O2 Think Big

Overview

They want to change the way young people think about themselves and their communities. And in doing so, change the way young people are perceived.

Important things to know…

• Think Big is for people aged 13 to 25 years old in the UK
• It’s to help make things better in your local community
• Your project should be up and running within three months of being accepted
• And you cannot apply directly for £2500, you must do your £300 project first, and only if everything is going really well might you get invited to apply for more.

How old do I have to be to apply?

To apply for Think Big, you must be between 13 and 25 years old. Any friends or supporters working with you on your project can be any age.

Can individuals apply?

Yes, they'll happily accept individuals into Think Big. They like to know that individuals have the support they need to make their project a success. So, it’s good to make sure you have a good application supporter and that you think about what friends could help you by becoming project members. If you are involved in a youth organisation you can also get them on board. Check out this.

What is the criteria for applying?

They try to keep the criteria simple because we want to support all types of projects. But they still have basic criteria that all projects must meet.

The project must:

1. Be based in the UK
2. Be created and run by someone between 13-25 years old 3. Not be part of paid employment
3. Not aim to convert people to a political or religious organisation
4. Not be an application for funds alone
5. Not be to fund someone’s training or purchase equipment if there isn’t some tangible benefit to others
6. Have a positive impact outside of the project group
7. Be safe for all participants
8. Have a positive impact on the founder’s and members’ personal development

Additionally at Level 1, the project must:

1. Be realistic for £300, or be a small clearly defined project within a bigger idea
2. Be underway within three months and completed within six
3. Have a beginning, middle, and end

At Level 2, the project must also:

1. Be realistic for £2500, or be a clearly defined project within a bigger and longer-term idea
2. Be underway within three months and completed within one year
3. Have a much greater impact upon, and interaction with, the community beyond the Level 1 project completed
4. Be more multi-dimensional, introducing new or different elements to the Level 1 project

What sort of project do I have to do?

They love big ideas; the bigger, the better. But what they support are realistic and achievable projects that can be done with £300 and £2500. That’s why their slogan is “Start small, Think Big.”

So, the first thing to understand is that they provide funding for projects not ideas. The difference between an idea and a project can be difficult to understand, but essentially a project is something that will help to turn an idea into reality.

For example, an idea would be: I want to help older people learn how to use social media. A project would be: Holding six weekly hour-long sessions with older people at the local retirement home teaching them how to navigate YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook.

The second thing to remember is that your project must either positively impact or tackle a problem within your community or wider society. Projects that only help one person or the project group won’t be accepted.

Take a look at this if you need some inspiration.

What can I spend the money on?

Think Big expects projects to only use the funds to purchase things directly related to the project. Examples of appropriate purchases are:

• Materials & Equipment (the funding can not be just for equipment)
• Cost of renting space
• Transportation
• Advertising

The funds cannot be used to:

• Pay yourself or other people helping you a wage
• Pay for yourself or others on your project team to be trained (if there is no tangible benefit to the project at the end of it). For example, Think Big will not allow its funds to be used to pay for you to do a Web development course if the project does not involve creating a website or webpage that has strong community benefit
• Financial support a religious or political organisation with obvious intentions of conversion

When you apply you’ll need to tell them as much as you can about how you’ll use the money and why it’s needed.