Doncaster, Tuesday 22 June – Health, charity and political leaders dedicated to improving childhoods in South Yorkshire are joining forces to launch a first-of-its-kind investment fund today.
The £500,000 Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund will mobilise the private sector, philanthropists, and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority to spend money on projects in South Yorkshire that specifically help children. It is the first dedicated ‘child centred’ investment fund in the country, using the Child Lens Investment Framework implemented globally by Save the Children Global Ventures.
Following a successful pilot, the fund will be rolled out in full in 2027 with hopes it can grow into a multi-million pound resource. Young people across South Yorkshire will help shape investment decisions to make sure the money is spent in ways that directly impact children. The fresh investment comes as a major focus on children’s wellbeing gets underway this summer with two key moments drawing focus on how South Yorkshire’s 300,000 children could be better supported. First, Doncaster will host a child poverty summit, Dream Big South Yorkshire on July 1 and 2. The event - led by Save the Children, the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Chilypep, the Children and Young People’s Alliance - will involve more than 300 children, families and regional experts sharing their expertise and drawing up solutions to help families.
Second, the official South Yorkshire Year of the Child gets underway. Inspired by the 150th anniversary of the pioneering Sheffield Children’s Hospital in 2026, the 12 month focus on childhood across the region will be a powerful movement to focus minds on regional health inequalities.
Sarah Godfrey, Senior Community Lead for Save the Children UK, South Yorkshire, said:
“South Yorkshire is a national trailblazer with this new fund for children. In the short-term, it’s going to help some amazing local organisations to work with communities to tackle poverty. Long term, we’re hoping this can grow to help thousands of local children. Other parts of the country can take inspiration from South Yorkshire in how to invest in children, and help communities now and in the future.”
South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard said:
“Every child in South Yorkshire deserves the best possible start in life - the chance to grow up happy, healthy and able to fulfil their potential. But for too many families, that isn’t the reality today.
“The Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund is about driving that change - backing local organisations, listening to communities, and putting children and young people at the heart of the decisions we make.
“By bringing together public funding, philanthropy and social investment, we’re showing what’s possible when people come together with a shared purpose.
“That’s how we begin to turn the tide - not just for today, but for the long term - and build a fairer, healthier South Yorkshire where every child has the chance to stay near and go far.”
The £500,000 Dream Big South Yorkshire Fund will be made up from £125,000 from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, £125,000 from private philanthropic partners secured by Save the Children UK and £250,000 from social impact organisation Key Fund’s supporters.
The fund provides a combination of microloans, loans and grants for selected organisations working with children and families in communities most impacted by poverty. This unique structure will address the nature of South Yorkshire’s funding gap where many organisations are capable of doing work to support children locally but aren’t yet in a position to apply for conventional finance.
It will be managed by Key Fund and South Yorkshire Community Foundation with advisory support from Save the Children Global Ventures. The first financing agreements are going to community groups in August.
Ruth Brown, CEO of Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said:
“At Sheffield Children’s our purpose is to create healthier futures for children and young people. For 150 years we have been caring for children from from Sheffield, South Yorkshire and beyone and we see every day how poverty shapes children’s lives.
“We know that to tackle this, we need to work together. Supporting children’s health is one of the most powerful ways to break the cycle of poverty, and we’re proud to be working with together with partners across the region as part of the South Yorkshire Year of the Child to create real, lasting change.”
The focus on children forms part of wider work by SYMCA and partners to develop a child poverty action plan to address vulnerabilities. The Dream Big: Children & Families Commission will be created to support this action plan, which plans to include 16 young people, parents and carers from communities most affected by poverty. They bring lived experience and insight to ensure they are the heart of decision-making.
Notes to editor: To attend or set up interviews in advance please contact [email protected]
The Dream Big Summit will be held in Doncaster on July 1 and 2 at the Doncaster Corn Exchange and Wool Market. It will see 300 attendees across both days, including young people, families, community leaders, senior decision makers, policy shapers, funders and investors coming together to create solutions that tackle child poverty and strengthen children’s health, wellbeing and opportunities.
The Year of the Child 2026-2027 is co-led by: Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Save the Children UK, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), South Yorkshire Children and Young People’s Alliance and Chilypep (Children and Young People’s Empowerment Project).