New £1m youth fund will open for business in April

Youth groups interested in making a bid to Oxfordshire County Council’s £1m grant fund over the next two years are being informed that the bidding process will begin during April.

County Councillors agreed the new grant fund - £500,000 in 2019/20 and the same in 2020/21 – at the council’s annual budget setting meeting earlier in February.

The money will help existing projects expand and new ones get off the ground. By offering start-up funding, the council has already helped many community-run groups provide support for young children and families, and it is hoped the same could happen for youth services.

Councillor Mark Gray, the county council’s Cabinet Member for Local Communities, said: “We will announce in due course the exact date in April when bidding will begin. We know there’ll be a lot of interest so we are committed to keeping people informed. We’ll also provide guidelines and make clear how people can apply and precisely what they can apply for.”