Photo of projector screen showing a slide with how much money was generated for social value. It was a lot - over 8 million

Communities gain £8.8m social value from SNG’s #iwill partnerships

• 5 min read

Housing association SNG (Sovereign Network Group) has revealed its first #iwill Fund programme delivered £8.79m of social value by working as a match funder on behalf of the national #iwill Fund created by the National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The SNG #iwill Fund gives young people a voice in their communities and real opportunities to help create better places to live both now and in the future. SNG worked with Creative Youth Network and The Foyer Federation to deliver the Sovereign #iwill Youth Network as well as with businesses, grassroots organisations, local authorities, and schools. 

The programme focussed on working together with projects including community cafes, community gardens, local environmental projects, school holiday programmes, food and catering projects aimed at the wider community and work to create safe and cleaner spaces to live.

Grants of up to £10,000 were awarded to local organisations who helped create the projects. Since its launch in September 2022, the SNG #iwill Fund 1.0 has awarded 24 organisations across the South and South-West of England a share of over £207,000 through two stages of funding.

96 per cent of young people who took part said that they would continue youth social action after the project finished. Data also shows that 242 young people felt they had made a positive difference to their local community from the projects and that 224 said they significantly liked living in their communities more after taking part. The work in this programme meant 289 people learnt new skills as a result. In all 535 gained accreditations and training outcomes.

Eden-Marie Jolliffe, the #iwill Fund Project Manager at SNG said: “There’s evidence that the younger people get involved with social action, the more likely they are to carry on into adulthood and so it is great to hear that nearly all of those who took part in the SNG #iwill Fund 1.0 plan to continue with youth social action. The result of our work with partners and our investment in the fund is clear; when we come together, we can make a big difference.”

SNG is now embedding the youth social action discovered in its first programme through the new SNG #iwill 2.0 called the Wellbeing Champions Programme. This three-year, £1m scheme is focused on mental health and wellbeing, a topic chosen by the SNG Youth Panel as a matter that is crucial to young people. 16 community organisations received a share of £150,000 in the first round of funding, providing opportunities for young people to make a difference in their local areas. 

Matt Buckham, Community Investment Director at SNG added: “We’ve set a vision in our new corporate plan of thriving communities, over generations and this is vital as it underlines how we as an organisation take a very long-term view. This work with young people and the fund itself reflects that we are more than just a landlord; we are committed to investing in our communities and their success. Over the next ten years, SNG will be investing £100 million in our communities which will be used to empower people who live there and increase our social impact.”

SNG is acting as an #iwill match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund through the SNG #iwill Fund. The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities.

Find out more about SNG funded projects and how to get involved.

Notes to Editors

#iwill Fund

  • The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities.
  • The #iwill Fund brings together a group of organisations who all contribute funding to embed meaningful social action into the lives of young people.
  • The #iwill Fund supports the aims of the #iwill campaign - to make involvement in social action a part of life for young people, by recognising the benefit for both young people and their communities.
  • By bringing together funders from across different sectors and by making sure that young people have a say in where the funding goes – the #iwill Fund is taking a collaborative approach.

The #iwill movement

  • The #iwill movement is a collaboration of over 1000 organisations and 300 young #iwill ambassadors. They are united by a shared belief that all children and young people should be supported and empowered to make a positive difference on the issues that affect their lives, their communities, and broader society.
  • #iwill was launched in November 2013 after an independent review into how different sectors could help more young people to make a positive difference.
  • The #iwill movement is supported by an independent coordination hub, hosted by Volunteering Matters & UK Youth.
  • Take the lead by signing up to the Power of Youth Charter at www.iwill.org.uk or follow us @iwill_movement on twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The National Lottery Community Fund

We are the largest funder of community activity in the UK – we support people and communities to prosper and thrive.

We’re proud to award money raised by National Lottery players to communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and to work closely with government to distribute vital grants and funding from key Government programmes and initiatives.

Our funding has a positive impact and makes a difference to people’s lives. We support projects focussed on things that matter, including economic prosperity, employment, young people, mental health, loneliness and helping Britain reach net zero by 2050.

Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, our funding is open to everyone. We’re privileged to be able to work with the smallest of local groups right up to nationwide charities, enabling people and communities to bring their ambitions to life.

National Lottery players raise over £30 million each week for good causes throughout Britain. Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £43 billion has been raised for good causes. National Lottery funding has been used to support over 635,000 projects - 255 projects per postcode area.