Prioritise supporting young people to take social action

We will create opportunities that empower more young people, particularly from low-income backgrounds and communities of colour, to be positive changemakers

Spirit of 2012’s pledge:

  • Spirit of 2012 is committed to funding projects that support and empower young people to make a positive change to society.
  • We will continue to fund innovative projects that inspire young people to play an active role in their communities, such as EmpowHER, Breaking Boundaries, Creative Minds and Bay Create.

Open up our decision-making structures

We will offer opportunities for young people, particularly from low-income backgrounds and communities of colour, to participate in decision-making, leading and shaping both the activities they are involved in and wider organisational decisions

Spirit of 2012’s pledge:

  • Spirit of 2012 has had a Youth Advisory Panel for six years, which has involved 30 young people in our decision-making processes
  • Our Youth Advisory Panel has researcheddesigned and awarded £300,000 of grant funding through their own, Youth Advisory Panel Challenge Fund. This year’s award to Whitley Bay Big Local’s Bay Create, focusses on supporting younger and older people to create together.
  • We will continue to include members of our Youth Advisory Panel on the interview panels for all our major grant awards, and invite and encourage them to participate in our project strategic steering groups.
  • The Chair of the Youth Panel has always been a full Board Director to put young people at the heart of our decision making, and we are recruiting a young trustee to the Board in January 2021.

Work collaboratively with other organisations

We will work with other organisations to create more high-quality opportunities, reach young people from low-income backgrounds and communities of colour to take part, share learning and achieve shared goals

Spirit’s pledge:

  • Spirit of 2012 places high value on our partnerships with organisations like UK Youth, One Million Mentors, and the Youth Sport Trust who work to improve opportunities for young people, regardless of background, ability or ethnicity.
  • We continue to cultivate strategic partnerships whose values on youth inclusion align with our own and those of the Power of Youth charter.
  • Supporting local sports, cultural and voluntary organisations throughout the UK who give young people the opportunity to make friends, and improve their own wellbeing and that of their peers is embedded into everything we do.

Evidence the benefits of youth social action:

We will capture and share insights, stories and data on how we are working with young people, and the positive impact this has on them, their communities and our organisation

Spirit’s pledge:

  • We commit to sharing learning, both from young people and from the organisations supporting them, about how we can improve access, and create better opportunities that lead to better outcomes for young people.
  • We aim to disseminate these insights with others, so that they too can remove barriers to engagement and deliver effective programmes.

Recognise and celebrate young people’s impact:

We will use our communication channels to advocate for and celebrate young people as positive and powerful changemakers

Spirit’s pledge:

  • We pledge our support to the Power of Youth and the #iwill campaign and will use our channels to amplify messaging and reach new audiences.
  • We will continue to empower our Youth Advisory Panellists to represent the views and circumstances of young people across the UK on our social media channels and website.