How does Keyfund work? The diagram shows how the young people’s learning journey works, from the input of the facilitators’ time and support, to the outcomes of the 12 skills.

The young people’s learning journey
The Keyfund process is essentially youth-led learning based on 12 Keyfund skills. It is rooted in the learner-centred practice of informal education.

Facilitators can work or volunteer for a variety of different organisations including Youth Offending Teams, schools, youth clubs and other voluntary and community organisations.

Once interested and engaged young people form their own group, give their group a name, and with the support of their facilitator they initiate and implement their own projects. The projects can be as simple as a trip to a bowling alley or as involved as a music collective working over time to establish a rehearsal space for community use.

Every group meets a Keyfund panel, which assesses their application by looking at their progress through the Keyfund skills as they have planned and developed their project idea. The panel decides if the young people have been successful and if so, sets the amount of money granted. Although the panel meeting should be friendly and a source of encouragement to the young people, it should also be an opportunity for groups to practice skills like negotiation and dealing with people in power and authority. Panels may set additional conditions for groups that should stretch their learning. These conditions could be specific to the project or could be more general, for instance asking for more work to be done before agreeing to fund the project; asking the group to get publicity for their project, or asking the group to talk to and share their experiences with new Keyfund groups. There are more details about the panel process in the Panel Members Guidebook which can be found in the online documents archive.

Once the project has been completed the group must submit an evaluation, their receipts and return any unspent money. They must also demonstrate how they met any conditions that the panel set.