New Funding Opportunity: Empowerment Grants

Life Changes Trust have launched a new funding opportunity for groups or organisations working with care-experienced young people in Scotland.

Empowerment is defined as "The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights" (Oxford Dictionaries).

The Empowerment Grants are specifically designed to give care-experienced young people opportunities to achieve this. Grants of between £500 to £10,000 are available for groups or organisations in Scotland who will use the money to:

develop young people's confidence skills
help young people to exercise their rights
help young people have a say in things that matter to them and give them more opportunities to take part in community life

The grants are open to not-for-profit voluntary or community groups; schools, colleges and universities; residential houses; and statutory bodies.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 27th April 2018.

Find out more about the grants, or apply by clicking on the links below.

Resources

Life Changes Trust: Empowerment Grants (external website)

Life Changes Trust: Empowerment Grants Application Form (external website)

Life Changes Trust: Empowerment Grants Guidance Notes (PDF)

Latest

Carla Kilbride

Youth Development Worker (Care Experienced Community)
Supported Lodgings, Supported Carers Focus Group

Tuesday 18 June|10am - 12pm |Online (MS Teams)
Mia Chrystie

Operational Support Officer (Communications, Events and Projects)
Participation Practitioners' Forum

Thursday 30th May 2024 | 10am - 11.30am | Online (Zoom)

What the Programme for Government 2023 means for care leavers and the workforce

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf has presented his first Programme for Government. Here we detail what this means for care leavers and the workforce who support them.
Scottish Recommended Allowance for Foster and Kinship Carers

After months of discussions, COSLA and the Scottish Government have agreed on a Scottish Recommended Allowance for Foster and Kinship Carers.
Free Bus Pass Advice for Care Experienced Young People

Free bus pass application advice for those who support young people with care experience.
Is Universal Basic Income the key to tackling care leaver poverty?

Staf CEO Jo Derrick discusses the idea of a Universal Basic Income as a way out of poverty for care leavers. As seen in The Herald, 04.03.21
Staf and partners call on DWP Secretary to scrap £1,040 cut to incomes

A coalition of charities supporting care-experienced children and young people across the UK have written to the Work and Pensions Secretary calling on her to keep a £20 per week increase in Universal Credit that is due to end in April.
Care review in England an opportunity to deepen engagement

Staf CEO Jo Derrick has welcomed the announcement of a care review in England.
£100 payment welcome but should be extended to all 6,650 care leavers

Staf has welcomed the £100 payment for low income families announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Commendation for Youth Justice Voices at Howard League Awards

Our Youth Justice Voices project, a partnership between Staf and CYCJ, has received a commendation at the Howard League Community Awards.
Staf calls for ‘Family Firm’ approach to Youth Guarantee

Staf CEO Jo Derrick has welcomed plans for a Youth Guarantee and called on the Scottish Government to create a national ‘Family Firm’ to drive action across the public sector to ensure care leavers can fully benefit.
Youth Justice Visionaries - Topic Guide

Download Youth Justice Visionaries' topic guide - for workers to use as a tool to support young people to participate in consultations on key Youth Justice issues.

Young Funder's Grant

Applications for the Young Funder's Grant are now closed. Alternative sources of funding are included here.
The Promise explained: what the Care Review means for the workforce

Scotland’s Independent Care Review has published its final conclusions. Five reports have been published and the main report ‘The Promise’ runs to 124 pages. To keep our members informed, we will set out the conclusions in a series of brief summaries.
Relationship Based Practice: What does it really look like?

Mary Glasgow facilitated one of our workshops at our Annual Conference 2017, setting out the principles of a restorative, child-centred and family-minded approach that aims to mitigate the effect of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Find out more and download Mary's presentation.
Grants of up to £750 available to care experienced young people

We are delighted to announce our Young Funder's Grant is now open for applications.
Get Involved

Here at Staf we have many ways for people with care experience to get involved.
Financial Support for Care Leavers
Our history

Find out more about Staf's history, and the exciting work we are undertaking today.
Local Elections 2022: Manifesto Round-Up

A look at the five main parties and their manifestos heading into the local elections 2022
GIRFEC: A Guide to Getting it Right for Every Child

GIRFEC (or Getting it Right for Every Child) is the national approach in Scotland to improving outcomes and supporting the wellbeing of our children and young people by offering the right help at the right time for the right people. Find out more about the GIRFEC approach.
Shannon's Box

Created by Shannon when in role as our Youth Facilitator, Shannon's Box is designed to make entering care a little easier for children and young people. Find out more about this project.