Training & Development Micro Fund

Thanks to a generous donation of £4,500 from All Aboard Charity Shops, Young Barnet Foundation can continue to offer a Micro Grant for Training & Development in 2025.

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Following our recent member renewal process, and noting other wider sector evidence, Young Barnet Foundation have noted:

• Increased demand for the local  youth sector as the most important way for Children and Young People to experience fun, expand their horizons, boost confidence & develop friendships in an affordable, safe & creative structure.

• Simultaneously,  the local youth sector is under threat thanks to a perfect storm of cost of living increases, high rates of worker burnout & poor prospects for career development.

• The Civil Society’s recent survey among charity leaders revealed that 66% of respondents cited that their concerns about worker burnout & employee retention had worsened in the last 12 months.

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Young Barnet Foundation are aware that self development of the personnel within the organisation can often be hard to either a) get funding for or b) justify when budgets are tight.  This fund is to help members invest in their people, be it staff, volunteers or Trustees to help the ongoing development of their organisation. 

Our Micro Training Fund project addresses these issues in a constructive & proven way. With your engagement, we hope to disperse grants of up to £300 to smaller trusted community organisations, enabling them to undertake vital training & career development for their staff, trustees & volunteers. In turn, this will enhance workers’ confidence, skillsets & rates of retention, & improve the scope & quality of services for Barnet’s vulnerable young people.

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This round does not have an independent funding panel. The grants officer will review applications on a periodic basis to ensure minimum requirements are met before getting awards signed off by a trustee.  

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Key information: 

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Application open date: Tuesday 12th August 2025

Closing Date: Once funds all allocated

Total Amount Available:  £4,500

Maximum any one award:  £300

Application Review Timings:  Reviewed every 2-3 weeks.

Awards Announced: Within maximum 28 days of each application. 

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Funds awarded through this round of funding must be spent within six months of award and the Monitoring & Evaluation for your project provided within one month of completion of the Training and Development having been undertaken.

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Eligibillity Criteria Summary and FAQ's

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Process:

1. 1) Read Eligibility Criteria

2. 2) Apply online

3. 3) Receive decision and payment within 28 days maximum from date of application.

4. 4) Complete training / course.

5. 5) Complete online M&E form​​

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Who Can Apply:​​​​

This fund is open to Young Barnet Foundation VCFSE members who deliver activities and services for children and young people living or at school/college in the London Borough of Barnet. Applicants must be a current member of Young Barnet Foundation as of Monday 13th May 2024  to be eligible to apply for this funding, and have a turnover of £250,000 or less in the most recent financial year.

Application Process: ​

Application is via the online application form only.  It has been designed to be simple and quick to complete, with the aim it should not take more than 15-20 minutes to complete, in addition to any time spent identifying the training course(s). Please note that once you start the form you cannot save it and come back to it later, however, a pdf version of the form is available here for drafting.

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What can we apply for?

Anything that will help the development of individuals or your organisation. Applications for Training & Development which help support staff with employee resilience and mental health will be welcomed. It could also be leadership training for senior managers, or operational training for example on fundraising or comms. There is specific training to support Trustees in understanding their duties along with lots of very specific training on issues such as claiming gift aid.  We are also aware that you may have certifications such as First Aid that require renewal, all of these and more are suitable for applications. If it will benefit the development of individuals or ensure compliance by the organisation, then it should be eligible. Details of previous Micro Funds are available here:

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Where can I find suitable yet affordable training? 

While Young Barnet Foundation cannot recommend any specific providers of Training & Development, we have used a range of such providers which includes (but is not limited to): 

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• https://mediatrust.org/events/ 

• https://www.thefore.org/skills-training/ 

• https://booking.ncvo.org.uk/training 

• https://www.charitycomms.org.uk/events/types 

• https://www.dsc.org.uk/training/ 

• https://www.cloreleadership.org/  

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What information do I have to provide? 

On top of general details you will be asked to submit the following information in the application process:

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• The number of Staff/Trustees/Volunteers this funding will help deliver training & development to. 

• The training / development which this funding will deliver and why your organisation has this need.  

• How this training contributes to either your existing provision, or helps build the capacity of your organisation

• Does the training & development lead to any formal accreditation or qualification? 

• Who will be delivering the training & development

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You will need to provide screen shots/quotations of the training course(s) that you wish to undertake. 

View a copy of the complete questions here:​

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Can we use the funds to renew certificates such as First Aid or Food Safety?

Yes

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Can we apply for more than one course?

You can apply for a number of courses, for a number of individuals, up to the total value of £300.

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Can we apply more than once?

No, due to the administration stresses on our small organisation we ask that you only apply once in this round of funding. ​

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Young Barnet Foundation recommends reading the full criteria here before you begin your application

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