Grants to individuals

Each year we give a small number of awards to individuals. These awards are to help with the cost of continuing and further education courses leading to career development.

This programme aims to enable applicants to change career or return to work through access to training or education and to support those prevented from doing so due to their financial circumstances.

What we look for from applicants

We explore with you the vocational nature of your chosen course of study including:

  • what has led you to undertake the course
  • what skills and experience it will provide
  • what you plan to do after the course

We will also  take into consideration how your chosen course of study will help you to develop skills and experience that can be used to address local needs that fall within our charitable objects and community interests.

Who can apply?

Applications must be adults who are:

  1. returning to study after a minimum of five years away from formal education
  2. resident in the Borough of Bedford, although your course may take place outside the area

If you have recently moved to the Borough to undertake college courses, or other full-time study, you are unlikely to be eligible.

Before you apply for this grant you must determine if you are entitled to any statutory funding (e.g. from the Local Education Authority) before you apply. See our Help & Advice section.

What we don't fund

We do not give grants for PGCE courses and Certificates of Education or for recreational courses, including academic courses taken for recreational purposes only.

When to apply

You must contact us by the end of April 2012 if you are applying for funding for the academic year beginning September / October 2012.

We suggest that you call Lucy Bardner, our Grants Manager, on 01234 369500 for an informal chat before you apply.

Our Grants to Individuals panel then meets during the spring to consider applications. If the panel is interested in your application they will invite you to an interview. You will normally find out if you have been successful by the end of July at the latest.

Please also contact Lucy for guidance with regards to financial assistance for courses starting at other times of the year.

IMPORTANT: We only have a very small amount of money available to the Grants to Individuals Programme; most of our grant money is for organisations. Therefore competition for this grant is considerable. Even if your application is successful it is likely that you will only receive a modest contribution towards your study costs.

Examples of awards we have recently made

  • Contribution to travel costs for attendance on an advanced level British Sign Language Course. Applicant undertakes voluntary work which involves the use of signing, and aims to develop skills to meet a local need for qualified interpreters.
  • Contribution to the costs of books and materials for a Postgraduate Diploma at the Royal College of Music. Candidate has expressed a keen interest in contributing to music education outreach projects aimed at local schoolchildren.
  • Contribution towards the cost of course fees for a candidate to continue a part-time research PhD, focusing on practical musical activities that have yielded promising improvements in literacy and numeracy levels of children with mild learning difficulties.