Challenge and Change exists to centre young changemakers – individuals, collectives and
movements who are not only imagining better futures but actively building them.
Young people are already doing the work, organising, resisting, repairing and building.
But too often, their work is underfunded.
Challenge and Change is for you if:
• You’re 18–25 years old and living in England
• You’re using your lived experience to lead change
• You’re an individual, or part of a collective or movement
• You’re already involved in social justice work but lack resources
• You’re ready to create the change you want to see and want to create positive lasting impact
We’re funding 38 young leaders in 2025 with £10,000 grants over 12 months
— supporting people working across a wide range of issues.
Applications close at 11:59 PM on Sunday 14th September.
If you’d like a PDF version of this page, please click here.
About the Fund
This fund exists because we know young people are already leading change — but often without the funding or support they need to grow.
This year, we’re also backing climate justice!
Out of the 38 grants, 13 are reserved for work focused on climate justice. For Challenge and Change, we define climate justice as:
Climate justice means repairing the unequal harm caused by climate change — especially for communities who are most affected but least responsible. It’s about ensuring everyone has clean air, access to green spaces, healthy food, space to heal and a voice in shaping their future.
Climate justice recognizes that solutions must be community-led and culturally rooted — not one-size-fits-all. It’s about land justice, food justice, and the right to nature, especially for those historically excluded or harmed.
Examples of climate justice in action:
- Campaigning for clean air in polluted neighborhoods
- Protecting and reclaiming public land for community use
- Supporting Indigenous and local food systems (ways of farming and cooking that existed before colonisation of land)
- Taking young people from urban cities on trips to connect with land and culture
- Creating space for frontline communities to lead climate solutions
- Educating others to challenge harmful systems and mindsets
Climate justice is not just environmental — it’s social, cultural, and deeply human.
We would like to give a special thanks to The Ellis Campbell Foundation and The Roots and Routes Fund (the Co-op Foundation, the Energy Saving Trust Foundation, OVO Foundation, and Impatience Earth) for their financial contributions allowing us to grow the programme.
Who This Fund is For
This year, we have reserved funding for 13 partners to do work that is specifically focused on Climate justice – with the remaining 25 partners being able to work on any social injustice theme as long as it’s not oppressive in nature.
Challenge and Change is for you if:
- You’re 18–25 years old at point of application, and living in England
- You’re using your lived experience to lead change
- You’re an individual, or part of a collective or movement
- You’re already involved in social justice work but lack resources
- Ready to make positive lasting change on an issue that affects you and others
As the Challenge and Change team we will be considering the below to build a diverse cohort:
- Young people that really care about their community and are using their lived experience to truly create change in their environments and looking to develop their practice.
- Young people who may be from rural areas that often get overlooked.
- Anti-oppressive work that is not at the cost of another person’s freedom
- How young people are representing their communities and the tone of voice they choose to use.
- How young people represent themselves – we care about their potential and how they can imagine change happening in their communities.
- Collaboration over competition.
- Clarity of work, a clear plan of action.
- A range of locations and themes
Here is a flavour of some of the lived experience leaders we’ve backed before:
Click here to explore more inspiring stoires!
Who This Fund is NOT For
- Non youth led organisations (for this programme, organisations run by those aged 26 and over) that want to launch work on behalf of a young person or group of young people.
- One-off pieces of work (e.g. an art installation) that are unlikely to lead to longer term change or where there is no intention to continue the work further.
- Young people who have never been involved or done any form of prior social justice work.
- Young people that are established in their changemaking work, e.g. already have received £10,000 or more in grant funding, and could access Blagrave’s other funding.
- Young people wanting to set up a business, which has a social purpose component alongside it but is not its core focus.
- People who are looking for loan repayments, living costs or to pay for education or courses.
- People who have received funding from Challenge and Change, Pathways Fund or are currently funded by Blagrave.
What You’ll Receive
- £10,000 grant over 12 months
- A storyteller to co-create and platform your journey
- In-person Welcome Day (Saturday 8th November, London)
- Dedicated funding for your wellbeing
- Support from our team and access to experts (e.g. safeguarding, legal)
- Personal and professional development opportunities which you will get to help shape
How to Apply
Applications close at 11:59 PM on Sunday 14th September.
Applicants will hear back by Friday 10th October 2025.
As the application form cannot be saved as you go along, please feel free to use this word document as a template to work on your application before submitting it via the form
If we need anymore information, we will be in touch. All funding decisions are made by our advisers (former Challenge and Change partners).
FAQs (Frequently asked questions)
For more information, we recommend watching our Challenge and Change webinar, which covers key details and commonly asked questions. You can also view the presentation slides from the session here.
1. Can I use AI to support with writing my application for Challenge and Change?
We understand that AI can be a helpful tool to support with applications, particularly for those who may struggle with written communication so we do allow it.
However, we want to understand your personality and vision and it is clear when someone has used AI as it takes this away – so please be aware that it may negatively impact your application if you solely use AI rather than using it as a supporting tool. We are also aware of the negative environmental impact that AI has so we ask anyone who is using it to be mindful of this.
2. Would you fund projects that have already started?
Yes. Challenge and Change is for young people who are already doing social justice work, or as we call it “demonstrating”.
3. Are we eligible even though we’ve had small grants (a couple £100) before and have raised our own funds?
Yes. As long as you have not received significant previous funding (£10,000 or more) and still need support to take your vision and plan to the next level.
4. Would you fund registered social enterprises?
We would consider funding registered social enterprises as long as;
- The social purpose is core to your work (rather than being a profit-making business with a social purpose component alongside)
- You do not have access to significant funding from elsewhere
5. Could funding be used for DBS checks?
Our grant funding can be used for this purpose but we would not fund DBS checks in addition to the main grants.
6. Do I need my own safeguarding policy to get funding?
No. We will be offering safeguarding training at the welcome day, as those who do not yet have a safeguarding policy will need to follow Blagrave’s safeguarding policies and procedures.
7. Do you need to include a budget breakdown when you apply?
No, we do not ask for a full budget breakdown, however we encourage those who are applying to consider creating a rough budget for yourselves so you know realistically how you plan to spend your funding.
8. Do you have to have your team already or can you apply individually then form a team?
No – you can apply as an individual and then later decide to form a collective. We would suggest being cautious about applying as a collective when the collective hasn’t formed yet though, as we would want to be confident from your application that you’ll be able to carry out the work and use the funding applied for in full.
9. Can the funding be used to fund a course or degree?
No – We cannot fund individual qualifications under Challenge and Change.
10. Are we eligible if our work is events based?
Yes! We really recognise the value of gathering in person. As long as your events are aiming for long term social change rather than just for general awareness raising and is more than one event then you would be eligible.
11. Are we allowed to reimburse young speakers for their travel to events/ their time?
Yes! We actively encourage all of our partners to pay for people’s time (including their own), especially when asking people to act as consultants and give their opinions and expertise.
12. Is the funding UK wide?
This funding is only eligible for those living in England and all funding must be used to benefit communities in England too.
13. Is it OK if our project goes outside England in the future?
We are not able to fund any work outside of England. However, if you find other funding to support expansion once your work is more established then as long as all of our funding is used within England, then your project could end up going worldwide!
14. What support will be available, aside from funding, for successful applicants?
We will be offering a support offer consisting of connections to previous Challenge and Change partners for peer networking and knowledge exchanges, access to masterclasses, access to Blagrave and the Centre for Knowledge Equity’s teams and a wellbeing grant. We will always share any relevant opportunities that we come across too.
15. Can we have a mix of ages? e.g. in our collective, One is 26 and the others are 25 and under.
As long as the majority (75% or more) of the collective fit within our age criteria, and the application comes from someone who fits within our age criteria then you would still be eligible.
16. Can we have a mix of lived experience leaders and those who do not have direct lived experience but are passionate about supporting the change we want to make in our collective?
We understand that collectives and movements will look different and you may have people who bring expertise to the work, without necessarily sharing your lived experiences. As this is a fund for young people with lived experience, 75% of your collective/movement should share some common lived experience of the injustice you are trying to change, if you have support from a small percentage (25% or less) of those who do not share your lived experiences, you are still eligible, but those with the direct lived experience must take the lead and have ownership over the funding.
17. Can refugees and asylum seekers apply?
Yes! If you are someone who does not yet have the right to work in the UK, we just ask that you are fiscally hosted (a trusted registered organisation supports you in holding finances) and that you develop a clear expenses policy. If you have the right to work and your own bank account, then you are able to apply in the same way as everyone else.
18. Will I receive feedback on my application?
Yes. Everyone who applies will receive feedback on their application. Due to the number of applications we receive, this feedback may be top level but we commit to giving feedback to everyone.
19. I’m 17 now, but will be 18 by October, can I still apply?
As long as you are 18 by the point of decision making (by October 1st 2025) then you can still apply. This also applies to those turning 26, as long as you are 25 at the point of decision making (October 1st 2025) then you can still apply.
To note, we say in the video ‘at point of application’, but what we meant was at point of decision making – 1st October 2025
20. I’m part of a collective, as the lead I am over 25 but everyone else I work with is under 25, can I still apply?
Yes, the collective can still apply for funding, as long as the majority (over 75%) of the group are within the correct age bracket. We would recommend that you nominate someone to apply who Is within the correct age bracket, otherwise the application may not be reviewed as we will not review applications that contain an ineligible date of birth.
21. Can I use the funding to apply to become a CIC?
Yes, you can if that’s what you feel is sustainable for your work. We know that change making comes in many different forms and different organizational set ups will work for different people so whilst you can, you do not have to.
22. What does community mean?
We want to know what community means to you! We are not defining community, but ask that you are able to clearly share which communities you are hoping to benefit and work with.
23. How clear on my idea do I need to be before applying?
We need to understand what change you’re hoping to create and how this links to your lived experiences. You will also need to have a starting point so we can deem whether it’s feasible with the amount of funding we’re awarding and within the 12 month time frame we have set. However, we can be flexible. So if you know what you’re hoping to do roughly but not necessarily exactly how, that’s okay! Challenge and Change is about growth and development so as long as you communicate, we can be flexible for changes in the work.
24. Can you fund campaigns?
Yes, as long as all campaigning activity complies with the general law and Charity law.
25. Can we use some of the funding for marketing and outreach?
Yes, as long as it is enabling you to better do the work that you stated in your application.
26. Can we use our funding for core costs?
Yes, as long as it is enabling you to better do the work that you stated in your application.
27. Is the well being budget part of the £10,000 grant or additional?
The well being budget is in addition to the £10,000 grant.
28. What can we use the wellbeing budget for?
We don’t want to prescribe what wellbeing looks like as we know that this will be different for everyone, so we will be discussing this on a case by case basis with all successful applicants to ensure that they use their wellbeing budget in line with charitable law. However, previous partners have used their wellbeing budget on things such as; therapy, team bonding meals for national based teams, yoga workshops, etc…
29. Do I need to incorporate how I’ll use my wellbeing budget into my full Challenge and Change application?
No, we will discuss accessing the wellbeing budget with all successful applicants in the new year, once they’ve received their first funding installment.
30. Will the support I receive for my work be tailored to my needs as I feel like my work is quite niche?
Yes, all support will be tailored as much as we can. Your dedicated grant manager will work with you directly to help you find the best support possible.
31. When will we receive the funding?
We will be releasing first payments in December 2025. If you are being paid in installments, we will work with you directly to figure out the best payment schedule for you.
32. Is it okay if the theme of my work is very niche?
Yes, as long as it’s benefiting your community, activating your lived experience and it’s feasible. We do not want to define your theme or direction of work!
33. Any advice for doing this work whilst juggling a full time job?
The advisers have shared:
- It’s do-able!
- Focus on being more organized
- Make sure you communicate with your grant manager if or when you’re struggling so they can offer support
- When writing your application, consider whether or not what you’re planning to do is manageable alone – or are there ways of collaborating with someone else to get the work done?
For more advice from previous Challenge and change partners, check out our ‘this is how we do it’ report.
34. Any advice for collaborating with larger organisations?
- Try and focus on building strong relationships with one person to help get your foot in the door with the wider organisation
- Don’t only rely on working with external organisations to ensure your work gets done, as they might let you down.
- Find people within your local authority rather than considering reaching out to wider national organisations
- Start off by building relationships and space for collaboration with smaller charities and organisations to help build credibility before working with larger charities and organisations.
- Be open-minded and find alternatives, some organisations are harder to work with and access than others, so don’t let it dishearten you.
35. Do you offer support for those who are Neurodivergent?
Yes, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive organisation and always aim to support anyone in the best way we can, based on their individual needs.
36. Can I pay myself and other for their time and how do I decide how much of the funding to use for this?
Yes! We always encourage partners to pay for their time worked because this work needs you to be able to be successful and you need to be paid to keep it sustainable. We do not set rates as everyone’s circumstances are different. Your dedicated grant manager will be able to support you with this directly, however some advice from the advisers and previous partners is:
- Figure out how much you honestly need to be paid to allow you to dedicate the needed time to the work
- Consider using living wage for your local area as a starting point
- When paying external people to support you, always get at least 3 quotes to know if you’re getting the best value for money. The most expensive person isn’t always necessarily the best for the job.
To note, we often pay the grant in installments, so you’ll need to consider this too when budgeting for how to pay yourself.
For any general queries about applying please contact Rochell.Rowe@blagravetrust.org
Glossary
Lived experience leader – Someone using that experience to lead change in their community
Collective – 2+ people working together towards a common goal
Movement – A broader effort for change, often involving many people
Social justice – Fairness in how resources, rights, and opportunities are shared in society
We’ve used definitions from the LEx Movement, based on Baljeet Sandhu’s research Lived Experience Leadership: Rebooting the DNA of Leadership.
