Volunteering Finances and Grant Funding

Unlike other student groups, membership to Volunteering Projects must be free, as the act itself of volunteering itself involves giving your time or skills to cause to support others/the community. 

This means Volunteering Groups don't raise funds via memberships, but run their projects with the costs covered via York SU grant funding, external funding bodies or from fundraising. 

York SU are committed to 'Keeping Volunteering Free', where involvement with projects is free to a volunteer, and the costs associated with volunteering are not covered by the volunteer, and they can be reimbursed for transport or other volunteering related expenses. York SU finance processes such as payment requests can be used for submitting reimbursements which may be funded through the groups grant or own funds accounts.

There are 3 grant opportunities available to you as a Volunteering Project at York SU, these are:

To be eligible for a Volunteering Project grant, you must:

• Be a fully ratiifed volunteering project, having completed  the re-ratification process, documents and training for the upcoming academic year at the point of your application

• Have a membership of at least 10 student volunteers

• Adhere to the volunteering project minimum standards

There are guidelines on what you can and cannot purchase via your volunteering project grant.

Grant applications are reviewed and judged by a special panel consisting of the Volunteering Committee, a York SU Sabbatical Officer and York SU Staff who will make a decision on how much money each project will be allocated.

The criteria that is considered while deciding allocations are:

• Number of current volunteers

• Current account balances and use of own funds balances

• Extra funds your project received or raised in the previous academic year

• How your application links to the project's constitutional aims

• The level of detail provided on the grant application

• Justification on what you are asking for money towards, why it is needed and how it will help your project function, grow and develop

• If the project has been re-ratified by the deadline set and agreed to the volunteering project's minimum standards

• The grant has not been requested to be spent on purely social functions, branded clothing or merchandise for your project or anything that does not have a direct, measurable impact on the success of the project.

In addition to the points above, the panel will also take into account the amount of money that is available, the number of projects, and the money requested in total. It is possible to not receive all the money requested even if the project meets all the criteria. 

When you apply for a grant, you must state what you wish to spend the money on. Any grant money you receive can only be spent on what it was requested for, except in exceptional circumstances.

If you wish to spend your grant on anything other than that for which you applied, contact us to discuss.