Resources
Learning to date, with more to come.
We’ve shared below all our learning so far. We hope to add to it over time as we learn more about how funders can support young people’s power to lead change, plus the organisations and communities who work with them. One starting place for learning is the working terminology and concepts we are currently using, which will change over time. Please do get in touch with us if you have any thoughts, comments or questions.
Young people and power
What powerful institutions and individuals do young people want to reach?
Youth power means that young people can work towards being involved and resourced as adults in our social and political world. Young people can imagine a better world, and can be equipped to use changemaking means...
Why do young people need to build power?
Funding young people’s power mean equipping young people to act on and with power: to interrogate power, engage in democracy, influencing, and activism in many forms, to drive change at a structural and systemic level...
Building young people’s power: different approaches
In Act for Change Fund, we’ve seen different traditions, frameworks and practices to tackle social injustice that young people and organisations draw on when making change....
Funding youth-led change
Act for Change Fund Webinar
Act for Change Fund Webinar
Change Fund Learning Partnership
Here are the key findings from Act for Change Fund’s Learning Partner, the Centre for Youth Impact.
Youth-led social change: early recommendations for funders
Clarity of purpose and strategic funding is necessary to build on the funded work and momentum created so far. This leads to the following recommendations for funders when considering investing in youth led change or something similar....
Youth social action for social change
This report by Renaisi and Centre for Youth Impact came out of an initial period of insight gathering and research within Act for Change Fund, in winter 2018-19. The research aimed to build a picture of the current context of youth-led social change activities...
Young people challenging the status quo: Blog, Naima Khan
Funders increasingly realise that they must support young people to shape their communities and the wider world. It’s time to move beyond raising awareness
Impact
Collective Care report
Over 2021 Act Build Change was commissioned to deliver a programme of work around collective care for Act for Change grantees and their young people. Alongside the delivery of 7 workshops, we also delivered wrap around 1-to-1 coaching and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
What does reach look like in youth activism?
Investment might be into small groups of young changemakers, potentially accompanied by a wider ‘reach’ to other young people. Secondary groups of young people are then exposed to and participate in authentically youth-led work around change...
Community
Young people as equal partners for change
Three years ago, PHF joined forces with Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the #iwill Fund to establish Act for Change Fund: a £3.6 million partnership.
Changemaking and community
Changemaking and community
Experiencing resistance to change
Experiencing resistance to change
Schools
Tensions and trust (case study)
Research shows that schools can be fertile ground for encouraging youth social action, with an estimated 60 per cent of those who participate getting involved through their school or college (Knibbs et al., 2019)...