Funders including BBC Children in Need and the National Lottery Community Fund, are to jointly launch a £3.4m fund to support young people next month.

The three-year fund, called Lead the Change, aims to fund initiatives that help “young people to play a leading role in fostering understanding and strengthening relationships within communities”.

It has been launched by the funders amid research that has found young people are feeling increasingly disconnected from one another, less heard by decision makers, and are more cautious about expressing their views, particularly online amid concerns around harmful content.

Also involved in the fund are the Co-op Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Henry Smith Foundation, Joseph Levy Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Postcode Justice Trust, UK Community Foundations.

The first phase of funding will open in April. This will offer 20 large grants to support initiatives in 27 identified areas, that were directly impacted by riots and community division during summer of 2024.

“Young people living through community unrest told us directly: they feel unsafe, they feel unheard, and the spaces where they could connect have shrunk,” said Henry Smith Foundation chief executive Anand Shukla.

“Lead the Change starts there, with what young people are actually experiencing, and builds from it.”

UK Community Foundations chief executive Emma de Closset added that community foundations will “collaborate closely with their local communities to attract additional investment and deliver a place-based approach that reflects local priorities and lived experience”.

During the first year it is hoped that community foundations will increase available funding to £5.5m, to help support a second phase of funding, which will fund small grants for grassroots organisations.

Charitable initiatives providing safe spaces for young people, offering advice on positive relationships, and involved in community leadership, are among those the fund will back.

It will also help develop young people’s leadership through mentoring, workshops and community led projects and equip them with skills to tackle misinformation and harmful narratives, especially on social media.

“We are deeply concerned and saddened by the recent violence and unrest that we have seen in the UK and the impact this is having on communities and young people,” said Co-op Foundation chief executive Nick Crofts.

“As funders we have a responsibility to do all we can to stand in solidarity with these communities and support them to rebuild.”

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