Lead the Change

The EoI application form will be live from 9am, Wednesday 1st April. Please read the below information and guidance in preparation, if you are interested in applying.

Lead the Change is a new, three‑year initiative launched by BBC Children in Need, in partnership with Co‑op Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Henry Smith Foundation, Joseph Levy Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Postcode Justice Trust, UK Community Foundations and The National Lottery Community Fund.

The programme supports young people to play a leading role in strengthening relationships, fostering understanding and building belonging in their communities.

Research shows that many young people feel disconnected, less heard by decision makers, and increasingly cautious about expressing themselves - especially online, where exposure to harmful or misleading content can be common. Combined with financial pressures facing families and communities, these factors can deepen isolation and weaken young people’s sense of belonging.

Lead the Change responds by investing directly in youth leadership, community connection and opportunity. The programme enables youth‑led projects, creates safe spaces, strengthens relationships across communities, and helps young people build skills, including navigating online information and shaping positive narratives.

Lead the Change aims to:

• Strengthen community connection and safety.
• Empower young people as leaders, storytellers and changemakers.
• Support young people to build digital literacy and challenge harmful narratives.
• Increase opportunity through skills and leadership pathways.
• Build a national movement for youth‑led connection and change.

Aims and Priorities

Project grants will support the aims and delivery of work in one of the 27 listed target places across the UK, which meets the criteria set out below. In South Yorkshire, the targeted places are Sheffield and Rotherham.

• Applicants will be required to demonstrate the strength of youth leadership and voice within their organisation, relevance to target communities (young people impacted by xenophobia, racism, and islamophobia) and programme aims, safeguarding and trauma-informed practice, capacity to deliver and sustain impact and a commitment to the six principles of high-quality youth social action. We particularly welcome applications from organisations led by people most impacted by xenophobia, racism and Islamophobia.
• You can apply if you are already funded by BBC Children in Need or a community foundation, but you cannot apply for the same work that is already funded (or any work already funded by another organisation).
• You can only apply for and hold one Lead the Change grant.

How much can I apply for?

If your group works across Sheffield and Rotherham, your group can apply for £123,353, for a three-year project (£41,118 per year)

If your group only works in Sheffield OR Rotherham, your group can apply for £61,677 for a three-year project (£20,558 per year).

Only one grant per place will be awarded.

When can I apply?

Expressions of Interest open at 9am, Wednesday 1^st April and will close at 5pm, Friday 24^th April.

Successful groups will then be invited to complete a full application. A small number of shortlisted applications will then be submitted to a central England panel for decision in July and August. 

Who Can Apply?

Lead the Change is open to registered not‑for‑profit organisations in the UK (in the 27 specified places listed below) that:

Have an annual turnover of no more than £2m, unless you are a domestic abuse refuge or hospice

• Have at least three unrelated trustees/members of the governing body
• Deliver work and are based in Sheffield and/or Rotherham
• Work with children and young people aged 18 years and under
• Work in the heart of their communities and are trusted by young people
• Put the voices, experiences and skills of children and young people at the centre of everything they do, from design to delivery
• Can demonstrate strong safeguarding and trauma‑informed practice
• Are keen to keep learning about and developing their work with children and young people.
• Please see SYCF’s Due Diligence Process information for key governance information that you will need to have in place, particularly if you are a social enterprise and/or CIC.

What the Programme Will Fund

Lead the Change will fund work that strengthens local relationships, builds confidence and belonging, and gives young people the tools to lead change.

We are keen to fund organisations that will support young people to drive positive change in their communities informed by local priorities. Projects could include:

• Safe spaces for young people to meet and connect – youth clubs, sports, creative and cultural spaces.
• Youth‑led community action and resilience – co‑designed projects, leadership development, intercultural initiatives to bring people together.
• Pathways to opportunity – skills development, mentoring, training and connection to training or apprenticeships.
• Narrative change and digital literacy – tackling misinformation and disinformation, storytelling and youth-created content.

Please read the Guidance notes, linked below, in full before submitting an Expression of Interest.