Cost of Living Support Fund

• If you need financial assistance to keep your young person participating in Scouts, please contact the volunteers at your Group/Unit to discuss how they can support you
• You may also wish to encourage them to apply for this grant
• We'll support as many young people as possible, but due to the number of applications we anticipate receiving we cannot guarantee that every application will be successful
• Find out how else we're supporting you with the cost of living

• The purpose of this grant is to ensure young people most affected by cost of living rises can continue to participate in Scouts
• This grant scheme will operate as a funding round, opening Wednesday 12 October and closes midday Wednesday 23 November
• Applications will be assessed and grants awarded once the application round has closed
• There is no minimum or maximum grant amount
• Grant funding can be used to cover the costs directly incurred by young people participating in Scouts, including subscription fees (subs), activities, events and camps, travel, and uniform
• Grants may comprise cash, a Scout Store voucher, or a combination of both

• Applications can be submitted by Scout Groups and Explorer Scout Units only
  • Parents/carers cannot apply
  • Scout Networks and other Scouting entities cannot apply
• Each Group/Unit can submit one application
• Applicants will be asked how many young people in their Group/Unit need financial assistance
• Groups/Units in the following areas can apply:
  • England (including Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey)
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
  • British Scouting Overseas
  • Gibraltar
• Applications from Groups/Units with more than 12 months' worth of reserves will be rejected by the District Commissioner

• Grant funding can be used to cover the costs directly incurred by young people participating in Scouts, including:
  • Subs - the subscription fee to take part in Scouts on a weekly basis, often paid weekly, monthly, termly, or annually
  • Activities/events/camps - anything included in the Group/Unit's programme that requires a payment from the parent/carer over and above regular subs
  • Travel - costs incurred by the young person getting to/from Scouts
  • Uniform - any item in the Uniform category on Scout Store
• Groups/Units should subsidise young people's costs or reimburse parents/carers according to local arrangements
• Anything that wouldn't usually be directly incurred by a young person cannot be funded, such as equipment, energy bills, volunteer expenses

• Cash grants will be paid into the Scouts bank account provided in the application form
• Scout Store voucher codes will be issued to successful applicants in writing and remain valid for 12 months
  • Voucher codes cannot be exchanged for the equivalent cash amount

• To ensure that grants are awarded fairly, we need to understand how many young people need financial support
• Once the application round closes, we'll make a decision and notify applicants as soon as possible
• If we receive additional, external funding, we'll update this guidance accordingly

• Each Group/Unit can receive only one grant
• Six and 12 months after grants being awarded, we'll contact successful applicants to report on how many of the young people included in the application remained in Scouts
  • We will not collect any other reporting data unless it becomes a condition of receiving additional, external funding

• To ensure as many young people can be supported as possible, we're encouraging Groups/Units to first ask local Scouting for help
• If you do need to apply for this grant, please include only those young people who may leave Scouts due to cost of living rises
• Full details of the grant process can be found under 'Application process'.
• Grants will only be paid into a Scouts bank account. This does not have to be that of the applicant, for example where a Unit uses a District account
• If a young person changes Group/Unit in the 12 months following approval of the grant, it is the responsibility of the Group/Unit they're leaving to transfer any remaining proportion of their grant to the new Group/Unit
• If the volunteer noted in the grant application as the Group/Unit contact leaves in the 12 months following approval of the grant, the Group/Unit must provide new contacts details to grants@scouts.org.uk

Application round opens

1. Application submitted
2. Applicant details validated by UKHQ, resulting queries resolved
3. Application sent to District Commissioner (or equivalent) for approval and comment

Application round closes

1. Applications assessed
2. Grants awarded
3. Applicants notified
4. Payments and vouchers issued

• Your membership number
• The details of the Scouts bank account into which the grant could be paid and a copy of its bank statement dated within the past three months
• The Group/Unit's ID number. You can find this by logging into Compass and following these steps:

1. 1. Click 'My Scouting'
   2. Locate the Group/Unit in the hierarchy
   3. Click the 'View' button beneath the 'Options' column
   4. The Group/Unit's ID number is the number in brackets next to the Group/Unit's name

• For Groups, the approval of your Group Chair

• For Units, the approval of your District Chair. If your Unit is from one of the following areas, the equivalent of the District Chair is specified below:

  Bailiwick of Guernsey - County Chair

  Jersey - County Chair

  Isle of Man - County Chair

  BSO - Area Chair

  Gibraltar - Region Chair