Proton Foundation

This charity is based in Hinckley in Leicestershire, and was set up to support socially disadvantaged communities.  It has a focus on young people, with its main activity being through The Flourish Project.  This is delivered through an eight-week educational and confidence-building programme which is designed to address the root causes of ill mental health, low self-esteem, and lack of aspiration. The programme is evidence-based, and structured as an early intervention programme that helps young people to manage their emotions, and builds resilience and a positive sense of self.  The Flourish Project is an accredited training provider, and works across the UK through 70 hubs where people are trained as facilitators within schools, community centres, youth clubs, sports clubs or churches for example.

In October 2025, the Foundation agreed a grant of £4,988. This is towards training and the costs of equipping facilitators to run the programme, with a specific focus for this funding towards professionals working with young people at high risk of exclusion or criminalisation, including those in alternative education, youth offending teams, and care services.  The intention is that the training enables facilitators to help young people build their emotional literacy, self-awareness and resilience, improve mental health and wellbeing, and improve their lives.

www.theflourishproject.org

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Sylfaen Cymunedol Cyf

Sylfaen Cymunedol Cyf Sylfaen is a community development social enterprise in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.  It is based on the following values: social justice, equal opportunities, the redistribution of wealth, inclusion, reflection, learning and participation and empowerment.  The organisation aims to develop innovative projects in response to community needs; offer training in community development; and undertake evaluation and community research.

Sylfaen Cymunedol Cyf applied to the Allen Lane Foundation specifically towards its project working with young people – the Rhwyd Arall Project.  The Project is targeted at working class young people who are not going to school and are at risk of being de-registered without any planned education at home.  Rhwyd Arall is Welsh for ‘another net’ – the Project aims to support young people back into education and a more positive future.  A grant of £5,000 was agreed in October 2025 towards salary costs of the Project.  Expected outcomes from the work are that young people feel better supported, have more confidence and feel better informed and have increased control over their lives.

www.sylfaencymunedol.org

 

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Brighter Futures Social Investment CIC

Brighter Futures Social Investment CIC (BFSI) provides employability programmes for young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) and those coming out of care, helping them to secure long-term employment, and enabling them to lead independent and fulfilled lives.  It operates as a social enterprise, delivering its ‘Creating Life Chances Programme’ to support disadvantaged young people aged 16-25 into employment.  The organisation operates in Kent across the Medway area – towns including Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, Rainham and Strood.

In June 2025, the Allen Lane Foundation Trustees agreed a grant at their meeting.  This was for £7,000, as a contribution to the running cost of the employability programmes. It is intended that at least ten cohorts of 10-12 young people will benefit over the year.  Intended outcomes are that 50% will secure employment or further training within six months of participating in the programme; and that the young people will gain sector-specific skills and work experience.

https://brighterfutures-si.org.uk/creating-life-chances-1/

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Totnes Rural Area Youth Engagement

This charity, known as TRAYE, was set up ten years ago and currently runs 12 different youth clubs, support groups and services each week.  These take place in nine different towns and villages across rural South Devon – including amongst others Yealhampton, Holbeton, Bridgeton, Buckfastleigh, Totnes and Staverton.  People in these areas can have various issues – such as rural isolation, lack of positive activities and volunteering opportunities locally, hidden poverty, and poor transport links, and young people in these areas can be susceptible to youth violence, drugs, knife crime, and exploitation by county lines gangs.  TRAYE aims to bring isolated and at-risk young people together, to support and safeguard them whilst providing multiple opportunities to develop as individuals, have fun, learn new skills, and create new and safe peer networks.

At the June 2025 meeting of Trustees, the Allen Lane Foundation agreed funding over two years of £8,000 (£4,000 per annum).  The grant is contributing towards the provision of one-to-one support for young people who TRAYE most identifies as at risk, or vulnerable to harm or abuse.  Intended outcomes are that young people will receive increased and tailored interventions and support that will build confidence and self-esteem, and enable them to move forward in their lives towards a more positive and healthy future.

www.tryeproject.org

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Spark Sisterhood

Spark Sisterhood was established to provide support and assistance for young women in and leaving care, to break free from cycles of poverty and abuse. It was set up by a woman with lived experience of the care system, who now herself fosters other children in Somerset. She aims to work with young people to ensure they are provided with kindness, care, and are better prepared for adulthood and the next stage in their lives.

The organisation applied for funding for a pilot programme that aims to prepare young women in the care system for the future.  A grant of £12,000 was agreed by Trustees.  The pilot aims to offer mentorship and one-to-one support, helping the women with practical employment skills and increasing their confidence in accessing jobs or apprenticeships.  The programme aims to help an initial ten young women, who will then form a peer support group to provide ongoing support and reduce isolation.  Following the pilot, the scheme will be evaluated, rolled out with a further ten programmes a year.  Outcomes from the work are that young women leaving care will learn employability and life skills, and that the work will feed into research on how to improve the lives of girls leaving care by Harvard and Oxford Universities.

www.sparksisterhood.org

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National Network for the Education of Care Leavers

This organisation is based in London but works across the UK.  It supports professionals working with children in care and with care leavers, to encourage and enable them to achieve their full potential and achieve better educational outcomes.  It began as a volunteer network of educational practitioners and care system professionals and have been running since 2013.  There are currently over 100 active members – such as universities, colleges, foster agencies, local authority care teams, and charities, and through them the charity reaches around 800 professionals.

In October 2024, the Allen Lane Foundation agreed a grant of £11,000 as a contribution towards costs of a pilot project.  ‘Influencing the Influencer’ is designed as an early intervention scheme aiming to involve trusted adults being proactive in encouraging those in care to consider further education, college or university.  The project will involve training and workshops with teachers, social workers and youth club leaders and others, on post-16 education pathways. It will result in a suite of tools aiming to produce better outcomes for the education of looked after children, empowering them, their caregivers and community influencers, and giving them all the confidence and language to discuss the benefits of post-16 education.

www.nnecl.org

 

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Portadown Wellness Centre

This charity is based in Portadown in County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has an overall vision to help people in the local community to recover from mental illness, regain their confidence and self-worth and become happier more fulfilled individuals.  The Centre offers various activity sessions, practical workshops, as well as inspirational talks, counselling and therapy.

The Allen Lane Foundation agreed a grant at its June 2024 meeting. The funding of £3,000 is contributing towards specifically designed programmes aimed at improving the education, skills and overall wellness of 28 young people. Many face challenges including being on the brink of exclusion from school or being excluded. The aim is to foster new skills and resilience, and hopefully lead to reintegrating into education. The programmes will cover woodwork, pottery, artwork and cooking, and each will run for ten weeks with a maximum of seven young people participating. Intended outcomes of the work are: to foster a sense of community and solidarity among young people, demonstrating that they are not alone, through shared experiences and supportive friendships; to provide opportunities for life skills; and to instil hope and motivation for the young people for a brighter future through the provision of positive experiences.

www.portadownwellnesscentre.com

 

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Prevent 2 Protect

Prevent 2 Protect was set up with a focus in safeguarding children and young people from criminal gang issues.  It works mainly in areas in the North West including in Salford, Bolton and Darwen.  The organisation delivers educational workshops called ‘Gang for Life’ to those young people identified as being at risk of gang activity.  It pairs educational workshops with physical activities to promote good physical and mental wellbeing and to improve self-confidence. Sessions are delivered by people with lived experience of being in a gang and being in prison.  By speaking with people who had been part of gang culture and suffered the consequences, young people can understand what is like being recruited and exploited by gangs.  Hearing from reformed gang members has a huge impact and gives them the opportunities to talk about their own experiences and offers them opportunities to take a different path to a more positive future.

In June 2024, the Allen Lane Foundation awarded funding of £5,000 to Prevent 2 Protect. The grant will contribute towards the delivery costs of Gang for Life sessions, and help to benefit upto around 1,000 young people.  As a result of the interventions, anticipated outcomes are that the young people will have increased confidence, increased life opportunities away from gangs, and improved health, self-esteem and wellbeing.

www.prevent2protectorg

 

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More than Grandparents

More than Grandparents is a charity that, since 2017, has been operating in the North East, in areas such as Newcastle, Sunderland, Gateshead and Durham.  It works to support family members who step in to prevent children having to go into foster care or the adoption service when the parents are unable to look after them.  The charity delivers advice and support as well as various activities such as peer support, learning and engagement activities, specialist trauma support; groups and outings; and drop-in and outreach provision.  Around 250 individuals benefit on a weekly basis.

The Allen Lane Foundation has agreed funding at its February 2024 meeting of Trustees. The grant is for £8,000 given over a two-year period.  Funding is to help develop a youth project for young people in kinship care, and will include difference aspects such as life skills, cooker and baking, sporting activities and visits to places of interest. The aim is to offer opportunities for engagement and peer support in a safe place with other young people who share similar experiences.  Intended outcomes are that the young people will feel less isolated, have better support, and improved mental wellbeing.

www.morethangrandparents.com

 

 

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Silkfutures

Silkfutures (the new name for LAB 7) is an organisation that supports young people in accessing creativity, particularly those from marginalised communities.  It works in some of the most deprived areas in and around Cardiff, and supports around 150 young people each year. Silkfutures delivers various projects and creative workshops as well as tailored support for young people.

In February 2024, the Allen Lane Foundation offered funding of £3,000 towards the organisation’s project work, helping young people to access music, drama and art opportunities.  The grant will contribute towards salary and project delivery costs.  The project enables young people to develop their musical and social skills, in a safe space and improve their life options. It also gives them voice, which can empower them within their communities and amongst their peers.

www.instagram.com/silkfutures/?igsh=N3ZpMHozZm1qYTdi

 

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