Young Empowerment Fund 2022 – Open for Applications!

Are you aged between 16 and 25? Do you live in the East Midlands? Do you have an idea for a creative project that needs support to get off the ground?

If your answers to the above questions are YES, then why not apply for one of our Young Empowerment Fund bursaries to help you?

What is the Young Empowerment Fund?

The Young Empowerment Fund invites you to use your creativity to deliver a project based on your imaginative ideas. Projects can cover any art form – all we ask is that you use your creative voice when formulating your idea!

You might want to think about how this opportunity will develop your skills that might be useful in your career, or how this helps your creative and personal development.

Each young person can apply for £500 to develop their project. Alongside funding, each successful applicant will have access to the following support as part of the online programme:

1-2-1 support with an individual Creative Coach
Project Management webinars and Creative discussions

The programme will run from June 2022 to December 2022. Up to 25 bursaries for young people are available!

What type of projects are we looking for?

We are looking for projects that use your creativity and have been driven by your ideas. These projects can cover any art form (or multiple art forms)!

Whilst we encourage you to think of your own unique idea, we thought we would share a few examples to get you started. Previous projects produced through the programme include the following:

Photoshoots (exploring diverse backgrounds and underrepresentation in the arts)
Performance pieces (including dance, music, and theatre)
Writing kits (motivating young people to keep writing during a time of isolation)
Zines (collaborating with others to produce writing and visuals reflecting on the past year)
Positivity packages (a creative business that improves wellbeing)
Baking cakes (for key workers)
Animation (sharing someone’s personal journey into the arts)
Craft boxes and workshops (providing materials and workshops for families to get creative together)

What do we want to achieve?

We believe young people have the power to change the world and our aim is to ensure every child and young person can share their creative voice and make their creative ideas possible. Through this programme, young people will have the money, time and support needed to make their creative voices heard.

Who can apply for a bursary?

You can apply for one of the bursaries if you are:

Aged between 16 and 25 years old.
Living in the East Midlands.

This includes the following locations:

Leicester/Leicestershire
Nottingham/Nottinghamshire
Derby/Derbyshire
Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Rutland

We also encourage applications from adults on behalf of a young person who may be vulnerable, has additional needs or who cannot access the online form themselves.

How can I apply for one of the bursaries?

Apply via the application form below. If you are finding the application form difficult to complete, please email us to discuss other ways of applying. Contact us at artsalliances@themightycreatives.com

If you are under 18, please get permission from your parent/care giver before you send an application.

Get support from a parent/care giver, trusted adult, or peer if you need some help with your application.

Download our Information Pack below to learn more about the programme’s schedule.

Make sure you read our FAQs and our Guidance Notes to help you with your application. Or please watch our Video Briefing here.

Applications will close Wednesday 4th May 2022 at 9am. If you have any questions that are not included in the FAQs and have not been answered in the supporting material, please email Lucie Maycock at artsalliances@themightycreatives.com.