Future Phoenix: Young People Designing a Racial Justice Fund for Their Generation
From 7–9th July 2025, something powerful happened in Manchester. Nine Black and racially minoritised young people gathered in person for the first time under the banner of Future Phoenix — a youth-led space rooted in racial justice, imagination, and action. Over three transformative days, they co-designed a new racial justice fund, shaped the Future Phoenix strategy, and laid the foundation for long-term movement building.
This residential marked a pivotal moment, not just for the individuals in the room, but for how we think about power, funding, and leadership in the racial justice space. Here's what unfolded, and where we’re going next.
What Is Future Phoenix?
Future Phoenix is an initiative committed to building a future shaped by young people, especially those from Black and racially minoritised communities, who are closest to the injustice and best placed to lead change. It exists within the wider framework of The Phoenix Way, a national collaborative designed to transform how racial equity work is resourced in the UK.
But Future Phoenix goes further: it asks what happens when young people don’t just contribute, they lead. When they aren’t just consulted, they decide. This isn’t a youth voice project. It’s a youth power project.
The July residential was designed to do three things:
Co-design a new racial justice fund for and by young people
Shape the Future Phoenix strategy
Explore the intersection of racial justice, AI, and movement building
Across workshops, meals, deep conversations, and moments of joy, participants wrestled with the realities of systemic racism and explored what resourcing justice could look like when youth are in control.
Key themes emerged:
The importance of flexible funding that meets young people where they are
Tech and AI as both a threat and a tool in racial justice work
The urgency of regional equity, ensuring funding doesn't remain London-centric
Desire for community, not just capital — connection as strategy
Participants brought lived experience, creativity, and an unwavering commitment to justice. Their vision is bold and clear: the future must be youth-led, not in theory, but in practice.
Out of these conversations, a tangible outcome is taking shape: The Future Phoenix Fund which is a flexible, youth-led racial justice fund resourced and governed by the Future Phoenix Steering Group.
This fund will:
Provide direct, flexible support to Black and racially minoritised youth-led initiatives
Be shaped and governed entirely by young people
Prioritise movement building, healing, and experimentation, not just outputs
What happens when power and funding are put directly in the hands of young people? We're about to find out, and the impact could be transformative.
The thing is, most funding systems weren’t built with young people, or racial justice, in mind. They often reinforce power imbalances, demand extractive reporting, and marginalise the very voices they claim to support.
Future Phoenix is rewriting the script to say that:
Decision-making power is in young hands
Fund design centers lived experience and regional needs
Strategy emerges from community, not consultants
This is more than a funding model, it is a movement approach to resourcing justice.
The Future Phoenix journey is just beginning. And we invite you to be part of it:
Sign up to our mailing list for updates on the Future Phoenix Fund launch
Follow along on social media for stories from the Steering Group
Share this blog and help us amplify the leadership of young people in the fight for racial justice
Let’s build a future that reflects the brilliance, power, and leadership of young people, not just in words, but in where we put our resources.
