Youth Ocean Action Fund

Removing barriers for the next generation of ocean advocates. 

Project/Campaign Grant

The Project/Campaign Grant will support young people to get their marine advocacy projects or campaigns off the ground, whether that’s one-off events or start-up costs for an ongoing activity that is connected to advocacy.

All activities must be conducted in Scotland. 

Applications will be open once per year. 2025 applications are now closed - stay tuned for 2026!

£100 to £500 available!

Ideas and inspo

  • Example: Local Shorewatch group

    Train yourself up in whale & dolphin monitoring and set up a regular Shorewatch meet up for your local community to collect regular data on local sightings. Shorewatch training is free and available to do online so the fund could help with initial equipment and advertising costs. See details here.  

    Cost: Binoculars x2 £150, ID guides £30, posters and advertising costs £50, Total £230 

  • Example: Community film night

    Organise a film night showcasing different films about the ocean and ocean campaigns to your local community. Maybe it’s a local filmmaker, a series of shorts or accompanied by a Q&A, films can be a fantastic way to inspire your community to take action.

    Cost: Venue hire £100, advertising/printing costs £50, film rights £100, curator/organiser time £100, Total £350 

  • Example: Student campaign to use sustainable seafood

    Getting together with fellow like-minded students to organise a campaign to get your university, school or college to commit to using only sustainable seafoods in catering outlets, linking up with existing organisations and campaigns (i.e. Open Seas, Off the table etc) for support. This might be an ongoing project that you want to launch using this fund.  

    Cost: Venue hire (usually free at unis), website design £100, advertising/printing costs £100, student survey outreach time £150 Total £350 

  • Example: Ocean exhibition

    Organise an exhibition of your own artwork, other artists or work with Our Seas to bring the Coastal Testimonies photography exhibition to your local community.  Host an exhibition opening with the artist/other speakers to maximise local engagement.

    Cost: Venue for 2 day exhibition £200, curation/logistics £50, refreshments £50, speaker travel/expenses £150, Total £450 

Timeline & Deadlines 2025

All relevant dates and deadlines for the Project/campaign grants are shown here on the timeline.

Please note: applications for this grant will only be open once per year so get your bids in while you can!

Key Information

How to come up with your idea

We will always make sure there is plenty of time from when we announce the grant is open to the deadline to make sure you have plenty of time to develop your ideas for the grant.

For inspiration, we recommend looking at the examples above and watching our online Q&A webinar here.

The YSCS team is also available to support you to develop your ideas or offer guidance on writing your budget whilst applications are open. If you still have questions after reading this webpage, watching the Q&A session and exploring the FAQs below, please get in touch to chat with the team at contact@youthforseas.org. 

How to apply

Applications should be submitted via an online form, which will ask for details about what you’re applying to spend money on. We will ask for a full-costed budget for the project/campaign grants.  

There are also options in the form to apply via video application or other method if you prefer. Any questions regarding the application process or any access needs can be directed towards contact@youthforseas.org and we’ll make sure you’re supported to apply. 

Applications for 2025 are now closed.

✺ Frequently asked questions ✺

  • We are welcoming applications with a very open brief for the first year. As long as your project or campaign idea is related to a marine issue and includes an advocacy element (see the key themes for some ideas), we’d love to hear about it. If you have questions or want to talk through your idea more, please attend one of our online Q&A sessions or get in touch at contact@youthforseas.org. 

  • The Individual grant is specifically for a personal training or skill development opportunity, whereas the Project/campaign grant is for more of a group or organised activity, so is open to applications for more money. If you’re not sure which category your idea fits into please get in touch at contact@youthforseas.org. 

  • It can be tricky! We’d recommend making a spreadsheet which lists all the possible costs associated with your project, and a best guess for how much they’d be. Make sure you include everything you need to deliver the project. Try researching similar products, travel options or even getting in touch with venues to find out hire costs. Again, if you need any support with this, please get in touch.  

  • Applications will be assessed against the following criteria: 

    • Is the project or campaign in line with the key themes of the fund? 

    • Is the project or campaign realistic (both in terms of timeline and money needed)? 

    • Does the project support YSCS’s general ethos? 

    Applications will be assessed anonymously to minimise any unconscious bias and will be assessed by a panel comprising YSCS staff and young trustees.  

  • For project/campaign grants:
    If you don’t receive a grant this year, don’t be discouraged! Our funding is limited, so while we may have loved your idea, we simply couldn’t support it this time. You’re welcome to reapply with the same project or campaign in a future application round. If it’s still unsuccessful, we encourage you to explore new ideas or consider other funding opportunities that may be a better fit.

    For individual grants:
    If your application isn’t successful, you’re welcome to reapply in the next application round.

  • For project/campaign grants:
    Funds must be spent, and receipts submitted by December 2025. The exact deadline will be specified in your grant agreement.

    For individual grants:
    You will have three months from the date you receive the funds to spend them. As with project grants, the exact deadline will be outlined in your grant agreement.

  • No, once you’ve been awarded funding you will need to spend the money on what you’ve told us it’s for. Of course, we understand sometimes projects might need to adapt to new circumstances, so we will support you with any changes, however the core of the project or campaign must remain the same. If you are no longer able to deliver your project you must return the funds.  

  • We collect equal opportunities information (i.e. questions on race, class, gender, disability etc) for everything we do, so we can understand how accessible, inclusive and diverse our activities are, and make sure we’re engaging with young people from all backgrounds.  

    For the Ocean Action Fund, we will collect this data in your application form, however it will be separated from your application for review. We will follow our data Privacy Policy and all information will be kept confidential. 

  • All applications will be assessed on merit and alignment with the criteria above. If two applications have the same number of points, we may award an additional point to applicants from underrepresented backgrounds / identities (see above).  This is called ‘positive action’. 

    This is because these groups are currently underrepresented in the marine sector and YSCS in general, and we want to address these inequalities as best we can.  

  • In short, yes. The fund is open to young people specifically to support youth-led action. If you have an idea to support an existing (non-youth-led) project, that is fine but the key activity must be driven and organised by young people.  

  • If you are awarded a project/campaign grant, we’ll arrange a kick-off meeting with you and the YSCS team to discuss your project idea and the support you might need. Some projects might require regular check-ins , while others might only need a conversation after the project is complete – it will totally depend on your needs. Individual grants will generally not require a meeting unless it’s required by the recipient.

  • You’ll need to provide evidence of all your expenses, equal to the sum of money you applied for/received. This will be set out in our Grant Agreement but will most likely be receipts and invoices – so remember to keep all your documents! 

  • We would love to hear how you used the money and what impact it had on you, your community or the ocean. We will invite all recipients to contribute a blog or social media post, presentation or something else to share their experience and help promote the fund for next year.