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Impact Arts receives youth employability funding!

Thu 07th August 2025

Impact Arts is pleased to share that we have received several new grants to support our youth employability programmes. This recent flurry of funding means we can continue offering creative opportunities that help young people build confidence, learn new skills, and take steps toward their future. It’s a big boost for our team and the communities we work with – and we’re grateful to the funders who’ve made it possible.

Garfield Weston Foundation

A huge thank you to the Garfield Weston Foundation for their generous contribution of £20,000 per year for two years for Impactful Starts.

The Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-making organisation that supports a broad spectrum of charities across the UK, donating approximately £100 million each year. These include organisations in the arts, welfare, youth, community development, education, environment, health, heritage, and more.

Impactful Starts – which will now benefit from Garfield Weston’s funding – is our free-to-attend creative employability programme for young people. This programme provides a safe, accessible space for 16-24 year olds to: get creative, make new friends, build confidence, gain qualifications, develop new skills, and get support to progress.

Young people get to explore activities such as painting, digital art, musicmaking, theatre, or creative writing while developing their employability skills. This programme is especially suitable for young people who have autism, ADHD, disabilities, anxiety or mental health conditions, or experience of being bullied.

Any funding given to Impactful Starts directly helps young people discover their passion, gain valuable skills, and plan next steps for their future.

The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust

Thank you also to The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust for contributing £6,000 to be used between September 2025 and June 2026 for Impactful Starts in Glasgow. This funding will go towards a music project as part of our creative youth employability programme for young people from areas of multiple deprivation.

Dame Bridget D’Oyly Carte was the granddaughter of Richard D’Oyly Carte, the renowned theatrical impresario who founded the Savoy Theatre in 1881 and the Savoy Hotel in 1889.

In 1972, Dame Bridget created The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust to reflect her personal passions, particularly her love of theatre, music, gardening, and her commitment to supporting disadvantaged and disabled children. Today, the Trust honours her legacy through three core grant programmes: The Arts, Medical Welfare, and The Environment.

The Hugh Fraser Foundation

We’d also like to thank The Hugh Fraser Foundation for their contribution of £5,000 youth employability funding towards Impactful Starts in Glasgow.

The Hugh Fraser Foundation provides donations to registered charities working across a range of sectors, including arts and culture, health and medical care, environmental initiatives, education, and support for children, older people, individuals with disabilities, and those facing disadvantage.

Their funding policy prioritises projects and activities based in Scotland, with a particular focus on areas where economic challenges or local circumstances make charitable fundraising more difficult.

Give a young person a brighter future

In our 2024/25 Impactful Starts groups, 94% improved their employability skills and 71% progressed into further study, training, or work. Impactful Starts is changing lives and these recent successful grants are welcome good news. But sadly, there’s still a funding gap. To keep this transformative programme running, we need your help to bridge this gap and help more young people build brighter futures.

Donate before August 29 and be automatically entered into our prize draw to WIN one of three framed artworks!

Thank you!

Impact Arts is a community arts charity based in Scotland. Since 1994, we’ve been delivering creative arts and support programmes for children, young people, adults, families, and older people who are facing disadvantages or barriers to progress in life. Our mission is to tackle inequalities, address poverty, and transform lives through art and creativity.  

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