Billions of pounds worth of grant funding is available to social impact projects in the UK every year. However, often this funding ends up going to the same types of projects and the same types of organisations. That’s a problem, because while valuable work is being done because of this grant-making, if funding programmes are inaccessible to large parts of our society, then a huge range of promising projects and deserving communities miss out.
Whether due to jargon-heavy framing, excessive application processes, or restrictive reporting requirements, the current situation is that many communities and community-led groups simply view parts of the UK’s grant-funding landscape as not being ‘for them’.
An alternate approach to grant management
In response to this challenge, The Young Foundation works with funders and grant-making bodies to work with funders and grant-making bodies to design and deliver supportive grant programmes. We flex and adapt our offer to the needs of the client and the objectives of each fund, but are always guided by three key principles, which we call the Three A’s of grant management:
Accessible: We put in the time to connect with applicants and grantees, avoiding jargon and breaking down barriers to ensure underfunded communities are reached and supported meaningfully.
Accountable: We ensure communication is simple, clear and consistent for grantees, whilst ensuring a rigorous and transparent approach to financial management and due diligence.
Appropriate: We provide flexibility for grantees’ plans and budgets to evolve over time based on their learning, ensuring our systems support rather than hinder their progress.
A community-focussed intermediary funder
Through this Three A’s approach, The Young Foundation works with funders to navigate power-imbalances so they can successfully reach, accommodate and support people and initiatives they might otherwise have otherwise struggled to.
We are currently applying this approach to our role administering £8.9m of grants as the sole delivery partner for UK Research & Innovation’s (UKRI) five-year implementation phase of the Community Research Networks programme. This, in turn, builds on our successful management of over £1.2m of grants across two phases of UKRI’s Community Knowledge Fund between 2023 and 2024.
Our work managing and distributing funding was established with the Young Academy Investment Fund. As part of this initiative, between 2014 and 2018 we distributed over £1m in early-stage risk capital to social entrepreneurs working in education, on behalf of UBS and the Cabinet Office’s Social Incubator Fund.
Tiers of support
The Young Foundation helps make a grant programme possible, adapting the scope of our service to accommodate the client’s needs. This means where we do not directly manage and distribute funds, we support in other ways such as through design advice and grantee support.
In this vein, we have worked closely with the National Lottery Heritage Fund since 2022 to advise on the design of three phases of their Heritage Innovation Fund, informing the deployment of over £5m in grants. We have also worked with Big Change since 2023, including providing a tailored six-month learning and support package to the 15 Big Education Challenge Finalists.
Community-led change
The Young Foundation developed our 3 A’s approach to grant management through direct support and learning alongside communities, responding to their needs and championing their causes. We see grant management and the wider support of grant programmes as one avenue to enact the power of participation and enable community-led change. Everyone deserves to feel hopeful and positive about their future, with opportunities to shape policies and services that improve their prospects.
From the Outer Hebrides to the Isles of Scilly, via charities, community-groups and social enterprises, we have supported diverse community projects.
Read more on our grant management page, or have a conversation with our grant management and funding programme lead, Gary Fawdrey.
Innovation and Investment Social finance and ventures Posted on: 30 September 2025 Authors: Gary Fawdrey,