£20 million #iwill Fund returns to help young people
Howard Lake | 28 October 2025 | News
Young people across England, particularly those facing disadvantage, discrimination, or underrepresentation, have an opportunity to lead change in their communities, as £20 million in National Lottery funding becomes available.
The National Lottery Community Fund has launched the latest strand of #iwill funding, to help young people champion the causes they care about most. Whether it is running local projects, campaigning for safer streets, or fighting for a cleaner, greener future, the #iwill Fund is about building leadership, boosting confidence, and turning passion into meaningful action.
Like previous #iwill funding this latest round will support young people up to age 20 (or 25 with additional support needs) to take practical action, build skills, and have their voices heard on the issues that matter most to them.
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The #iwill Fund places “a strong emphasis on equity, prioritising young people experiencing poverty, discrimination, or disadvantage — ensuring that youth social action is truly inclusive”.
Projects can range from volunteering and mentoring to campaigning and leading community initiatives, with grants available from £30,000 to £5 million.
Ayomide Adeyemi, 21, a psychology student at Hull University and Peer Researcher with the #iwill-funded Peer Action Collective, said:
“Growing up in Bradford, I saw the challenges young people face, like gang violence, but also what’s possible when you empower them and give them opportunities. Through the Peer Action Collective, I met young people in their communities, led research on challenges, and helped give them a voice. It built my confidence and meant I could take part in workshops and speak at conferences – things I never thought I could do.
“I helped open a youth room at The Tigers Trust Arena in Hull and helped create a Youth Room Toolkit and Youth Voice Toolkit, which other organisations can use so many more young people can have access to safe spaces and have their voices heard”.
Phil Chamberlain, England Director of The National Lottery Community Fund, said:
“We know that young people want to make a real difference in their communities and the world around them. The #iwill Fund helps remove barriers and provides meaningful opportunities for young people to lead social action projects that matter to them.
“By investing in their ideas and voices, we’re not only helping them build skills and confidence but also shaping a future where youth leadership is central to tackling society’s biggest challenges.
“This work aligns with our overall strategy to support children and young people to thrive by building on their strengths, aspirations, and power to lead change.”
Applying for funding
Organisations across England can apply for funding to either deliver youth social action projects directly or take on a funding role—supporting other eligible organisations to do the same. All applicants are required to provide match funding.
This round of funding is especially focused on projects “that bring new voices into the social action space” – particularly those engaging young people for the first time, led and shaped by young people themselves, and actively challenging negative stereotypes about young people.
Applications close on Wednesday 19 November 2025.
About The National Lottery Community Fund
Over the last year, The National Lottery Community Fund awarded over half a billion pounds (£686.3 million) of life-changing funding to communities across the UK, supporting over 13,700 projects to turn their great ideas into reality.
About The iwill Fund
The iwill Fund launched in November 2016 as a joint investment between The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support the #iwill movement’s goal of making social action a normal part of life for young people aged 10 to 20 in England.
The initial investment totalled £40 million, and the programme was extended in 2020/ 2021, increasing the total investment to £54 million. In July 2022, an additional £12 million was invested, funding thousands more youth social action opportunities.
In August 2025 strand 1 of #iwill 2025 programme opened with £3 million to pilot a new approach that puts young people at the heart of place-based social action. This has now closed and awards will be made in January 2026.
Strand 2, launched last week, is funded entirely by The National Lottery Community Fund with £20 million available.
- Comic Relief #iwill youth social action fund seeks applications (25 April 2017)
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.