Gaisce Bursary Fund 2023

Background

Gaisce – The President’s Award is committed to promoting Global Citizenship as a core element of the Gaisce Award. Young people undertaking a Gaisce award are engaging in global citizenship in many ways, whether it be taking an active role in their community through community involvement or understanding their place in their natural environment through the adventure journey.

Gaisce is committed to the “leaving no one behind” principle which means working to ensure that all young people have an opportunity to participate in global citizenship action and undertake their Gaisce award.

Thanks to Irish Aid, Gaisce has received additional funding to support the Gaisce Glas programme which focuses on Global Citizenship Education and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Gaisce Bursary Fund 2023 refers to the achievement of one of our core objectives; to reach more young people, especially those on the periphery of society. For this deliverable, Gaisce has a fund of up to €10,000, which it aims to distribute in the form of 10-15 bursary fund to Gaisce Award Partners in 2023.

Overview of this fund

True to Gaisce’s global citizenship approach, the purpose of the bursary fund is specifically to support young people facing financial barriers to complete their Gaisce award.

The fund is intended to:

• Enable participation of young people facing financial barriers, supporting a ‘no one is left behind’ approach to global citizenship.
• Ease the financial burden for young people completing their Gaisce award.
• Support empowerment and active participation of young people in their Gaisce journey.
• Support the accessibility of Gaisce to all young people.

The bursary fund will be awarded to groups of young people via their Gaisce Award Partner (i.e., School, youth project, organisation, service, etc).

What types of activities can be funded through the bursary?

The fund should be used to support young people who are facing financial barriers to complete their Adventure Journey, as part of their bronze, silver, or gold award requirements.

PALS may apply for this fund to cover costs associated with an individual or a group of disadvantaged young people, up to €1000, at a maximum of €200 per person.

Examples of costs covered under this fund:

• Transport
• Accommodation
• Food
• Adventure journey provider fee
• Equipment
• Personal Equipment

Please note: The bursary fund is not intended to cover all costs associated with the adventure journey.

Funding Criteria

The following funding criteria applies to this fund:

• Funding must directly support young people experiencing financial barriers or disadvantage
• Applicants must demonstrate how the funding will be used to support students experiencing disadvantage to complete their adventure journey
• The students MUST already be registered Gaisce participants
• PALs making the application must have active participants with all vetting requirements up to date and linked to a registered GAP (Gaisce Award Partner)
• PALS must be committed to supporting the participants on ALL challenge areas of their Gaisce award and reach completion
• Funding can only be used to support costs related to the adventure journey

Application requirements:

• A PAL must make the application on behalf of the GAP
• Only ONE application per PAL/GAP will be eligible for consideration

If you do not fill these criteria, you cannot avail of the bursary fund.

How much funding is available?

The maximum fund any PAL can apply for is €1000 in total. You must detail how many participants the bursary fund is intended to support, and it must not exceed €200 per person.

The amount of funding you receive will depend on the available funding, number of applications and the costs indicated in your application.

The funding applications will be assessed by the Gaisce Selection Committee and weight will be given to the demonstrated level of need and the viability of the proposed spends. The decision of the Gaisce Selection Committee is final.

The closing date for applications is 10^th March 2023 and no late applications will be accepted.

Disbursement

You will be notified by email the outcome of your application, no later than 24^th March 2023.

If successful, you will receive the full amount of your fund once your application has been approved. Payments will be made from Gaisce to the GAP unless otherwise agreed with Gaisce.

How to apply

To apply for this fund there are two steps:

1. Online Application Form: Complete the short online application form available here: Bursary Fund Online Application Form
2. Input from Participants: Record a short video* (1-2mins) with your Gaisce participants about their Gaisce journey so far and what the award means to them. Email the video to eve@gaisce.ie

* Gaisce understands that in exceptional circumstances a video may not be possible. In this case, a presentation or document can be emailed instead.

Note: Applications should be submitted by a registered and active Gaisce PAL who must be a member of a registered GAP. Only one application per PAL/GAP is permitted.

Input from participants

Gaisce is committed to empowering young people to take the lead in their award and their Gaisce journey. Therefore, we would like to hear directly from them.

As well as the online application form, a short input from the young people participating in the Gaisce Awards should also be emailed to eve@gaisce.ie. This should be a video (i.e., 1-2mins, can be recorded on a phone) or if a video is not possible, 1-page word document or a short Slide show is acceptable.

The content should be created by the young people and should highlight their involvement, planning and participation in their Gaisce award.

Will I have to complete a report? What sort of documentation is required?

You will be required to complete a short final report, for which a template will be provided explaining your outcomes, activities related to the fund, and brief detail of expenditure.

The report is due by 30^th June 2023.

You may be expected to show receipts upon request by Gaisce for payments related to the bursary fund so please store these records safely.

When to apply – key dates

Applications open: 20^th February
Applications Close: 10th March at 5pm
Funds announced: week of 20^th March
Payments begin: End of March
Close of Fund: The fund should cover the period April – June 2023
Report due: 30^th June

Details of Fund

Adventure Journey (Bronze or Silver or Gold award)