Applications opening soon for the Money for Life Challenge

Do you work with young people who have ideas about how to improve money management skills in their communities? Are you looking for funding to support young single parents, young people with disabilities, young carers, and other vulnerable groups? Young Scot are offering £500 grants as part of the Money for Life Challenge.

What’s on offer?

There are 50 grants of £500 available in Scotland through the Money for Life Challenge. This includes:

·         £300 for your organisation to cover staff costs

·         £200 for the team to help run their project

The Challenge is open to teams of young people aged 16-24 in work-based learning, adult community learning, training organisations, and further education, and is designed to help young people tackle money management issues, for example around poverty or welfare reform, in relevant ways.

How does it work?

·         In collaboration with a project sponsor, teams of young people design their own project around issues that affect them. Last year’s teams addressed a wide range of topics, from camping on a budget to raising awareness of the hazards of payday lenders.

·         As a project sponsor, your role is to help your team of young people identify a money management need in their community and help them develop their project plan.

·         Each organisation can submit up to five projects to maximise impact and funding.

·         Young Scot can provide a number of resources to support your project, including examples of successful projects, guidance on how to run your project, and dedicated application support.

Why get involved?

The Money for Life Challenge can fit into existing equalities and inclusion programmes, helping empower young people to develop the practical skills they need to navigate the changing financial landscape. Challenge participants often find that their projects have given them the boost they needed to be able to get a job or progress onto education or training. Feedback from the last two years shows that young people felt they had gained:

·         confidence in their own abilities

·         leadership, communication, and teamwork skills

·         business and project management skills

·         money management skills

What next?

The application deadline is 22 November. Register your interest by contacting Allyson Doby (allysond@youngscot.org) or phoning 0131 313 2488. For more information, visit https://www.moneyforlifechallenge.org.uk/.

Now in its third year, the Money for Life Challenge was created by Lloyds Bank. Young Scot and College Development Network are working in partnership to deliver the Challenge in Scotland.