Connecting Communities
An opportunity
Thank you for empowering generation change to make a difference in communities across Scotland. #YPI provides young people a platform to advocate for social issues and charities in their local community. Each year, participating schools will grant their chosen charity £3,000 of unrestricted funding.
Since 2008, more than £7.6m has been granted to charities in Scotland championed by young people through YPI.
The YPI process
How should I engage with young people?
Each school selects an entire year group, between S1 and S6, to undertake YPI in an academic year.
YPI opens young people's to issues in their communities and charities that are doing something to address these.
There is a diverse range of life experience and confidence levels among teams.
YPI is student-led, therefore charities cannot proactively contact schools to request being a chosen charity.
Young people develop a creative and convincing presentation in a bid to secure the funding. This must clearly demonstrate the impact of the £3,000 grant on the charity’s offering locally to support the development of a robust business case.
As this is a unique form of devolved, locally driven grant making, the students need to be able to tell the local story of this charity and clearly bring to life the social issue it is addressing. Expect to be interviewed in-person or digitally and provide facts, figures and human-interest stories.
The process
Young people will follow the process detailed in the graphic below, researching issues and developing a presentation over a period determined by the school. Schools will shortlist up to 10 teams to feature at their final YPI Showcase. This is a key date in a school’s calendar and one which charities are often invited to attend.
If you are successful, The Wood Foundation will process the grant. This will come from the school or directly from The Wood Foundation.
YPI is student-led. They independently identify social issues impacting their community and a local charity addressing this need. Charities cannot put themselves forward or be recommended for students to select. The team will get in touch to inform you if they would like to represent you.
1
Charity selection
We encourage all teams to get to know their charities beyond simply reading a website and corporate literature. Where possible, teams are encouraged to meet their charities either at the school or in the charity’s setting. This can also be done virtually if necessary.
2
Connect with the team
You know your charity is about more than figures on a page. Help the young people understand the specific impact that £3000 would make locally, alongside insight into the human element of what you do through case studies, interviews, and other opportunities. Talk to young people about how your service is tackling their identified social issue.
3
Share your story
Schools do this differently to suit their context. In the majority of cases, schools will shortlist teams through class finals to reach the final showcase. At this point, young people will have prepared a convincing and creative presentation. They are encouraged to inform you if they reach their school's YPI Showcase.
4
Shortlisting
The YPI Showcase is a key date in the school calendar. A chance to celebrate YPI, the students’ achievements, raise awareness of a range of social issues and local charities, whilst bringing the school community together. Charities are often invited to these events.
5
YPI Showcase
If you are successful you will be informed by the school and The Wood Foundation will process the £3,000 grant. We will require information from you to do this and will be in touch.
Whether you secure a grant or not, the YPI experience doesn’t have to end with the Showcase. How can you continue to engage with the young people and the school? We’re committed to YPI being the beginning of philanthropy for students and there is a real opportunity for charities to support this.
6
Post-YPI
FAQS FOR CHARITIES
What are the eligibility requirements?
All YPI charities must be OSCR registered and focused on supporting people impacted by social issues within the local community.
There is no budgetary limit as to who is eligible for a YPI Grant, however we would recommend that students choosing a particularly large charity focus on their local remit and specific local services.
<< Visit | OSCR WEBSITE
Is there a limit to the number of groups we can engage with or grants we can receive?
There is no limit in terms of the number of schools and teams that you engage with. Likewise, there is no limit with regards the number of YPI Grants you can receive.
Within any given area, students will identify the local charities supporting a local issue, therefore it is not uncommon for a number of teams from the same school,
or from multiple schools, to choose the same charity. All contact is student-led; therefore charities cannot arrange to be chosen as a charity represented by the school.
All young people approach YPI in different ways, some groups may only seek basic information whereas others will demonstrate enhanced commitment to the process. Charities will make a judgement call on their investment of time reflective of circumstance, alongside their capacity.
What information will students be looking for?
The YPI Grant would of course make a difference to any charity, however we want our students to gain a better understanding of how charities operate, how they are funded, and the costs associated.
When it comes to their final presentations, we want our students to detail specifically how the YPI Grant would be directed and what impact this investment would have locally. Be specific.
Creativity is a core part of the process and students will be expected to present the human stories behind your organisation in a convincing and engaging way. Therefore, they must provide more in their presentation than highlighting your existing materials.
How can I support young people in their presentations?
Young people very much lead their own learning through the YPI process.
Judges will be assessing their understanding of the social issue and the business case for the £3000 YPI Grant.
These are two areas where their interview and visit to your charity can really help young people understand these concepts in order to bring them to life in their presentations in a creative and convincing way.
If you can share examples of spending or cost, this would be beneficial for their understanding. Consider a tangible spend for the £3000. You could explore themes such as if £3000 would fund a certain number of sessions for users, train a team member, purchase resources to help a certain amount of people, pay your overheads for a period of time.
How can we work with schools beyond YPI?
We hope that YPI is a gateway to meaningful partnerships between schools and charities, and we encourage schools to think about how they can best raise awareness for you, or work with you beyond YPI. Schools may invite you along to community events at the school, ask you to speak to a class or a year group about a social issue, raise awareness of your charity through their newsletters or create referral pathways within the school to your services. Read a news article about charity engagement legacy here.
What is a YPI charity fair?
Some schools choose to host a charity fair as part of their YPI delivery. These events should be seen as part of the research process, prior to pupils shortlisting their chosen charities for YPI. These events offer a great opportunity for pupils to speak to a number of charities representing local social issues, before deciding which charity to support for the remainder of the programme. It is important to note that pupils are never restricted to choosing from the charities in attendance, they can choose any charity that meets the eligibility criteria. Please check out our YPI Charity Fair Guidance for Charities document for more information about YPI Charity Fairs.
How can charities provide young people with information to support their YPI journey?
Some charities have created YPI information packs to share with young people and schools. These packs provide an overview of the charity, social issues supported, services and different ways the charity would spend a £3,000 grant in the local community. This is a great way of introducing your charity before young people get the chance to meet with you.
What is the YPI National Event?
Each year, The Wood Foundation organises a YPI National Event to celebrate the impact young people make in their communities and the legacy of YPI. If your charity is awarded a grant in the current academic year, you will receive an invitation to the event. If you plan to attend, we recommend speaking with the school you have worked with to confirm their attendance and to arrange a meeting during the interval.
What are the eligibility requirements?
All YPI charities must be OSCR registered and focused on supporting people impacted by social issues within the local community.
There is no budgetary limit as to who is eligible for a YPI Grant, however we would recommend that students choosing a particularly large charity focus on their local remit and specific local services.
Is there a limit to the number of groups we can engage with or grants we can receive?
There is no limit in terms of the number of schools and teams that you engage with. Likewise, there is no limit with regards the number of YPI Grants you can receive.
Within any given area, students will identify the local charities supporting a local issue, therefore it is not uncommon for a number of teams from the same school, or from multiple schools, to choose the same charity. All contact is student-led; therefore charities cannot arrange to be chosen as a charity represented by the school.
All young people approach YPI in different ways, some groups may only seek basic information whereas others will demonstrate enhanced commitment to the process. Charities will make a judgement call on their investment of time reflective of circumstance, alongside their capacity.
What information will students be looking for?
The YPI Grant would of course make a difference to any charity, however we want our students to gain a better understanding of how charities operate, how they are funded, and the costs associated. When it comes to their final presentations, we want our students to detail specifically how the YPI Grant would be directed and what impact this investment would have locally. Be specific.
Creativity is a core part of the process and students will be expected to present the human stories behind your organisation in a convincing and engaging way. Therefore, they must provide more in their presentation than highlighting your existing materials.
How can I support young people in their presentations?
Young people very much lead their own learning through the YPI process. Judges will be assessing their understanding of the social issue and the business case for the £3000 YPI Grant. These are two areas where their interview and visit to your charity can really help young people understand these concepts in order to bring them to life in their presentations in a creative and convincing way. If you can share examples of spending or cost, this would be beneficial for their understanding. Consider a tangible spend for the £3000. You could explore themes such as if £3000 would fund a certain number of sessions for users, train a team member, purchase resources to help a certain amount of people, pay your overheads for a period of time.
How can we work with schools beyond YPI?
We hope that YPI is a gateway to meaningful partnerships between schools and charities, and we encourage schools to think about how they can best raise awareness for you, or work with you beyond YPI. Schools may invite you along to community events at the school, ask you to speak to a class or a year group about a social issue, raise awareness of your charity through their newsletters or create referral pathways within the school to your services. Read a news article about charity engagement legacy here.
What is a YPI charity fair?
Some schools choose to host a charity fair as part of their YPI delivery. These events should be seen as part of the research process, prior to pupils shortlisting their chosen charities for YPI. These events offer a great opportunity for pupils to speak to a number of charities representing local social issues, before deciding which charity to support for the remainder of the programme. It is important to note that pupils are never restricted to choosing from the charities in attendance, they can choose any charity that meets the eligibility criteria. Please check out our YPI Charity Fair Guidance for Charities document for more information about YPI Charity Fairs.
How can charities provide young people with information to support their YPI journey?
Some charities have created YPI information packs to share with young people and schools. These packs provide an overview of the charity, social issues supported, services and different ways the charity would spend a £3,000 grant in the local community. This is a great way of introducing your charity before young people get the chance to meet with you.
What is the YPI National Event?
Each year, The Wood Foundation organises a YPI National Event to celebrate the impact young people make in their communities and the legacy of YPI. If your charity is awarded a grant in the current academic year, you will receive an invitation to the event. If you plan to attend, we recommend speaking with the school you have worked with to confirm their attendance and to arrange a meeting during the interval.
“It is very important that young people become better aware and informed of social issues and YPI gives them the opportunity to learn about charitable causes and their purposes in a very accessible way. We enjoy meeting the pupils to talk with them about the work that we do and we are always impressed with the pupils’ dedication and enthusiasm.”
“YPI is so beneficial for the personal growth of the youngsters and the reward for us is massive.”
Working with likeminded partners supports the sustainability of YPI as we grow the opportunity throughout Scotland.
Would you like to be part of empowering #YPI and communities throughout Scotland?
Feeling inspired, motivated and engaged by the process?
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