YouthBank International

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YouthBank International YouthBank International has always been about the transformation of society where young people of the world are placed in the spotlight. OUR VISION? OUR MISSION?

YouthBank International (YBI) is a registered charitable company under UK law. With over 20 years of expertise in non-formal education, fundraising, financial literacy, critical thinking, and problem solving we have developed the model that combines philanthropy, social entrepreneurship and youth development. The YouthBank model is a unique, simple, and adaptable method of involving young people in community activities. It shifts the power, money, and attitudes to demonstrate the value of participatory grant-making at a grassroots level based on a simple, flexible and transferable idea – that YouthBanks are funds run by young people to support practical, youth-led projects that address issues that matter to them to improve their communities. The YouthBank model was born in 1999 in UK, as a pilot programme, which tested the youth-led funding model. The success of the YouthBank approach caught the attention of community and private foundations in other countries, mainly in the Balkans and former Soviet Republics. Until today, YouthBank model has been implemented in 36 countries worldwide. Imagine communities and neighbourhoods in every country where young people routinely make decisions of economic and social significance. Consider just for a moment what that would look like? What could change economically, politically and culturally as a result of young people’s involvement? YouthBank International`s mission is to work with worldwide organisations who want to give young people authentic leadership, decision-making and community-building opportunities while growing the network and supporting young people through grant-making. We have developed a framework, training and resources that enable organisations to provide necessary support with confidence and integrity. YouthBank International seeks to build an ecosystem of individuals, organisations and businesses that share our values and our aim of bringing decision making opportunities to young people. If you want to find out more information, you can check out our website, or contact us directly on: [email protected]

08/10/2026

The Africa Community Foundations Convening, taking place in 📍 Mombasa, Kenya, has placed "Youth Philanthropy: The YouthBank Approach" directly within its program on grant-making and the next generation of local philanthropy.

The session explored how young people can be resourced and trusted to make grants in their own communities, and what this can offer African community foundations.

And this is where the conversation becomes particularly interesting.

One message stands out:
“You [young people] can bring a new energy into your institution.”

That is youth power.
Not replacing experience with youth.
Not assuming that every young person thinks the same. But bringing different generations, experiences and perspectives together, and being willing to learn from each other.

The YouthBank methodology turns that principle into practice: young people are trusted with real resources and real decisions, while adults provide the training, support and advice needed for them to lead.

Because if we are serious about the future of philanthropy and community development, young people cannot only be the people we are funding. They also need to be the people making decisions about where resources go.

What a topic for final day of convening!

Lead on this session was our dear Thembekile Maseko - Board Member of YBI & Executive Director, Africa Youth Philanthropy Network (AYPN) supported my Jeremy Marco Maarman - YBI Associate, ICA & Uhuru Creations. Thank you guys 🫶🏼

07/10/2026

Don't just create a youth program. Create a structure for youth power.

Young people don't need another program where adults decide the priorities, design the activities and ask young people to participate.
They need opportunities to make decisions themselves.

The YouthBank GO! Package gives organisations the methodology, training, curriculum, tools and ongoing support to establish a YouthBank where young people can:
➡️ Identify issues in their community
➡️ Set priorities
➡️ Manage a real grant fund
➡️ Assess project ideas
➡️ Make funding decisions
➡️ Measure impact

Your organisation creates the conditions.
Young people take the power.

❓️ Ready to build a YouthBank?
‼️ Explore the GO! Package. More info on the link 👇🏽 https://youthbankinternational.org/start-youthbank/

A local problem can feel much bigger than just one young person. Until young people are given the opportunity to do some...
06/10/2026

A local problem can feel much bigger than just one young person. Until young people are given the opportunity to do something about it.

Across YouthBank, young people identify issues in their communities, decide what deserves attention and support projects designed by other young people to address those issues.

The impact isn't only the project that gets funded. It is the moment a young person discovers:
🌱 I don't have to wait for someone else to fix this.
🌱 I can understand the problem.
🌱 I can bring people together.
🌱 I can help decide what happens next.
🌱 I can act.

That is youth power in practice. 💚

We often talk about giving young people a voice.But having a voice and having power are not the same thing. You can be a...
05/10/2026

We often talk about giving young people a voice.

But having a voice and having power are not the same thing. You can be asked what you think without having any influence over what happens next.

YouthBank takes a different approach.

Young people identify issues in their communities, define priorities, manage real funds and decide which projects receive support.

They don't just give their opinion.
They make decisions.
Because real youth power means having the opportunity to influence what happens, and having the responsibility that comes with it.

Real decisions.
Real money.
Real change.

Behind every number is a young person who got to make a decision. 40+ countries.Nearly 500 YouthBanks.15,000+ projects.£...
01/10/2026

Behind every number is a young person who got to make a decision.

40+ countries.
Nearly 500 YouthBanks.
15,000+ projects.
£7+ million distributed.
4+ million people reached.

These numbers demonstrate the scale of YouthBank. But they don't capture what happens behind the scenes.

The first difficult conversation.
The debate over which issue matters most.
The application that changes someone's mind.
The decision to fund an idea that nobody expected.
The responsibility of knowing that the money is real, and that your decision matters.
That's where the real learning happens.

And that's why, after more than 25 years, the YouthBank methodology continues to grow.

Because young people don't learn leadership by being told about it. They practise it.

YouthBank exists in different countries, communities and contexts.The issues young people identify are different.The pro...
29/09/2026

YouthBank exists in different countries, communities and contexts.

The issues young people identify are different.
The projects are different.
The people are different.
But the same fundamental experience connects them: Young people are trusted with real responsibility.

Over time, those individual experiences become thousands of stories of skills developed, decisions made, projects created and communities changed.

One methodology.
Many communities.
Thousands of stories.

You see funded projects.You see young people creating change.But behind every YouthBank project are hours of training, r...
28/09/2026

You see funded projects.
You see young people creating change.

But behind every YouthBank project are hours of training, research, discussion, assessment and decision-making.
That's where much of the learning happens.

Young people aren't simply given an opportunity to create change. They're given the opportunity to learn how to lead it.

Behind the scenes is where the skills are built.

YouthBank doesn't happen because an organisation simply creates a youth program.It happens when an organisation is willi...
24/09/2026

YouthBank doesn't happen because an organisation simply creates a youth program.
It happens when an organisation is willing to create the conditions for young people to take responsibility.

That means providing support, resources and safeguarding, while allowing young people to research, question, decide and lead.

Over more than two decades, organisations around the world have used the YouthBank methodology to do exactly that.

The organisation is the enabler.
Young people are the decision-makers.
And that distinction matters.

23/09/2026

The YouthBank GO! Package is more than a toolkit. A toolkit can give you resources. YouthBank GO! gives you a methodology and a community.

Behind the scenes, organisations implementing YouthBank have access to training, learning resources, impact tools, certification and global peer support.

Because starting a YouthBank isn't just about knowing what to do. It's about knowing how to create the conditions for young people to do it themselves.

That's what GO! is designed to support.

Bring YouthBank to your organisation! More info here https://youthbankinternational.org/start-youthbank/

A YouthBank project doesn't always end when the funding runs out.Sometimes, a small idea becomes the beginning of someth...
22/09/2026

A YouthBank project doesn't always end when the funding runs out.

Sometimes, a small idea becomes the beginning of something much bigger - a new initiative, a stronger community connection, a social enterprise or a young person discovering that they can create change.

That's one of the stories we want to uncover.
Not just: "What did YouthBank fund?"
But: "What happened next?"

Because impact doesn't always end with the project.
Sometimes, that's where it starts.

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Belfast
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+44 (0) 2890 245927

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