Ormiston Trust offers grants for social action projects

Ormiston Trust is offering grants of up to £5,000 to support schools in delivering sustainable social action projects and to embed sustainable youth social action programmes into their curriculum.
 
The Trust is offering these grants in order to support schools in creating opportunities for young people to drive change in their communities. The grants form part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the National Lottery Community Fund’s #iwill fund, which supports young people in accessing high-quality social action opportunities.
 
Providing schools with this vital funding supports the Trust’s aim of creating a future where all children and young people can lead fulfilling lives. A core part of the Trust’s vision is a belief that young people can and should be at the centre of meaningful change and at the heart of social impact within their communities at large.
 
The Trust’s fund, which has been named the #WeWill Social Action Grants Fund, supports this vision by funding projects that will have a meaningful social impact on an individual, school, local, national and/or international level. The programmes are all co-created by young people in order to help inspire them to want to make a difference, while also allowing them to develop key leadership and team-building skills.
 
This new funding source builds upon the success of Ormiston Trust’s social action programmes with its chief partners, Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT), Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA), Gateway Learning Community (GLC) and charity Ormiston Families (OF). All of these partners will be embarking on new social action projects in the coming months.
 
There are four main funding areas within the programme, that schools can apply for: Environment and Climate Justice; Wellbeing and Mental Health; Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; and Community-based Issues.
 
Applications for the #WeWill Social Action Fund, which are due by April 18th 2022, are open to all primary and secondary schools based in England. Successful applicants will be offered a supportive social action toolkit filled with resources, curriculum guides and templates to be used throughout the span of the programme.
 
James Murray, CEO of Ormiston Trust, said: “Social action is central to our Trust’s ethos, as we are committed to making a difference in communities across the country. We are proud to be able to play a part in providing vital opportunities that will inspire young people to take action to improve the lives of those around them.
 
“Across Ormiston Trust and its partners, we want to help to instil a culture where everyone feels empowered to take social action to make a difference, and we are delighted to be able to support schools in achieving this shared goal.”

Those interested in applying should contact the Trust’s Grant Officers, Gabriella Ribeiro and Philippa Rottger-Morgan, at GabriellaRibeiro@ormistontrust.co.uk and philippamorgan@ormistontrust.co.uk.