Engage! 2025-27 Program to support Youth Development – Australia

Deadline: 23-Sep-2024

Applications are now open for the Engage! 2025-27 Program, which is dedicated to funding projects that motivate Victorian young people to engage in activities that support their goal achievement.

The program also recognizes and celebrates the valuable contributions of young people to both the project and their local community.

Young Victorians are a vital part of the communities, which is why the Victorian Government is investing in opportunities for young people to take the lead on projects, build new skills, achieve their goals and encourage communities.

Program Priorities

• Engage! will prioritise applications that show the following:
  • Meaningful youth engagement and participation: provide opportunities for young people to have their voices and contributions heard. Ensure young people lead the decision-making process in all aspects of planning and delivering the activities.
  • Youth development: provide training, mentoring and volunteering opportunities for young people to develop new skills to support future independence and transition to adult life.
  • Youth celebration: recognise, value and celebrate young people’s contribution to the project and their local community.
  • Inclusion and accessibility: put in place strategies to ensure the program is inclusive and accessible to all young people in the local community. This includes young people identifying as LGBTIQA+, multicultural and multifaith young people including from newly arrived and refugee communities, Aboriginal young people and young people living with disability.
  • Community support and partnerships: foster connections with community and explore potential partnerships to help deliver the project and expand young people’s networks.
  • Organisational capacity: show the organisation’s capacity to deliver the program and its objectives.

Activity Categories

• Youth participation is an essential part of the 2025–2027 program. Organisations have to partner with young Victorians between 12 and 25 to design and deliver their program. They encourage applicants to form a youth advisory group. This group should provide insights, feedback and leadership throughout the project. This will ensure the project meets the interests and aspirations of young participants in their community.
• Applicants must deliver activities across at least 2 of the 3 categories. Examples are below.
  • Category 1: Youth engagement and participation 
    • Activities that promote the voices of young people and participation in decision making. Examples include youth support groups, civic participation groups or youth-led projects.
  • Category 2: Youth development
    • Activities that support young people to develop new and transferable skills through training, mentoring and volunteering. Examples include technical or life skills training, personal development training, volunteering initiatives or mentoring.
  • Category 3: Youth celebration and events
    • Activities that showcase and recognise young people’s contribution to the community. Examples include youth awards or showcase events or youth-led projects/events planned by young people under ‘youth-led projects’ from Category 1.

Funding Information

• Engage! 2025–2027 will provide grants between $60,000 and $180,000 over 3 years (or $20,000 to $60,000 per year).

Activity Period

• This grant round is for activities that take place between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2027.

Activities 

• a reasonable amount of funding based on your project’s scale. You can use these for some project coordination and staffing costs. This includes:
  • ongoing staff or short-term staffing costs with a direct link to the activity
  • reimbursements, allowances and honoraria for volunteers supporting the project
• training and development activities to enhance skills, knowledge and safety of staff, young people and volunteers involved in the program
• initiatives that support employment pathways for young people
• transport costs for young people related to an event or activity (higher proportion allowed for rural, regional and peri-urban areas)
• activities to create or strengthen partnerships or networks to leverage resources and opportunities with other organisations.

Eligibility Criteria

• Funding is available to organisations based in Victoria.
• Applicants must have a current Australian Business Number (ABN) and be either:
  • a Victorian local government authority
  • a not-for-profit legal entity – that is, either:
    • registered as a charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
    • registered with Consumer Affairs Victoria (or equivalent in a neighbouring state) as an incorporated association, or
    • registered under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic)
  • an Aboriginal entity that is incorporated including Aboriginal not-for-profit organisations, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Traditional Owner groups or land trusts
  • a social enterprise that is an incorporated entity with a clear purpose or mission related to engaging and empowering young people. Social enterprises must attach their constitution with their application.
• Social enterprises:
  • have an economic, social, cultural or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit
  • get most of their income from trade
  • reinvest most of their profit/surplus in fulfilling their mission (at least 50%).
• Unincorporated associations and community organisations with no ABN are not eligible. But they can apply using an auspice.

Ineligible

• Entities that are not eligible include:
  • private (for profit) companies
  • sole traders and individuals
  • charitable trusts.

For more information, visit Victorian Government.