Successful Scottish youth arts programme renewed with increased budget

A further £3m has been allocated to Scotland’s Cashback for Creativity programme, the initiative that uses money recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act to create arts opportunities for young people. The money is being promised following an evaluation of the second phase of the programme, which has revealed that 21,000 opportunities for young people to engage in the youth arts were created from 2011–2014.

CashBack for Creativity – a branch of the wider CashBack for Communities initiative – works in partnership with the Youth Arts Development Hubs, the National Youth Arts Strategy, and Youthlink Scotland to increase the numbers of young people participating in high quality arts programmes.  £200,000 of the £3m will go to the Open Arts Fund, the strand of CashBack for Creativity delivered with Youthlink Scotland, to which individuals can apply for up to £10,000.

The evaluation of the previous phase of the scheme reveals that attempts to engage young people in need by visiting every school in a target area are particularly successful at achieving participation amongst those who would be considered vulnerable or at risk of offending. It suggests too that the projects delivered directly by organisations that are trusted by excluded people in the wider community, and those that were prepared to spend time and resources building a network of friends among participants, were the most likely to sustain young people’s involvement and progression.

CashBack for Creativity’s dispersal of funds through both “a managed programme of investment and through an open application process” is labelled a success, with the former resulting in a more strategic approach to the progression of young people and the development of capacity among delivery organisations, while the latter has helped to create a diverse programme, enabling new providers such as the Dance Open Fund to test approaches to supporting young people across Scotland.

CEO of YouthLink Scotland, Jim Sweeney, noted the impact that the scheme will have on future generations: “Money from CashBack has offered so many youngsters the chance of a more positive path in life. Using arts combined with great youth work develops confidence, life skills and makes learning fun. I hope this latest round of funding will inspire more and more young people through participation in the arts. Investing in youth work really does changes young people’s lives.”