Funding opportunity

SITA have a youth volunteering fund which could enable you and your group to renovate a building in your local community if you are within 3 miles of a SITA site (check your postcode here). It needs to involve 14-25 year olds actively in the process.

Guidelines here and you can apply online here.

"The Young Person's Volunteering Fund, provided and administered by SITA, is designed to involve young people in community volunteering projects, encouraging them to develop and enhance facilities that will benefit the wider community.

The fund has been specifically designed to support projects that actively involve young people aged between 14 and 25 to gain experience of voluntary work, creating a project that can be enjoyed by the whole community.

Potential applicants should demonstrate their project complies with the 'nine principles of volunteering' as set out by the Youth Action Network, which are:

• Youth Participation.
• Benefiting Others.
• Fun and Rewarding.
• Flexibility.
• Support.
• Recognition.
• Progression and Leadership.
• Diverse and Inclusive.
• Skills and Personal Development.

The deadlines for application are:

• 10am 04 June 2010.
• 10am 09 August 2010.
• 10am 11 October 2010.

Eligible projects must:

• Be aimed specifically at young people aged specifically between 14 and 25.
• Comprehensively demonstrate that young people will be fully involved in the designing and development stages of the project.
• Fall within one of SITA's 90 funding zones. To check the eligibility of projects go to the SITA post-code checker (opens in new window).
• Must also comply with the rules of the Landfill Communities Fund (see guidance notes).

SITA can fund applications that wish to make improvements to any public amenities. These may include:

• Historic buildings:
• Place of worship.
• Monuments.
• Structures

Sport and recreation facilities:

• Public Parks.
• Sports fields and facilities.
• Activity centres.
• Cycle paths.
• Sports Clubs.
• Public playgrounds.
• Public right of way and footpaths.
• Bridle ways.
• Country parks.
• Skate parks.

Community facilities:

• Museums.
• Village greens.
• Community halls.
• Scout or guide huts.