Funding of between £500 and £3,000 was available to YTAS Members, for activity taking place between October 2022 and March 2023. All members of YTAS, including youth theatre groups, organisations and freelancers/individuals were invited to apply.  

We wanted to provide funding for projects and activities which help to address local youth theatre access, resource and capacity, workforce or training issues, such as… 

• Giving young people access to more and better-quality youth theatre opportunities. 
• Improving connections across the youth theatre sector 
• Improving creative, transferable and leadership skills across the youth theatre sector 
• Increasing knowledge and motivation across the youth theatre sector 

This could include funding for: 

• Delivery: time to develop new projects; enhancing scope or access of a current project; pay for new/additional staff time or cover costs associated with reaching new audiences or participants. 
• Training needs: developing practice to enhance the wellbeing of youth theatre staff or participants; enhancing the sustainability of organisations; professional development or attendance at training events.  
• Creative needs: hiring freelance artists, facilitators, or creative team; undertaking research and development for new projects or areas of practice; support to enhance or adapt events, performances or communications. 

N.B. These are only suggestions and YTAS is open to receiving applications for other uses. If you are unsure if your project is suitable, please just get in touch with us to ask. To see what grantees did in the previous round, take a look at the case studies here. 

Feedback from previous recipients

“This grant enabled me to be adventurous and ambitious (…) it gave me space and permission to fail and allowed me to learn and succeed in what I wanted to do with the project. It’s not often as artists that we’re given time and financial resources to do that, especially in youth theatre, but I would encourage anyone who wants to push their practice in new exciting directions to apply for the grant and take risks!”  Marion Geoffray, Theatre Sans Accents (2021 grantee) 

“The Grants for Youth Theatre funding we received was so beneficial, to not only our young people, but for us to reimagine our creative practices here at Creative Spark. YTAS were so helpful every step of the way and we felt so supported throughout. It has also given us the confidence to continue to grow and develop as an organisation, this is the result of all the training and support we received and continue to receive from YTAS.”  Jen McDonald, Creative Spark Theatre Arts (2021 grantee) 

“YTAS are the most supportive funder we have ever dealt with. They offered invaluable advice during the application process and targeted training and mentoring sessions throughout the project. We would definitely apply again.” Jane Murray, Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust (2021 grantee) 

“It’s more than worthwhile applying for funding from YTAS as you will receive so much more than just the money – support from industry professionals, connections with your peers and the opportunity to discuss your projects with a fresh set of eyes. The help and guidance we received helped us look at different approaches and solutions across the board.“ Lynne Cameron-Finn, Largs Youth Theatre (2021 grantee) 

Funder Plus 

As a ‘Funder Plus’, YTAS aims to go beyond the money and provide additional support to build knowledge and skills which will help our grantees achieve the greatest impact through their work.  

Anyone who applies for a Grant for Youth Theatre will be invited to take part in a series of training sessions throughout the project. These will focus on supporting your project, evaluating your progress and considering next steps. It is our aim that this support will help inform and inspire YTAS members to make the most of current and future funding opportunities, raising knowledge, access and ambition in the youth theatre sector.  

These sessions will take place online and are currently scheduled for the following times:  

Grantees’ Onboarding Session: Tuesday 1 November 2022, 12.30pm 

An opportunity to meet and connect with others funded via the programme. During the session we will establish expectations of how the fund operates, and how YTAS can support you during the programme. We ask that at least one representative from each project will be available to attend the onboarding session. 

Evaluating Your Project: Tuesday 22 November 2022, 12.30pm 

This training session will help you to set outcomes from which you will be able to evaluate your project. We’ll share information you need to collect to report on the project as well as helping you identify what you want to collect for your own development going forward. This session will be recorded for anyone who cannot join live to watch in their own time. 

End-of-Project Reflections and Next Steps (Optional): Tuesday 14 March 2023, 12.30pm 

An opportunity to join together with peers to reflect on your projects progress so far. Using a reflective coaching style this session will give you space to self-evaluate and consider next steps for your project and your work. This session is optional however we hope it will be a useful tool for you to reflect in a slightly different way before submitting your project monitoring form. 

Eligibility Criteria 

In order to apply for a Grant for Youth Theatre, you must: 

• Be a current member of YTAS (If you are not currently a member of YTAS but would like to become one, you can join here)
• Be based in and working with young people in Scotland 
• Plan to begin your project between October 2022 – February 2023 
• Complete your project by June 2023 and provide a project report by March 2023 
• Be willing and available to attend 3 x grantee support sessions: Grantees’ Onboarding Session, Evaluating your Project, and End-of-Project Reflections. 
• Be willing to share your experience, learning and reflections with YTAS and your peers in Scotland’s youth theatre sector.  

Application Process 

• Applications will be accepted between 7 September and 3 October 2022  
• Funding decisions will be made by YTAS, and applicants will be informed of the outcome no later than 12 October 2022 
• Alternative Application Formats: We know that written applications don’t suit everybody, so we invite you to answer some of the questions in other formats if you’d prefer. We are happy to accept video or audio applications which answer the questions marked with a red asterisk (*) below, and are open to requests to make other reasonable adjustments to the application process to accommodate any accessibility requirements.  

About The Fund 

YTAS’s Grants for Youth Theatre scheme is made possible through the generous support of Creative Scotland’s Recovery Fund for Cultural Organisations, the Gannochy Trust and Macrobert Trust.