£500K Fund Launches South Yorkshire's 'Year of the Child'

Following a successful pilot, the fund will be rolled out in full in 2027 with hopes it can grow into a multi-million pound resource. Young people across South Yorkshire will help shape investment decisions to make sure the money is spent in ways that directly impact children. The fresh investment comes as a major focus on children’s wellbeing gets underway this summer with two key moments drawing focus on how South Yorkshire’s 300,000 children could be better supported.

First, Doncaster will host a child poverty summit, Dream Big South Yorkshire on July 1 and 2. The event - led by Save the Children, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Chilypep, the Children and Young People’s Alliance - will involve more than 300 children, families and regional experts sharing their expertise and drawing up solutions to help families.

Second, the official South Yorkshire Year of the Child gets underway. Inspired by the 150th anniversary of the pioneering Sheffield Children’s Hospital in 2026, the 12 month focus on childhood across the region will be a powerful movement to focus minds on regional health inequalities.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said: “Every child in South Yorkshire deserves the best possible start in life - the chance to grow up happy, healthy and able to fulfil their potential. But for too many families, that isn’t the reality today.

“The Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund is about driving that change - backing local organisations, listening to communities, and putting children and young people at the heart of the decisions we make.

By bringing together public funding, philanthropy and social investment, we’re showing what’s possible when people come together with a shared purpose.

 

“That’s how we begin to turn the tide - not just for today, but for the long term - and build a fairer, healthier South Yorkshire where every child has the chance to stay near and go far.”

The £500,000 Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund will be made up from £125,000 from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, £125,000 from private philanthropic partners secured by Save the Children UK and £250,000 from social impact organisation Key Fund’s supporters.

The fund provides a combination of microloans, loans and grants for selected organisations working with children and families in communities most impacted by poverty. This unique structure will address the nature of South Yorkshire’s funding gap where many organisations are capable of doing work to support children locally but aren’t yet in a position to apply for conventional finance.

It will be managed by Key Fund and South Yorkshire Community Foundation with advisory support from Save the Children Global Ventures. The first financing agreements are going to community groups in August.