The Henry Smith Shout! Fund is open for applications
Shout! is here to make sure young people are heard. Up to £240,000 is available.
Who can apply
Shout! is focused on services that provide independent, person-led, non-statutory advocacy. Your organisation also needs to meet the following eligibility criteria:
Be a formally registered, not-for-profit organisation with a charitable purpose (e.g. CIO, CIC, community benefit society)
Be based in the United Kingdom, and ensure the work you are applying for supports people living here
Have an annual income of £5 million or less, as shown in your most recent published accounts. There is no lower limit, and we welcome applications from smaller organisations
Have audited or independently inspected published annual accounts
If you already have a grant from the Henry Smith Foundation, please email buildingindependence@henrysmith.foundation and speak with us first.
Have an up-to-date safeguarding policy and practice
It welcomes different approaches, but is not able to fund services that only offer:
Peer support groups that bring young people together around shared experience, but without a focus on rights, voice, or structured goal-setting
Mentoring or befriending that is mainly about emotional support or personal development
Information, advice, and guidance (IAG) that’s limited to signposting or one-off advice
Service navigation that doesn’t have a rights-based or person-led advocacy approach
This isn’t a complete list, but it should give a sense of what falls outside the scope of this fund. If you’re not sure whether it qualifies, reach out for a conversation.
Eligible Expenditure
You don’t need to call your work ‘advocacy’ to apply. Henry Smith are interested in funding services that support young people to speak up, make choices, and secure their rights. If your work aligns with these key features, they encourage you to apply:
Person-led – The young person being supported sets the agenda. You walk alongside them, not ahead or over them - unless that’s what they want or ask for.
Forward-focused – You support young people to move toward goals that matter to them, whether it’s finding a home, accessing support, building confidence, or challenging a system. You should be able to show how you know when progress has been made, or a goal has been achieved.
Independent – The service is not tied to care or treatment provision or a particular authority. Staff can act in the young person’s best interests and represent their wishes without conflict.
Support individuals with rights, decisions, and systems – You help young people to:
Understand their options
Navigate services
Be involved in decisions about their life
Challenge unfair treatment
Speak up about what matters to them
Self-improvement – Whether through one-to-one work, group spaces, peer support or self-advocacy, your service builds young people’s skills, confidence, and ability to express their needs now and in the future.
Accessible and inclusive – Your support adapts to individual communication needs, cultural backgrounds, identities and lived experience. It is trauma-informed, gender-informed and culturally-informed.
Regular engagement that isn’t time-limited – Whether in one-to-one or group settings, your service provides opportunities for regular engagement over time, allowing young people to build trusting relationships.
If you’re unsure whether your service fits, contact buildingindependence@henrysmith.foundation for an informal conversation.
How to apply
First take a simple online quiz to find out whether your organisation is eligible to apply https://henrysmith.foundation/eligibility-checker/building-independence/ Eligible organisations will be able to submit an expression of interest.
Submit an Expression of Interest. The deadline to submit your EOI is Wednesday 20th August 2025.
They'll let you know if you have been invited to submit a full application by Friday 5th September 2025.
Submit a full application. If you're invited to this stage, they’ll ask more detailed questions about your work.
You’ll have a phone conversation with a member of the Henry Smith team.
20 grants will be awarded following the full application stage.
Useful Links