Children and Young person’s grant scheme
Young people up to the age of 26 living within the Carron Valley & District Community Council Area, may be eligible to apply for a grant from VRG’s Children & Young People’s Grant Scheme.
The Children & Young People’s Grant Scheme is open to residents between the ages of 0 and 26, and normally pays up to £250 per year (may be up to £500 in special circumstances, please see guidelines) to help with education, skills development or meeting the challenges of rural living.
Funding cycles
A resident may only apply for one grant for each child in each category in each financial year (July to June). This year the scheme reopens in August owing to staff holidays.
Please note that a grant scheme may be closed early if all the budget has been allocated. Residents would then have to wait until the following July.
Applicants must be permanent residents of in the Carron Valley & District Community Council Area.
See Guidelines tab above for full details before applying, and the Application tab to make an application.
We do not accept retrospective grant applications, so please do not purchase goods or services before receiving approval.
Grants are discretionary and the Board’s decision is final.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible for the Children & Young People’s Grant, you must be:
- Aged between 0 and 26 at the date of application
- Permanently resident within the Carron Valley & District Community Council Area (Note – living away for College / University during term time is perfectly acceptable)
- Please note applications for persons under 16 years of age at the time of application require parental/carer support
It is not necessary for you or any member of your family to be a member of VRG in order to qualify for a grant. However, we would encourage you to join. The cost is only £3 for life, and being a member gives you the chance to have your say in how VRG is run.
Please apply in the child/young person’s name, but avoid using names in the body of the application as they are anonymised for consideration by the directors.
If you are completing a form for a child please use neutral terms e.g. ‘my son/daughter’ or ‘my child’ and give the child’s age.
We do not accept retrospective grant applications, so please do not purchase goods or services before receiving approval.
Please note the new maximum amount for this grant is £250
Eligible Projects
VRG is a registered charity, and the projects we support must match the charity’s aims and objectives (see our website at www.valleyrenewables.co.uk for more details). Under these aims and objectives, we can help fund:
- Projects to support you in your education, which could include:
– Outdoor play equipment for younger children
– Fees for an Open University or Distance Learning course
– Money for extra exam tuition
– A grant to buy a musical instrument, or for music lessons
– A grant to buy art materials
– A grant to enable you to attend a school (or other) field trip, summer school or music camp.
Note, the overall aim of the project must be educational (e.g. not just a holiday), and you must be able to explain on your application form what you hope to gain from the Small Grant.
Please note that you can now have a grant for tuition again i.e. if you have a grant for £250 towards dance lessons one year you can have another grant for dance lessons the next year. This is a change from the previous conditions and is to support a young person continuing with an interest. Proof of progress may be requested, e.g. certificates or letter of development or progress.
Recipients of a student bursary cannot apply for expenses related to the studies funded under the Young Person’s Grant scheme.
- Environmental Projects, for example:
– A grant to help you develop an environmental hobby, such as buying binoculars or books for birdwatching, or a telescope for stargazing (we have some amazing dark skies in the Carron Valley!)
– A grant to help you improve habitats for wildlife, such as tools and materials to build “hedgehog hotels” or bat boxes
– Money to plant trees or bee friendly plants in your garden
- Grants to help you develop your skills or start your own microbusiness, such as:
– Special clothing or tools or equipment to get started in a trade or business
– Course fees for training in chainsaw safety, car maintenance, animal husbandry or other vocational qualifications
– A grant to buy smart clothes for a job interview
– Buying a chicken coop and hens, so you can sell the eggs for pocket
money
– Buying bee keeping equipment, so you can produce your own honey to
sell
- Grants to help you with the challenges of rural living, for example
– Driving lessons (*see above regarding multiple grants.)
– Tools to help you maintain a bicycle or car. (Please note VRG does not fund forms of transport except for eBikes, see separate grant scheme for these.) e-bike-grant
All of these are just suggestions. If you have a good idea, submit an application that you think will fit with the aims of the scheme and we will help if we can.
If you have any questions, or need help filling in the application form, please contact us.
Funding cycles
Following discussion at the Board it has been decided that grants will now run with VRG’s financial year July – June. A resident may apply for one grant per child in each financial year.
Please note that a grant scheme may be closed if the funds are spent early, applicants will then have to wait until the next Application window.
Grants are discretionary and the Board’s decision is final.
Scheme Administration
Valley Renewables Group sets aside a sum of money to run the Young People’s Grant Scheme during each year. Applications will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis, until this pot of money runs out. When this happens, any outstanding applications will either be fulfilled out of other VRG funds, or held until the next funding cycle begins.
Applications will be anonymised by removing the front page of the application form, and then circulated to VRG’s Board of Directors for approval. The Board will only approve applications which are in accordance with VRG’s overall aims and objectives and within the general principles and aims of the Young People’s Grant Scheme. Any applicants refused a grant will receive an explanation for the decision, but the Board’s decision will be final.
No money should be spent until you have received written confirmation that your application has been approved. Retrospective applications will not be accepted.
How will the money be paid?
Grants will be paid by cheque. You should state on your application form to whom this cheque should be made payable to. This may be to yourself, or to one of your parents.
Once your grant has been approved, you should carry out your project and then claim the money back from VRG by submitting a claim form and receipts. You will then be reimbursed by cheque.
Payment can be made upfront if a quote is supplied. Please see application form.
In the case of a school trip or similar, you may wish us to pay the school directly. In this case, you should submit a claim form with an invoice or letter from the school (it may be that you can submit your claim form along with your application form). This will enable us to send a cheque directly to the school or organisation. We will write to you and tell you when we have done this.
Timescales for applications
We will usually respond to grant applications within two weeks, but if we need to discuss your application at a board meeting, this may take up to six weeks. Please also allow two weeks after submitting your claim form for a cheque to be issued. VRG’s board members are all volunteers, working in their spare time, so please be patient!
If your application is urgent (for example, if you wish to go on a field trip on a given date), please state this on your application, and we will process it as quickly as possible.
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