Grants from Brighton & Hove City Council worth a total of £130,000 have been agreed for 32 youth projects in Brighton & Hove.
The council had a massive response to a call in April for bids from local organisations, with nearly £200,000 of funding requested.
The original intention was to distribute half the funding now, and to invite bids for the rest later in the year.
But with an urgent need to enable as many projects as possible to offer summer programmes, it was decided to distribute all the funding straight away.
There will not now be a second round of funding in the autumn.
The bids were evaluated by a panel of young people representing a range of youth projects in the city.
Panel member Sophie said: “It was wonderful to see how many different projects were happening locally, with many offering support to those most in financial, emotional, or educational need.”
The young people chose to back projects focused on supporting young people with special educational needs, and those from the BAME and LGBTQ communities.
Many of the projects reach out to disadvantaged young people, concentrating on improving mental health. This includes helping young people recover from the impact of Covid-19.
The chair of the council’s children, young people and skills committee, Councillor John Allcock, said: “We were delighted to get so many high-quality bids from so many excellent projects.
“Our young people have worked really hard to evaluate all the applications. They spent a lot of time discussing the merits of each one, to enable them to decide who will receive funding.
“The 32 projects they have selected will be of great benefit to young people in the city.
“I’d like to thank all the young people who have been involved for all the hard work and expertise they have put in.”