£1.5m funding boost for 25 projects to tackle child poverty across Wales

Hwb ariannol o £1.5m ar gyfer 25 o brosiectau i fynd i'r afael â thlodi plant

The Welsh Government has awarded more than £1.5m to 25 organisations working with families in poverty across Wales. These projects will improve how services work together, focusing on practical solutions to help lift children out of poverty and create better opportunities for their futures.

The funding, from the Child Poverty Innovation and Supporting Communities Grant, will connect services better so families can more easily find the support they need.

Abergele Community Action will work with young people who face exclusion from opportunities. Their programme offers job skills and personal development, giving these young people a chance to build better futures.

In Powys, a project will look at ways to tackle rural poverty challenges and develop practical solutions tailored to the communities.

National Youth Arts Wales will provide free creative workshops to young people in Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent.

Chief Executive of National Youth Arts Wales, Evan Dawson, said: "Every young person in Wales has the right to flourish through inspirational cultural opportunities, boosting their wellbeing, education and future careers. This grant from the Welsh Government will bring together local and national partners to deliver creative experiences for young people in Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent - areas with some of the highest levels of child poverty and the least access to the arts in Wales.

“We know the arts are transformative. They spark creativity, build confidence, strengthen wellbeing, and open up real opportunities. This project supports the aims of the Child Poverty Strategy for Wales and will help create lasting change for young people in these communities.”

The Welsh Government has invested over £7bn between 2022 and 2026 in interventions which reduce costs and maximise the incomes of families and keep money in the pockets of Welsh citizens.

This grant funding is part of the Welsh Government's continued efforts to help households struggling with poverty across Wales in 2025/2026.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, said: "Every child deserves the best start in life, and addressing child poverty remains our absolute priority. We're committed to breaking down the barriers poverty creates and expanding opportunities for our children.

"By investing directly in organisations who support families in poverty across Wales, we're ensuring this funding reaches those who need it most. We will continue to do everything in our power to prevent poverty and provide meaningful support to those facing the toughest challenges."

Notes to editors

The following lead organisations have been awarded funding under the grant scheme in 2025 to 2026:

Afan Arts -The aim of the project is to improve self-esteem, build aspirations and develop digital skills in young people. The project empowers participants with opportunities in graphic design, podcasting, filmmaking and communication, enhancing confidence and employability, ultimately aiming to lift young people out of poverty, creating brighter futures within their communities.
Powys County Council - This project will build on existing partnership working and collaborative activity linked with the Child Poverty Task Force in Powys. They will work to further understand the unique challenges faced by communities and individuals in Powys, hear their truth, and seek to take immediate, medium and long term action.
Mind Cwm Taf Morgannwg will explore the emotional and behavioural causes of poverty through focus groups and other engagement. By understanding this they can identify ways to improve education and advice to break the cycle of child and family poverty. Additionally, they will offer money management and mental health resilience information and advice.
Can Cook - To stop food deprivation threatening how children live their lives. To put into place a long-term, good food solution ensuring every child eats well, every day.
VIBE Youth CIC Pathways to Equity is a youth-led innovation project tackling child poverty across South Wales. Through co-designed labs, family support hubs, and real-time research, it empowers young people and communities to shape solutions, influence policy, and build resilient futures grounded in lived experience, equity, and local collaboration.
Cwmpas - Working across sectors, they will empower young people to design new social business ventures and forward thinking solutions to critical social and environmental challenges facing communities in Wales. With expert support and access to tools and networks, participants will bring their vision to life and turn business ideas into reality.
Swansea Bay University Health Board - their partnership project will provide opportunities for children and young people (CYP) from WIMD identified deprived areas of Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) region to engage in synergistic Food/Nature/Arts initiatives to improve their wellbeing, learn skills, build confidence, improve peer/familial relationships, community connectedness and give CYP a voice.
Bengal Dragons CIC - The Community Football & Food Project will offer free football sessions and nutritious meals to children in poverty in Cardiff, improving health, tackling food insecurity, and building community resilience. Delivered by Bengal Dragons in partnership with Naseeha Youth Project, it creates a lasting support network for families through sport, nutrition, and collaboration.
Children in Wales - Expansion to new areas, and further development of, an innovative ALN/Neurodiversity training programme for professionals, designed/delivered by parents with lived experience of poverty and ALN to promote awareness of the realities of raising children with differences and promote affirming practice and community support for children/families dealing with poverty and ALN.
Newport City Council - To engage children/parents/guardians and early years practitioners on developmental milestones for school readiness. To use the feedback to inform the testing of different approaches to enable children/families living in poverty to meet their developmental milestones and be ‘school ready.’
StreetGames - This project tests the impact of StreetGames Doorstep Sport Activators (DSAs) in developing future community leaders. By engaging young people in local sport activities, it explores leadership potential, community engagement, and personal growth, aiming to create sustainable pathways into volunteering, training, and leadership roles within underserved communities.
Contact Cymru - This partnership will provide trusted, personalised practical and emotional support to parent carers of disabled children in Conwy and Gwynedd through 1:1 sessions, workshops and codesigned resources. Together, they will increase household income, improve financial understanding and wellbeing and share learning through a national event to support sustainable change.
Citizens Advice Denbighshire - The project embeds specialist advisers within Denbighshire’s Family Link service, providing early, community-based access to welfare, debt, and housing advice in education settings to struggling young families. This innovative ‘one-stop shop’ collaboration improves support pathways and empowers families in poverty to thrive through trusted, joined-up help where they already are.
Mid & North Powys Mind -Children and young people’s support service in north Powys. Focus: Reducing poverty and improving mental health. They will offer services that support young people and their families to improve their financial situation. By facilitating improvements to mental health, they will support with reducing financial hardship and improve pathways to education/employment.
Abergele Community Action - will target young people aged 16-19 who experience poverty, disadvantage and discrimination and are excluded from social, educational, economic and digital opportunities. They will provide employability support, life skills and personal development to create pathways out of poverty, building resilience and personal growth, enabling them to realise their potential.
Aneurin Leisure Trust, a not-for-profit organisation, partnered with StreetGames and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council Services, aims to tackle child poverty in Blaenau Gwent. The project will strengthen local collaboration, lower costs, and focus on wellbeing, ensuring children and families receive essential support.
Welsh Refugee Council - This project tackles child poverty among sanctuary-seeking families, by delivering accurate data and mapping of needs in key dispersal areas, (filling a critical gap in current Child Poverty statistics). It drives change through evidence-based solutions, cross-sector collaboration, a centralised accessible toolkit, and a bespoke training programme for key LA staff.
Fiery Jacks Cic - A new partnership between Splott Community Volunteers and Fiery Jacks to build youth-led, creative and food-inclusive youth provision for teenagers in Splott. By combining SCV’s food poverty expertise and community base with Fiery Jacks’ youth circus and playwork model, they aim to reduce poverty’s impact and improve youth wellbeing.
The Welsh Sports Foundation - Will tackle child poverty by removing financial barriers to sport. Partnering with local agencies, they will provide vouchers for subscription costs or lessons, redeemed by activity deliverers. Building on a successful pilot in north Wales and Cardiff, the project will now scale up to support more children across communities in Wales.
Raw Performance CiC - The Fit 4 Change Project aims to empower individuals in poverty through group exercise, nutritional guidance, and wellbeing practices. It fosters physical health, confidence, and teaches positive communication and stress management to families. The project builds community cohesion, promoting resilience and sustainable habits to break the cycle of poverty.
National Youth Arts Wales (NYAW) - "Creative Futures" will provide free weekly creative workshops to over 200 disadvantaged young people throughout Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent, providing inspiration and guidance on creative industry careers. It will build skills and confidence, support wellbeing and open pathways to real opportunities, aligning with the Welsh Child Poverty Strategy.
Street Child United - The project aims to empower vulnerable young people in Blaenau Gwent by delivering a Child Rights through Football Curriculum. In turn, they will help them understand their rights, build confidence, and challenge stigma, while upskilling coaches and social workers, and fostering cross-sector collaboration to support young people living in poverty.
Swansea MAD - This project amplifies voices of young people and youth workers with lived experiences of poverty in Swansea/Neath Port Talbot/Bridgend. Through participatory workshops and knowledge transfer, it seeks to build a rich/nuanced understanding of lived experience and empower young people and youth workers to co-create solutions.
The Venture - Building on the Children’s Commissioner’s ‘No Wrong Door’ report, this project aims to reduce the effects of child poverty by creating additional capacity to help more families access services. Trusted staff will boost support, engagement, and partnerships using community knowledge across The Venture, The Land, and Gwenfro Valley adventure playgrounds.
Oasis - A new collaboration to develop a network of free childcare and play providers and map and increase provision, suitable for asylum seekers and refugees in Splott, Tremorfa, Adamstown and Roath, to alleviate poverty for parents by directly reducing costs and enabling them to study and work.