New partnership to prevent harm to children announced

The National Lottery Community Fund has joined with The Youth Endowment Fund, BBC Children in Need and Sport England in the Serious Change Funders Partnership, designed to help children and young people stay safe and thrive.

The four funders will work together to prevent children from being harmed by or drawn into violence, by listening to children’s experiences and deeply understanding what has changed things for children before.

The National Lottery Community Fund already supports vital work in communities across the country and can draw on significant experience from working with other organisations in this space, to understand what works. But this new partnership recognises that by working together, they can go further. By setting shared priorities, aligning funding with evidence and using their collective voice and influence, they can drive serious, lasting change.

And this is just the start. In time, the partnership will grow to include more funders who share the same commitment to keeping children safe and helping communities thrive.

David Knott, CEO of The National Community Fund, said: “For too many young people, growing up feeling unsafe has become a reality. As the UK’s largest community funder, we are committed to supporting work that places young people at its heart to keep them safe and support them to thrive. We are proud to be joining as a founding partner of this ambitious initiative to share learning and increase impact, giving children and young people the best chances in life.”

Jon Yates, CEO at Youth Endowment Fund, said: “Every child deserves to grow up safe and supported. By coming together and focusing on what works to prevent violence, we can make that hope more real. We’re proud to be part of this partnership and excited about the real, lasting change it can bring. It’s an honour to join King Charles as we launch this vital work.”

Simon Antrobus, CEO of BBC Children in Need, said: “Our ambition is to give every child the opportunity to thrive. We know that when young people build positive relationships with trusted adults in their lives, they are better able to stay safe, make good choices and reach their full potential. On our own we can deliver change but when we collaborate, that change can be truly transformational. We owe it to the young people of the UK to raise our game. We look forward to seeing the positive and lasting difference working collectively can bring, and we’re honoured to launch this powerful piece of work ahead of a Youth Opportunity Summit, hosted by His Majesty The King.”

Jeanette Bain-Burnett, Executive Director Policy and Integrity at Sport England, said: “Access to sport and physical activity can be life-changing for young people, helping them build confidence, connect with others and feel a sense of belonging. For too many, especially in underserved communities, fractures and inequalities remain.

  “Sport England is proud to be a founding partner of the Serious Change Funders Partnership, working with like-minded organisations on a shared ambition to bring about positive change for more young people across England.”

Together, we can build a safer future for every child.

Date published: 16 July, 2025
Region: UK-wide

Notes to Editors

About the Youth Endowment Fund

The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) is a charity with a mission that matters. We’re here to prevent children and young people becoming involved in violence. We do this by finding out what works and building a movement to put this knowledge into practice. We were established in 2019 with a ten-year £200m endowment from the Home Office.

www.youthendowmentfund.org.uk

About The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest non-statutory community funder in the UK – community is at the heart of our purpose, vision and name.

We support activities that create resilient communities that are more inclusive and environmentally sustainable, and that will strengthen society and improve lives across the UK.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with government to distribute vital grants and funding from key government programmes and initiatives.

As well as responding to what communities tell us is important to them, our funding is focused on four key missions, supporting communities to:

1. Come together

2. Be environmentally sustainable

3. Help children and young people thrive

4. Enable people to live healthier lives.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, we distribute around £500 million a year through 10,000+ grants and plan to invest over £4 billion of funding into communities by 2030. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to UK-wide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout the UK. Since The National Lottery began in 1994, £47 billion has been raised and more than 670,000 individual grants have been made across the UK - the equivalent of around 240 National Lottery grants in every UK postcode district.

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About BBC Children in Need

BBC Children in Need believes that every child should have the chance to thrive and be the best they can be. For this to happen, we want every child to have someone they can turn to for help or support to overcome challenges they face.

We make sure there’s someone able to give food, clothes and beds to a child living without; someone qualified to talk a child who is anxious, isolated or grieving; someone trained to mentor teenagers in communities facing inequality, violence or lack of opportunity; someone to be there for children living with serious illness, disability or carrying a load that’s just too heavy to manage alone.

But right now, we can only help 1 in 7 organisations that asks us for support.

Further information on BBC Children in Need can be found at www.bbcchildreninneed.co.uk

About Sport England

Sport England is a public body and invests up to £300 million National Lottery and government money each year in projects and programmes that help people get active and play sport. It wants everyone in England, regardless of age, background, or level of ability, to feel able to engage in sport and physical activity. A lot of its work is specifically focused on helping people who do no, or very little, physical activity and groups who are typically less active.