Fully Funded UK Youth Sector Fellowship

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About this opportunity

A Million Realities is a UK charity that invests in the people leading change for young people rather than in the projects they run. Its two year Fellowship brings together 8 to 12 leaders from education, youth work, adolescent mental health, youth media, policy and philanthropy, and supports them to build one shared solution for young people moving into adulthood. The 2027 cohort starts in March 2027, and the way in is a nomination, which someone can make for you or you can make for yourself.

What you get:

A fully funded two year fellowship, with core programme costs, travel and accommodation covered
A personal development budget of up to 7,000 pounds for bespoke specialist support you choose yourself, such as coaching, therapy, mentoring or training
Two residential retreats in year one, one international and one in the UK
A cohort of 8 to 12 peers from across the UK youth sector, plus group work and one to one work
Participation Feasibility Support, considered case by case, where practical or financial barriers would otherwise make taking part difficult

What you'll do:

Give up to 21 days in year one, working on yourself, the system you sit in and your relationships
Give a similar 21 days in year two, co-created with the cohort and focused on collaboration
Give a further 15 days of your own time in year two to self-directed collaborative work
Work with the cohort to develop and deliver one solution that measurably improves how young people move into adulthood
Pledge to deliver and sustain that solution for at least a year beyond the programme

Key dates:

Nominations close September 11, 2026
Suitable nominees invited to apply between August and October 2026
Applications close October 5, 2026, for nominees who are invited to apply
Interviews on October 26 and 27, 2026
Successful fellows onboarded November 2026 to March 2027
Two year programme begins March 2027

More information:

Full programme description, commitments and what is funded on the A Million Realities programme page
Selection and financial support criteria on their terms of criteria page, which still describes the 2024 intake
Questions to info@amillionrealities.com

Who can apply

You must be UK based. Their own nomination form states that the Fellowship is for UK based leaders.
Your work must affect the lives of young people in the UK, directly or indirectly, through the young people you work with, the organisations you influence, or the policies and systems you help shape.
Open to leaders and emerging leaders across education, youth work, adolescent mental health, youth media, youth policy, housing and philanthropy.
Entry is by nomination. Someone else can nominate you, or you can nominate yourself, and self nominated candidates have become fellows. A third party nomination carries more weight.
Nominees judged to have a high chance of success are invited to apply, then interviewed by experts in the mission area and in collaboration.
You need to be able to give around 21 days a year for two years, including residential retreats, one of them international.
No age criterion appears anywhere on the organisation's pages, so the null ageMin should not be read as an open age range. The published cohorts are all established professionals.
Leaders and emerging leaders working in the UK youth sector, not young people applying on their own behalf. The 2024 and 2025 cohorts are chief executives, deputy chief executives, directors, charity founders, national funders and a senior policy adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Read it as a mid career and senior leadership fellowship for people whose work already shapes young people's lives.

About this opportunity

What you get:

A fully funded two year fellowship, with core programme costs, travel and accommodation covered
A personal development budget of up to 7,000 pounds for bespoke specialist support you choose yourself, such as coaching, therapy, mentoring or training
Two residential retreats in year one, one international and one in the UK
A cohort of 8 to 12 peers from across the UK youth sector, plus group work and one to one work
Participation Feasibility Support, considered case by case, where practical or financial barriers would otherwise make taking part difficult

What you'll do:

Give up to 21 days in year one, working on yourself, the system you sit in and your relationships
Give a similar 21 days in year two, co-created with the cohort and focused on collaboration
Give a further 15 days of your own time in year two to self-directed collaborative work
Work with the cohort to develop and deliver one solution that measurably improves how young people move into adulthood
Pledge to deliver and sustain that solution for at least a year beyond the programme

Key dates:

Nominations close September 11, 2026
Suitable nominees invited to apply between August and October 2026
Applications close October 5, 2026, for nominees who are invited to apply
Interviews on October 26 and 27, 2026
Successful fellows onboarded November 2026 to March 2027
Two year programme begins March 2027

More information:

Full programme description, commitments and what is funded on the A Million Realities programme page
Selection and financial support criteria on their terms of criteria page, which still describes the 2024 intake
Questions to info@amillionrealities.com

Who can apply

You must be UK based. Their own nomination form states that the Fellowship is for UK based leaders.
Your work must affect the lives of young people in the UK, directly or indirectly, through the young people you work with, the organisations you influence, or the policies and systems you help shape.
Open to leaders and emerging leaders across education, youth work, adolescent mental health, youth media, youth policy, housing and philanthropy.
Entry is by nomination. Someone else can nominate you, or you can nominate yourself, and self nominated candidates have become fellows. A third party nomination carries more weight.
Nominees judged to have a high chance of success are invited to apply, then interviewed by experts in the mission area and in collaboration.
You need to be able to give around 21 days a year for two years, including residential retreats, one of them international.
No age criterion appears anywhere on the organisation's pages, so the null ageMin should not be read as an open age range. The published cohorts are all established professionals.
Leaders and emerging leaders working in the UK youth sector, not young people applying on their own behalf. The 2024 and 2025 cohorts are chief executives, deputy chief executives, directors, charity founders, national funders and a senior policy adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Read it as a mid career and senior leadership fellowship for people whose work already shapes young people's lives.

Fully Funded UK Youth Sector Fellowship

About this opportunity

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Fully Funded UK Youth Sector Fellowship

About this opportunity

Who can apply

AI Verification

Good to know

Worth checking yourself

What we could not confirm

Sources checked