The Million Hours Fund

This funding is for organisations to give extra support to young people in areas with higher rates of anti-social behaviour. We’ll fund extra hours of youth work to give these young people more places to go and positive things to do.

This is the third phase of the Million Hours Fund. It is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and The National Lottery Community Fund.

We can only fund projects in certain parts of England. The work you want us to fund must take place in, or benefit young people living in, one of the eligible ward areas. You can check the eligible ward areas for the Million Hours Fund (2025 to 2027).

To apply, your project must:

• benefit young people aged 10 to 18, or up to 25 if they have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
• effectively engage with young people at risk of taking part in anti-social behaviour
• deliver more hours of youth work than you provide now
• involve young people in deciding how you work
• deliver youth work that is open to as wide a range of young people as possible (known as ‘open access’)
• be run by trusted adults such as qualified youth workers, youth support workers, or experienced volunteers
• The extra youth work you deliver must help young people:
• have improved emotional wellbeing
• have improved life and practical skills
• feel safer and have access to trusted relationships with adults

If more organisations apply than we expect we may have to stop accepting applications before our deadline. So you should apply as soon as you are ready, instead of waiting until the deadline.

You can apply if you’re an eligible organisation working in England. Your work must benefit young people from one of the eligible ward areas.

You can apply if you are a:

• not-for-profit company limited by guarantee
• charitable incorporated organisation (CIO)
• community interest company (CIC)
• registered co-operative or community benefit society
• school
• statutory body (including local authorities, town, parish or community council)

You can apply as a partnership, as long as each partner is one of the eligible organisation types listed above. We’ll usually award funding to a lead organisation. They’ll apply, manage the funding and pay other partners.

Some organisations must have an asset lock. This means you’ve set rules to stop your assets being used for private gain.

You must have an asset lock if you're a:

• CIC
• company limited by guarantee that’s not a registered charity
• community benefit society
• co-operative society

You can read more in the government’s guide to asset locks for CICs.

Funding size

£30,000 to £100,000

Application deadline

midday, Wednesday 22 October 2025