£600,000 YES Fund opens for 2026 – building on two years of major impact for young people across Merseyside

Community groups and grassroots organisations are being invited to apply for a share of £600,000 as the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES Fund) officially reopens for 2026 – offering funding for projects focused on preventing serious violence by creating brighter futures for young people across Merseyside.

Jointly delivered by Merseyside Police Commissioner, Emily Spurrell, and the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership (MVRP), the YES Fund provides grants of £5,000–£25,000 for initiatives that give young people safe, positive opportunities and help steer them away from violence, exploitation, and anti-social behaviour.

Launched in 2024, this year’s huge cash investment follows an exceptional two years for YES, with more than £1 million invested and nearly 25,000 young people supported across Merseyside.

Now, the PCC and MVRP are building on that momentum by opening the YES Fund for a third year.

They are inviting community groups, charities and third-sector organisations to submit bids for projects supporting young people under 25 – from skills and qualifications to confidence‑building, mentoring and programmes that help them make positive choices for the future.

Projects can run throughout the year, with a focus on times when issues can traditionally increase, such as during the summer holidays, autumn half term, Halloween and Bonfire Night, when young people are not in school and there may be little for them to do.

Funding will be targeted in areas of Merseyside that have experienced the highest levels of violence and the biggest cuts to youth services, with the aim of keeping young people safe and supported and helping to steer them away from trouble.

Last year’s investment was used to run a wide variety of initiatives focused on reaching and supporting young people. This included youth workers going out in hotspot areas, to mental health courses and leadership training, forest school activities, free sports coaching and more.

Over the past two years, the YES Fund has shown just how powerful early intervention can be.

Thousands of young people have benefited from sport, arts, digital skills, mentoring and wellbeing support – all delivered by the incredible grassroots organisations which know their communities best.

The Yes Fund has already helped to create even more safe spaces and positive pathways for young people right across Merseyside, offering them an amazing array of activities and opportunities across our region, all focused on keeping them safe and preventing them from getting drawn into dangerous or harmful behaviour.

Investing in prevention and early intervention is essential if we are to reduce serious violence in our communities. With another £600,000 available for 2026, we want to go even further.

We’re calling on our brilliant local charities, youth groups and community organisations to bring forward their ideas and help us continue building safer, brighter futures for our young people.

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell

We’re determined to build on the success of the first two years of our Youth Empowerment Scheme by reaching even more young people and offering them opportunities which help to unlock their potential and put them on the right life path.

We firmly believe that violence is preventable, not inevitable and we know that the public health approach works – YES is one of our strongest examples of that. Every single project funded in the past two years has helped divert young people away from harm and towards opportunities that help them thrive.

We’re so excited to open the fund again and continue building safer, more resilient communities through prevention, partnership and early action.

Georgia Probert, Interim Director of the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership

The YES Fund will once again be administered by the Community Foundation for Merseyside (CfM) which holds funds from individuals and organisations as donors who wish to support deserving causes in Merseyside.

The YES Fund is a fantastic funding opportunity to support our local grassroots community organisations and their engagement work with young people.

It is so important to recognise and support the valuable community projects delivered throughout the year, including key periods such as the summer school holidays and Autumn half-term period, which allow young people to get involved in sporting, cultural, digital, educational and crucially, fun activities which keeps them safe and helps to both reduce and prevent violence and anti-social behaviour.

James Proctor, Programme Director, Community Foundation for Merseyside

All applications must be submitted online via the Community Foundation for Merseyside by 4pm on Friday 1^st May.