FAQ’s
Q Do I need to be a Registered Charity to apply for The OWL Collaboration grant?
For this particular grant we do require you to be a Registered Charity. We may extend the grant in future rounds to include not-for-profit organisations.
Q Do you envisage the OWL weeks being Monday to Friday, or 7-days long?
When we were doing our research we found a variation in what Outdoor Learning Centres called a ‘week’ – some were 4 nights, some 5 and some 7 nights. A ‘week’ would therefore be what works for your organisation. Please state this clearly in your application.
Q Will you fund Outdoor Adventure Centres?
We are looking to fund centres with a priority focus on environmental learning, nature connection and farming, but appreciate that some outdoor adventure activity eg kayaking, climbing might form a part of a week’s programme. If this is the case, please give some indication in your application of the proportion of time spent in farm and nature-based learning.
Q What is the maximum grant amount available?
We do not specify an upper grant amount, but ask applicants for the annual bed space availability for The OWL Collaboration. The grant will cover the amount the centre normally charges per student night and an additional sum for managing the administrative and research element of the project. Please think carefully about your capacity to offer OWLs. It would be helpful to have an indication of the parameters of what you are able to offer The OWL Collaboration, ie the fewest and the most number of weeks and bed spaces you are able to offer. This will enable us to have more flexibility in allocating the grants with the best mix of collaborators.
Q Could we continue to work with schools we already have a working relationship with?
Yes, certainly. If your schools are located within areas of high deprivation and have/or have elevated levels of underserved students we would like to bring them into The OWL Collaboration. We also have links with schools that we can introduce you to.
Q Will the non-underserved students from individual schools need to pay full cost?
This grant is primarily to support students who are underserved, but we do appreciate that some school groups will be a mix of those able to pay, and those that cannot. We suggest that in most cases this grant will cover the underserved students only, and other families will pay in the normal way. As part of The OWL Collaboration, schools will be able to apply for grants to cover transport costs for the whole group.
Q Can I apply for a grant for more than one centre?
Yes, you can apply for a number of centres. Please specify this clearly on the application and list their locations by postcode.
Q Will we automatically be given a multi-year grant?
The initial grant is for one year, but the project is a multi-year grant running to 2024. Subsequent years’ grants are dependent on applicants sending in adequate monitoring reports and the required impact data.
Q Will there be other opportunities for this grant?
We have not made any final decisions about bringing in further Outdoor Learning Centres into The OWL Collaboration, but hope that we can secure further funding with other Trusts and Foundations so that we can extend our reach in the future.
Q When will this grant be paid?
A timetable giving this information will be given on receipt of your submission.
