President Michael D. Higgins in 2021 said:
“Gaisce is driven by a commitment to a better society, by the enthusiasm, ability, and resilience of young people. Through the Gaisce programme, young people are encouraged and guided so that their innate talents and abilities, as well as their sense of citizenship and social agency, can be realised to their full potential”
Gaisce – The President’s Award is delighted to launch our new Gaisce SUAS Bursary Fund.
One of Gaisce’s core values is Inclusion and Equality; every person having the opportunity to grow their potential through equality of access, participation, and outcome.
With support from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and other philanthropic supporters, Gaisce SUAS, our Bursary Fund, seeks to alleviate barriers that some young people may face in embarking on and achieving their Gaisce award. Gaisce SUAS aims to increase participation and access to the Gaisce Award programme for young people experiencing marginalisation or who are living in difficult circumstances.
This fund supports a core Gaisce objective; to reach more young people, especially those on the periphery of society. For this deliverable, Gaisce has a fund of €75,000 which we will award across two bursary strands:
- Uplift, funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
- Youth Justice, funded by a philanthropic supporter
Gaisce SUAS is designed to be used to support participants who are experiencing marginalisation or who are living in difficult circumstances, to complete their award.
The fund will contribute towards participant support costs associated with Bronze, Silver, or Gold award requirements.
This can be for an individual or a group of young people; up to €1000 per organisation.
Examples of participant support costs covered under this fund include:
- Adventure journey: Adventure journey costs for participants experiencing marginalisation and/or disadvantage (i.e. transport, accommodation, adventure journey provider fee, equipment, etc.)
- Challenge areas costs: Costs related to challenge areas for participants experiencing marginalisation and/or disadvantage, in particular the Community Involvement challenge area
- Accessibility: Costs related to supporting accessibility for participants experiencing marginalisation and/or disadvantage with additional support needs (i.e. accessible transport or activities) for any of the challenge areas.
The Uplift fund can be applied for by any organisation supporting young people. To apply for this fund, you must complete an online application form, which can be accessed via the Uplift fund link below.
The Youth Justice Fund is available for youth diversion, youth probation and other Youth Justice organisations who can demonstrate barriers to participation. To apply for this fund, you must complete an online application form, which can be accessed via the Youth Justice fund link below.
The closing date for applications is Friday, October 25th at 5 PM.
Note: Only one application per organisation is permitted.
Check out the Gaisce SUAS Information Guide.
Uplift Fund
The Uplift Fund will be awarded to individuals or groups of young people via their organisation or Gaisce Award Partner (i.e., School, youth project, organisation, service, etc).
This fund is open to applications that meet the funding criteria from:
- New Gaisce Award Partners – organisations/projects where Gaisce has never been run to date due to barriers.
- Active Gaisce Award Partners – organisations who currently offer Gaisce
- Inactive Gaisce Award Partners – organisations/projects where Gaisce may have previously been offered but has not for some time.
The Uplift fund is a new fund that can be applied for by any organisation supporting young people.
The fund intends to:
- Reduce barriers to participation in Gaisce
- Ensure that more young people than ever can achieve Gaisce Awards, reflecting the diversity of our society.
- Ensure young people aged 14-25 across our society can see themselves in the Award.
Click the button below to complete the online application form for the Uplift Fund:
Youth Justice Fund
The Youth Justice Fund is available for youth diversion, youth probation and other Youth Justice organisations who can demonstrate barriers to participation. It is an existing fund that can be applied for by organisations in the youth justice space.
The fund intends to:
- Reduce barriers to participation in Gaisce
- Ensure that more young people than ever can achieve Gaisce Awards, reflecting the diversity of our society.
- Ensure young people aged 14-25 across our society can see themselves in the Award.
Click the button below to complete the online application form for the Youth Justice Fund: