#iwill Bereavement Fund of the Coop Foundation
As a member of the Youth Advisory Group (the "YAG") for the Coop Foundation, I was asked to represent young people at the adult panel for the #iwill Bereavement Fund.
Context
To give you some background information - the #iwill Bereavement Fund has a grant of £300,000 which will be split between organisations and charities who can apply for a maximum of £20,000. These organisations would be running provisions for young people who have been affected by bereavement. The YAG was previously tasked with 'youth proofing' the application forms so it would be accessible for those applying. The Foundation then sifted through the applications received from organisations applying for the funding and shortlisted 31 applications and a separate 6 from the devolved nations (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, as the #iwill fund is exclusive to England). Each member of the YAG was given the applications in detail and thoroughly examined them, marking ones they would accept or reject.
The YAG Panel
The YAG held a three hour meeting to discuss the applications. We began by taking a vote on each application to save time on ones which we already had a consensus on. This did leave us with some split ones, which led to very interesting debates and points of view. We were given a set of criteria to adhere to, but found that we all had different perspectives on what we were looking for when it came to bereavement support. Some of us focused on the value for money, more people being positively affected for a good price; others focused on the types of projects available, such as art therapy or film making. Throughout our conversations, we were insistent on applications which demonstrated a focus on young people, given that the fund was for our age group. We chose our organisations and these were noted and sent forward as recommendations for the next panel.
The Adult Panel
As a representative for the YAG, I attended the adult panel along with people from the Coop's Funeral Care industry and trustees of the Coop Foundation. We followed a similar structure to the YAG in terms of voting first and then discussing divided options later. My role was to represent the YAG, so I voted in favour of every YAG recommendation. I really enjoyed talking to the panel about the YAG's perspective; as young people, we understand what we want from this fund and its resources, so I could offer that unique perspective. I found it intriguing to hear many different views; was it effective to have projects in schools? Did organisations have pre-exisiting contacts to carry out their plans? Should young people be paid or reimbursed for their time? The panel opened my eyes to how other adults view young people - I felt that my role was a huge responsibility because I had to represent the views of the YAG and persuade panel members to vote in favour of our recommendations. At the same time, I learnt and empathised with other points. There were adults whose experiences made them better placed than me to comment on different types of funds. I liked that we all had something different to bring to the panel, that influenced our choices and helped to communicate with one another.
Conclusion
Every organisation that applied for the #iwill Bereavement Fund was worthy of the grant, because they are all trying to improve the lives of bereaved young people. This is most certainly a growing issue with the pandemic, which is leaving more young people vulnerable in terms of losing loved ones. I was excited to be involved with this project because designing application forms and allocating grants to charities is something I thought I would not be able to do until I was much older. The process was enriching because it developed my skills but was emotionally challenging. We had to deal with the topic of bereavement, which is not easy for anyone. As well as that, we were rejecting applications, and did experience feelings of guilt. This made the process difficult but both panels talked openly about this and coached each other through it. At the end of the day, we had to make a call on which applications we thought would be the most beneficial for young people living in their areas.
The adult panel did choose their final organisations and these will be officially released by the Coop Foundation in January. I am looking forward to seeing what work these charities and organisations will be doing, whether they were accepted or not. The ones that were not accepted will receive feedback and can apply for other grants. Their projects are fantastic and are a crucial source of support for young people. Many members of both panels agreed that we would have funded all of these applications, if we had the funds. This "setback" should not discourage these organisations but empower them to be determined to find funding for their provisions.
Last Thoughts
This brilliant experience has taught me a lot about how I view bereavement. There is definitely a lack of services available to young people and the topic is not widely spoken about in schools and society, despite it being an issue that affects every person regardless of race, class, gender or religion. We need to talk about this topic and support our friends and family: why does it feel like taboo to bring it up? Why are bereavement services not being funded in the height of a pandemic? Why are young people being left to rely on voluntary underfunded youth services?
* Alex Davies, an 18 year old, runs the organisation "No Child Left Alone UK", which aims to give a platform to all bereaved young people. You can find more information about this here: https://www.daviesa.com/nclb
*If you have been affected by the topic of this article, please seek out support by talking to a trusted adult 
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