Outlook Fund
Overview
The Outlook Fund supports projects which help children and young people with experience of the care system, who face additional systemic barriers as a result of this background. The Fund may occasionally support projects aimed at preventing children and young people being taken into care, but the priority is to support those who already have experience of being looked after under the care system. The average grant size for a single year project is £4,000. Projects lasting up to a maximum of three years may apply for up to £12,000 in total, with the grant paid in annual instalments and subject to satisfactory progress reports.
The Outlook Fund awards an average of £28,000 per year in total, split equally across two rounds.
- Who can apply?
- Non-profit organisations
- Maximum grant
- Up to £12,000 over 3 years
- Eligible area
- Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough)
- Deadlines
- 1 May, 1 November
Fund criteria
The definition of a looked after child
A looked after child is a child in the care of a local authority for more than 24 hours, either through a care order made by a court or a voluntary agreement with their parent(s) to accommodate them. They may be looked after:
- In a children’s home
- By foster carers
- In residential settings like schools or secure units
- By other family members.
All unaccompanied asylum seeking children are also looked after children.
Project eligibility
Supporting looked after children
Priority is given to work with looked after children that achieves one or more of the following outcomes:
- Increased level of new looked after children participating in an activity
- Increased confidence/emotional well-being
- New opportunities/experiences
- New skills/qualifications
- Healthier lifestyles
- More volunteering opportunities
- Engaging in new hobbies/interests (e.g. sports, art, music)
The fund aims to award at least 50% of the funding directly to organisations supporting looked after children.
Reducing the risks of children and young people going into care
The fund supports projects working to reduce the risk of children and young people going into care. This could include projects that:
- Build on the strengths of the existing family
- Provide interventions to improve a child’s or young person’s behaviour and attachment (home, school etc.) and to build their resilience
- Support families in crisis (domestic violence, substance misuse, parents in prison, etc.)
- Support kinship care families
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