1. A YouthBank near you
If you want to find out about becoming a member of a YouthBank committee complete the contact us form or contact the YouthBank closest to you.
2. Becoming a member of YouthBank
Recruitment times for each YouthBank Committee varies throughout the year, so to find out if your local YouthBank is looking for new members just contact your nearest YouthBank Co-ordinator.
3. Age
YouthBank is open to young people from the ages of 14 up to 25. However, each individual YouthBank can set their own lower and upper limits, as long as it falls within this age-range. For example, some YouthBanks only recruit young people aged 16 and over.
4. Your role
As a member of a YouthBank Committee (normally made up of 8 to 12 members) you will be responsible for awarding small grants to other young people in your community.
5. How often does a YouthBank meet?
Generally YouthBank Committees meet one evening a week for approximately 2 hours. Groups tend to meet less over the holidays. Members also have opportunities to go on residential weekends.
6. Training & Support
All YouthBank committees are supported by an adult co-ordinator. The co-ordinator will meet with you on a weekly basis and provide you with essential training in areas such as publicity and promotion; how to carry out an interview; how to fairly assess a grant application and much more besides. The coordinator will also provide you with any other help or guidance you might need.
7. Skills & Personal Development
YouthBank is not just about giving out grants, it is a personal development programme, which will build your self-esteem and confidence and help you to learn new skills in leadership, team-work, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, negotiation, report-writing, presentation skills, running events, interview skills and lots, lots more.
8. Meeting Others
As a member of a YouthBank Committee you will get the opportunity to meet young people from other YouthBanks at different events throughout the year. This might include an exchange visit with another YouthBank or it might be a YouthBank Forum Event, which brings together all YouthBanks in the island of Ireland network to share experiences, develop ideas and have fun.
9. YouthBank Forum Steering Group
This is a group made up of 15 YouthBank members from across the YouthBank network. All members of the forum steering group will have been a member of their local YouthBank for at least 6 months and be at least 16 years old. As a member you will be a voice for young people involved in YouthBank across the island of Ireland network. You will have an opportunity to:
- Take part in teambuilding and training residentials
- Plan and run YouthBank events
- Contribute to YouthBank publications and website
- Help recruit central YouthBank staff
- Inform the YouthBank central office of any issues or ideas raised by young people in your area and provide feedback on any new developments within the YouthBank programme.
Some additional info: Membership of the forum group is for 1 ½ years and during this time members meet approximately 6 times. No more than 2 young people can apply from the same YouthBank as we want as many YouthBanks represented as possible. Being a member is voluntary and all your travel and food expenses will be covered whenever you come to a YB Forum meeting.
10. Support to funded projects
As a member of a YouthBank Committee your role will also include visiting the projects you fund. You will offer support and check that the group are spending their grant as originally agreed, reminding them to keep receipts for the money they have spent.
11. Evaluation
At the end of each year you will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your experiences of YouthBank. This is a really good way for the YouthBank staff team to find out about your experiences and any ideas you have to improve the YouthBank programme. You don’t have to put your name on the form so it is totally confidential.
12. OCN qualification
As a member of YouthBank you will also get the opportunity to complete an OCN level 2 qualification in Grant-Making. This is a nationally recognised qualification and one you can complete over 6 to 12 months, with support from your co-ordinator. To find out more about the qualification click here.