Argyll and Bute Council is involving young people in their communities by giving them a say over the way that money designed to benefit them is spent. YouthBank is basically a bank that is managed and run by young people.

YouthBank is an innovative youth-led grant-giving scheme which provides small grants to fund young people’s good ideas to benefit their own communities.  The young people control a 'grant pot' and encourage youth groups in their area to apply for funding in improve their projects

Argyll and Bute YouthBank is part of YouthBank Scotland, giving young people training and support to become young grant makers.

The project involves groups of local young people, supported by the council’s youth services team, awarding grant applications of up to £250 from other young people in their local area for projects that would be beneficial to communities and to the young people taking part.

The council’s Policy Lead for Community and Culture, Councillor Robin Currie, said, “A key aim of the council is to provide opportunities for our young people to develop skills and access training which will enable them to get the most out of life and make a valuable contribution to our communities.

“YouthBank is unique in that it is the young people themselves who make the decisions about who receives the money and about how their YouthBank is managed and run. It is also about supporting and training the young people to be grant-makers and assessors whilst benefitting other young people and the wider community.”

Argyll and Bute YouthBank gained its license in September 2013 and since then young people from across the authority have undertaken SVQ accredited ‘Introduction to Grant Making’ and ‘Developing Decision Making’ training. Over the course of the training they have now decided on their Youthbank’s eligibility criteria, developed an application process and a scoring and evaluation system. 

If you would like more information or to apply for a grant, please visit www.youngscot.org/local/argyll-bute

or contact Roanna Clark on 01546 604752, e-mail - youthservices@argyll-bute.gov.uk