Tottenham Youth Fund
Community development > Tottenham Youth Fund
The Tottenham Youth Fund has been set up by Councillor Seema Chandwani and David Lammy MP.
Every year Cllr Chandwani will be donating £1,000 of her Councillor allowance to the young people of Tottenham and this has been matched by a personal donation of £1,000 by David Lammy MP. The rest of the funds will be raised by crowd-funding and donations from local businesses and organisations.
The Tottenham Youth Fund is being administered by The Selby Trust.
NEW UPDATE: Winter Fund 2020
Due to the COVID Pandemic, applications for the Tottenham Youth Fund are for youth organisations to distribute supermarket vouchers for young people and their families in need in the Tottenham Constituency. Applications close on the 1st December 2020 at 12pm. The form and guidance notes are below.
Donate to the Tottenham Youth Fund
The Tottenham Youth Fund is reliant on donations. The more donations we receive, the more organisations we can say yes to.
Councillor Seema Chandwani and David Lammy MP have pledged to donate £1,000 each for the next 3 years (a total of £6,000). But to fulfil as many requests from young people as possible, we need your help.
There are several ways you can donate:
Crowdfunding Page
You can donate directly to the Tottenham Youth Fund crowd-funding page via Go Fund Me by clicking here
Regular Donation
If you wish to make a regular donation of a certain amount each month, you can set up a Direct Debit. Please email us on
Apply to the Tottenham Youth Fund
If you are an organisation working with young people or their families in the Tottenham Constituency then you can apply. Application and guidance notes are below.
Deadline Date: 1st December 2020 - 12pm (late applications will not be accepted)
Applications should be sent to
The decision committee meets shortly after and makes a decision on the ones received.
Where can I get a form?
You can download all the documents you need below.
TYF Winter Fund Guidance Notes
TYF Winter Fund application form (Word)
Previous applications
September 2019
The successful applications from September 2019 are:
Reuben
Age: 17
Project / Organisation: Bruce Grove Youth Space
Applied for: Reuben and his friends applied for £250 to help with the costs of their talent show in December
Natalia
Age: 13
Project / Organisation: Haringey Play Association / Somerford Grove Adventure Playground
Applied for: Natalia and her friends applied for £250 for their end of year party they are organising for other young people and
their families
July 2019
The successful applications from July 2019 are:
Ted
Age: 17
Project / Organisation: Tottenham District Scounts
Applied for: Ted applied for £250 to pay for camping equipment and costs for a trip to the Lake District for young people who would otherwise not afford to go
Kristina
Age: 14
Project / Organisation: Northumberland Park Girls Club
Applied for: Kristina and her friend Bianca applied for £234 so their girls group could go on a trip to the London Dungeons over the summer holidays
Kyro
Age: 11
Project / Organisation: Project 2020
Applied for: Kyro and his friends applied for £176.97 to buy a range of equipment for their youth club including a keyboard, playstation games and pool cues
April 2019
The successful applications from April 2019 are:
Belle
Age: 11
Project / Organisation: Black Arts Production
Applied for: Belle and her friends; Zahani and Kaliyah applied for £238.98 to purchase a Video Camera and DVDs so they could film a theatre performance about the dangers of knife crime so it can be used in schools across Tottenham
Niayla
Age: 15
Project / Organisation: Haringey Shed
Applied for: Naiyla and her friends; Sienna, Tatiana and Shandezz applied for £250 to purchase hoodies for their theatre group
Ashley
Age: 14
Project / Organisation: LIFT/The Vale School
Applied for: Ashley and his friends; Zerda, Deshawn, Hemish, Sudenaz and Reuben are working on producing an argumented reality game about the diverse lives in Tottenham. They are planning a trip to the BBC in May to visit their Virtual Reality hub to learn more about this technology. The group of young people include young people with disabilities who require transport to be able to attend the trip. They applied for £250 towards transport costs of their trip.
Abena
Age: 11
Project / Organisation: Markfield
Applied for: Abena applied for funding to get equipment for the afterschool and holiday club she attends at Markfield. Abena and all of the young people were really good at sourcing a number of items for £250 including basketballs, footballs, badminton equipment, musical instruments and sensory toys. Markfield run afterschool clubs and holiday schemes for young people with learning difficulties, autism and their siblings
Spending
Spending Update: 16th October 2019
Total Raised: £3,837 (as showing on the crowd-funding website)
-
£2,343 Via Go Fund Me (Crowdfunding)
-
£1,1494 Via offline donations from Cllr Seema Chandwani + David Lammy MP*
Total Spent: £1,903.34
-
£51.54: Go Fund Me Transaction Fees - (1.9% + 20p)
-
£191.85: Admin fee to Selby Trust (5%)*
-
£2,159.95: Distributed to projects
*The Selby Trust process all grants awarded, enable us to have an email/website page and also include our funds into their Accounts so they are audited.
Decision committee
Cllr Seema Chandwani:
Seema is the former Deputy Head of Youth Services for Haringey Council and the Former Director of Operations for the Damilola Taylor Trust. Seema was elected in December 2018 as the Councillor for West Green ward in Tottenham, Haringey. It was at her election she committed to donate some of her Councillor allowance to set up the Tottenham Youth Fund with her friend and Tottenham MP David Lammy.
David Lammy MP:
David has been the MP for Tottenham since 2000 and in that time he also served as the Minister for Higher Education. David was born in Tottenham on 19th July, 1972, one of five children raised by a black single mother. David became the first Black Briton to study a Masters in Law at the Harvard Law School in 1997. When approached by his friend Seema about his thoughts in setting up the fund - David instantly offered to match her annual donation.
Dr Victor Olisa QPM:
Chief superintendent Dr. Victor Olisa QPM is a retired senior police officer who served in the Metropolitan Police in London, England. He served as borough commander in Haringey after the riots where he was involved in various projects to build community relations. Dr Olisa went on to be the Londonwide Head of Diversity for the Met Police before he retired in 2017. Dr Olisa is now a Trustee for the Selby Trust.
Contact us
The Tottenham Youth Fund can be contacted by email on tyf@selbytrust.co.uk
FAQs
Can we apply for staffing?
Can schools apply?
No. Only young people between 11 - 19 years old can apply. Organisations and institutions cannot apply. Young people from your organisation and institutions can apply, including schools. However for schools the application must be for activities that are not during school hours or as part of the curriculum. It can be for an after-school activity like a Football programme.
Our organisation is based in another borough, but we deliver in Tottenham - can our young people apply?
Yes. It would be helpful if you made that clear in the application form to avoid delays. For example, our project is delivering at Chestnuts Community Centre and this is bid is specifically for this project.
Our project is a private organisation, can young from our organisation apply?
We are young people who do not belong to a youth project or organisation, we want to apply to help us start something - can we do that?
Do you fund religious or political activity?
We need the money before your deadline, can you decide on ours early?
Sorry, no we can't the Decision Committee only meets 4 times a year. We also feel it's unfair if people get a decision early and then there are no funds for those who apply in time for the deadlines.
Why would you reject our application?
Who is on the Decision Committee?