Hackney Youth Opportunity Fund

Guidance Notes

The YOF application form must be completed and approved by young people.

Please read these notes carefully before you make your application. Make sure the information is accurate and use the list at the end of this document to check you have sent us everything we need to assess your application.

If you need any help filling out the form contact:

Seána Murphy/ Yasser Hussain

Tel: 020 8356 4109/020 8356 6236

Email:

Completed forms must be sent to

YOF application deadline dates

YOF application deadlines* / Activity taking place / YOF grants made
23 May 2016 / Summer 2016 / June/July 2016
23 September 2016 / Autumn/Winter 2016/17 / October/November 2016

*Please note that applications close at 5:00pm on the respective deadline dates.

What is the Hackney Youth Opportunity Fund?

The Hackney Youth Opportunity Fund is a special fund for young people, run by young people with support from Young Hackney. The Fund is intended to support young people’s ideas for projects/activities.

How can you apply?

You can apply by completing and returning the application form in time for the relevant deadline. You also need to send in a risk assessment and project plan for the activity.

Who decides which projects are funded?

The Fund is managed by a panel of young people in Hackney. The panel of young people meets to consider and discuss applications and decide on how the fund will be given out. This panel has agreed a list of criteria to help make those decisions.

What can you apply for?

The Fund gives young people a chance to decide the type of activities they think young people will enjoy and learn from. These could be arts or media projects, expeditions, residential, events, volunteering, sports, self-defence or educational workshops.

You can also use your Hackney YOF grant to buy small equipment such as computers, sporting gear or musical instruments. The maximum limit for equipment purchase from YOF is £1,000 per item and not more than one half of your budget. The equipment must also be essential for the delivery of the project.

How much can you apply for?

This year there will be two levels of grant:

Standard grant For projects that will cost up to £3000. Wherever possible, activities should be accredited.

Full grant For residentials or extended projects only (six to nine months long). Activities should be accredited at an appropriate level. This may represent the full cost of your project. If your project costs are higher than £5,000 you will need to show you have approached other organisations for additional funding.

Standard Grant / Up to £3000
Full Grant (residentials and extended projects only) / Up to £5000

Guidance Notes

You must not start your project/activity until you receive a confirmation letter from us telling you your application has been successful.

Funding will only be considered for projects that help to improve the lives of young people, so they can: be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution or achieve economic wellbeing.

It is important for you to give examples of how your project will benefit children and young people – for example, how will learn how to be healthier, or interact and socialise with other young people, or get to take part in a project they wouldn’t normally get to participate in.

Notes for young people

  1. Applications to Hackney YOF must be for projects/activities that benefit young people living or attending school in Hackney, between the ages of 8 and 19 years, and up to 25 years if they have a disability or learning difficulty.
  1. Applications must be completed by young people. If you need help to fill out the form, the form can be completed by an adult working with you.
  1. You must submit an application form, project plan and risk assessment for your application to be considered. If you do not submit these documents, your application will be rejected.
  1. Applications that involve or help groups of vulnerable young people will be given extra marks in the decision-making process.
  1. Grants will only be given to three or more young people working as part of a project team. If you do not list three people as part of the project team, your project will be rejected.
  1. Please consider whether there are already similar activities available in Hackney (for example, football and basketball projects take place at the Young Hackney hubs, and various youth clubs). You must be able to explain what makes your project different to the others. If there are a lot of projects like yours in Hackney, it is less likely you will be successful.
  1. The YOF panel will read your application to see if it is eligible for funding. Eligible projects may be invited to interview.
  1. You will be invited for a short interview with the YOF Panel members, so they can ask you about the project. Interviews will take place in May/June for Round One, and in June/July for Round Two.
  1. Please note that you will be given marks for the quality of your presentation.
  1. If your project is not successful we will give you some advice about how it can be improved.

Notes for supporting organisations

  1. Applications must have a supporting organisation, which must be a constituted group with its own bank account. This may be an organisation such as a school or youth club but could also be a voluntary or community sector organisation working with young people. Unfortunately, we cannot accept applications from individuals working without the support of an organisation.

In some circumstances, for example if your organisation has not been funded by Hackney YOF in the past, we may ask for copies of your audited accounts.

  1. All organisations must have an equal opportunities policy, health and safety policy, and a child protection policy. These documents must be supplied at the time of the application. The organisation will be responsible for all financial evidence of spend. The named adult contact must be a responsible employee of the organisation.
  1. The supporting organisation is responsible for safeguarding during the project. The adult from the supporting organisation working with young people to deliver the project must have a DBS check, Criminal Records Bureau disclosure or Independent Safeguarding Authority registration and relevant qualifications. Staff and volunteers who will be working unsupervised with young people will also require a DBS check, CRB disclosure or ISA registration.
  1. The supporting organisation must supply all the necessary supporting documents together with the application. If you submit your application without the supporting documents it may be rejected.
  1. The supporting organisation can provide a statement supporting the project along with the application. This statement should be completed by the adult that will be supporting young people to manage their project. The adult will be accountable for the returns of financial data, monitoring data and risk assessments.
  1. Organisations from outside of Hackney must deliver their projects in Hackney for Hackney young people. The young people on the application form must live/work or go to school in Hackney. You must provide information about where you will be running the activity and you must supply a supporting statement from the venue or provision.
  1. Please note that we will not be entering into ongoing discussions/correspondence should a project be unsuccessful. We will aim to provide feedback to any unsuccessful projects where possible, however this may take time so we ask that you are patient and courteous.

Equal Opportunities

  1. Applications must show how you intend to put Equal Opportunities policies into practice.

Health and safety

  1. The supporting organisation must have at least one staff member with an up-to-date First Aid certificate.

Risk assessment

  1. Risk assessments must be carried out on each separate project/activity and the premises in which it will be taking place. Ordinarily all risk assessments must be submitted at the time of submitting your application. However, if your project is a residential you must ensure you have carried out your risk assessment in advance of your trip, and this must be submitted to the Youth Support and Development Worker at least 4 weeks in advance of your trip.

Project/activity monitoring

  1. Your project must be completed within one financial year, e.g. 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017. Your award and spend cannot be carried forward into the next financial year. There will be no exceptions this year.
  1. Projects will be asked to keep membership and attendance records of young people involved in and benefiting from the project. This should be returned in two stages: (a) half-way through the project, and (b) at the end of the project or by 17 March 2017, whichever date is sooner.
  1. As part of monitoring, the panel of young people may make announced visits to your project. Please ensure opening times, dates, venues as well as any changes are reported to the Youth Support and Development Worker.
  1. At the end of your project, you are required to submit an end-of-project report, together with any photographic images, or audio or visual material (CDs, DVDs) you have produced during the project. You are also required to provide evidence of your spend by producing receipts, supplier invoices, online payment confirmation, etc. Relevant forms will be provided for this purpose. Hackney YOF will only fund project spend, we ask that you do not claim for money that is not associated with the project.

Breach or failure

  1. Any organisation that has not met the requirement to provide monitoring information will not be eligible to apply for additional funding until this information is supplied.
  1. No second grant will be issued to organisations (projects) that have failed to deliver and/or have not provided evidence of participants and impact of the project in previous years.
  1. It is the responsibility of the supporting organisation to supply the correct documentation. If you do not supply receipts or invoices LB Hackney reserves the right to deduct any undocumented expenditure from the final grant.

Third party or partner organisations

  1. Where you are asking a third party organisation to deliver your project, your application must still be endorsed by the supporting organisation. This must be evident on your application or in a covering letter.
  1. Where you are delivering the project in partnership with an organisation, this must be endorsed by the partner organisation/s. This must be evident in a covering letter from the partner organisation/s.
  1. Your organisation must agree to allow access for London Borough of Hackney to audit the funds and activities if required.

Questions and Answers

What does the panel want to see in applications?

The following will give you an idea of the criteria the panel use to assess projects:

  • The project idea comes from young people and is led by young people.
  • The project offers value for money.
  • It benefits young people aged 8 to 19 years (or up to 25 years for young people with a disability or learning difficulty) living, studying or working in Hackney.
  • The applicants have thought about how they will include disadvantaged young people in the project or activities, e.g. looked-after young people, young care leavers, young refugees, young offenders, young people not in education or training, travellers, disabled young people, young lesbians and gay men, young parents and young carers.
  • The project is supported by an organisation that works with young people.
  • The project helps young people to achieve or contribute something positive.
  • The project/activity demonstrates learning outcomes for young people – Hackney YOF encourages linking activities to accredited schemes, particularly the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, ASDAN and Arts Award.
  • The project’s budget and timescale are realistic.
  • Monitoring and evaluation have been included in the planning.

What the Hackney YOF will not fund

  • Existing activities
  • Activities that take place before you receive the grant money
  • Fundraising activities for your organisation
  • Items that will only benefit individuals or a small number of young people
  • Core costs; ongoing staff costs (including salaries of permanent or fixed-term staff) and other costs we would expect to be covered by your organisation (for example, utility bills, council tax, rent, insurance)
  • Political or religious activities
  • Statutory activities or activities that we would reasonably expect to be provided by a school.
  • Projects that cannot be completed within twelve months of receipt of the grant agreement letter.

How do you apply for a grant?

You will need to download the application form and accompanying documents from

Once you have filled in your application, use the checklist to make sure you have answered all the questions.

Your application should include all the necessary supporting documents. It is the responsibility of the supporting organisation to ensure that all the documents are supplied.

You can email the completed application form to

You can also print the form and post it to:

Seána Murphy

Youth Support and Development Worker

Young Hackney

Hackney Service Centre

3rd Floor, 1 Hillman Street

London, E8 1DY.

The panel may ask the group of young people to give a presentation and describe their project in order to help them make a decision about the application.

Are the guidelines and application form available in any other format?

Yes. If you would like the information in Word, large print or pdf format, or if you require the guidelines and application form translated into a community language, please contact us on 020 8356 4109 or email

What happens if your application is successful?

If your application is successful, we will write to you and your supporting organisation and inform them of the panel’s decision and your award. We will then ask a representative of the supporting organisation to send in a signed acceptance

of the conditions of the award before we can release your award.

We will require the bank details of your supporting organisation in order to set them up with LBH payment system. The grant will be awarded in two payments: 75% at the outset of the project and 25% at the end of the project, once all the monitoring information has been received.

You are encouraged to forward plan your project making sure you submit your application 6 weeks in advance of your project start date.

What happens if your application is unsuccessful?

We make every effort to fund as many projects as possible, but some applications are not awarded. If your application is not successful, we will contact you to let you know and provide feedback where possible, however this may take time so we ask that you are patient and courteous.

We will not be entering into ongoing discussions or correspondence with applicants or organisations if a project is not successful.

Where can you get advice about applying for the grant?

If you have any questions about filling in the application form, or would like to talk to someone about your project, you can email your query to . Alternatively, you can call on 020 8356 4109.

When do we have to return the form?

Below is a table showing applications and panel meeting dates. Your application should be returned on or by the following dates. You should expect to hear a decision within 6 weeks from the deadline date.

Hackney YOF application deadline dates:

Round One: 23 May 2016

Round Two: 23 September 2016

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