At the start of September, Blagrave’s Regional Grants Programme closed to new applications after more than 10 fantastic years of grant making.
Since the start of our current strategy in 2022, we have invested an incredible £4.3m in youth provision in the counties of Berkshire, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Sussex and Wiltshire
Over the same time, we have begun funding young change-makers directly and seen the inspirational change that can happen because of youth-led change. As a small funder we have limited resources, and we want to prioritise the areas, communities and young people that have the greatest need for our support. We want to work more deeply within specific communities rather than spreading ourselves too thinly across a broad region. To do that we have closed to new applications and are in the process of planning where we will place our focus before moving forward.
In the meantime, we will honour all existing commitments to partners in the Regional Programme over the coming three years. We are working with each partner to support them through this transition, signposting to other funders where appropriate and providing a platform for their work.
We are so proud to have worked alongside a cohort of inspirational partners during these years. We recognise that their hard work, resilience and willingness to be led by the young people they serve has led to considerable impact within the South East region. We look forward to celebrating the legacy of the programme as we move forward.