROUND ONE HAS NOW CLOSED - Check back on the Young Foundation site for details of Round Two in the autumn

On 3 July 2009, Gordon Brown today launched The Youth of Today, a major youth leadership programme for young people aged 13-19, aiming to increase the quality, quantity and diversity of opportunities for young people as leaders of change in their communities.

The Youth of Today has unveiled a £1million youth sector investment fund to support innovative leadership opportunities for young people. Between 2009 and 2011, The Youth of Today Leadership Fund will invest in up to 40 third sector organisations delivering leadership programmes for young people across England aged 13-19.

This fund is being managed by the Young Foundation as part of The Youth of Today which will increase the quality, quantity and diversity of opportunities for young people to act as leaders of change in their communities. The Youth of Today involves six other leading youth organisations including the British Youth Council, Changemakers, the Citizenship Foundation, The National Youth Agency, the Prince's Trust and the UK Youth Parliament.

This pioneering new fund will invest in innovative projects at a local level. Over the next two years, up to 30 investments of £5,000-£20,000 will be made to small, innovative third sector organisations to help them grow and allow more users to benefit from their services. For information on the fund and how to apply, click here.

Further, up to eight investments of £50,000-£100,000 will be made to more established third sector organisations to help them extend their reach to new groups. Funded organisations will have access to business support and learning and capacity-building opportunities.

The Youth of Today Leadership Fund was set up to address gaps in provision of leadership activities for young people. Key challenges include oversubscription of current programmes and little access to sustainable funding streams. The Department for Children, Schools and Families report on youth leadership in 2008 stated that these factors mean that organisations "can face a real challenge in sustaining opportunities for young people."

The Youth of Today Leadership Fund will help to support programmes with much-needed funding and also help to identify new innovations that could lead to greater sustainability and creativity in the sector in the long term.

Geoff Mulgan, Director of the Young Foundation, said, "There is a real need for young people to develop their leadership skills - our research reveals that leadership, confidence and grit can be the most important factors in determining young people's success in life. The Youth of Today Leadership Fund will help us to identify, scale and expand the best programmes, extending more opportunities for young people to gain these essential skills. It also gives us and our partners the opportunity to learn from best and emerging practice."

As a part of its contribution to The Youth of Today, the Young Foundation is leading a programme of research on youth leadership. This comprises several publications, a youth leadership website capturing international best practice, and a series of international workshops and exchanges.

For more information on the fund and how to apply, click here.

For more information on the launch and to read the full press release, click here.

For more information on The Youth of Today, please visit the website: