Hello fans of Sam and Tanya’s blog, I’m
Jenna! I am a 1st year on the Conservation Practice Masters programme
at Cardiff. Last year, in preparation for my studies, I looked in to applying
for funding from various organisations to help with my living costs and/or
fees. Sam and Tanya are allowing me to guest blog on here to share some funding
based tips that I picked up along the way. I definitely don’t have all the
answers but hopefully this may help you on where to start. After all, with
little to no financial governmental help, finance plays a huge part on whether
people are able to carry out a Master’s degree.
1)
Start looking early. Possible sources of funding
are ‘charitable trusts’. Many of
these have applications with deadlines in the first quart of the year. If you
are looking to receive funding in September, January is a good time to begin
looking for possible benefactors. Some charities have more than one deadline
during the year. If you are not fortunate during the first round, make sure you
reapply for the second deadline!
Depending on the type of
funding, donors may want to see evidence of an Unconditional University
offer……..so it’s a good idea to get that university application done as soon as
you have decided that you want to go.
On a two year Masters
programme? There’s nothing stopping you from applying to receive funding in
your second year.
The ICON website is a
great starting point when looking for funding in Conservation from Charitable
Trusts. Read the fine print. Are you eligible? I said Are You Eligible? Don’t waste your time completing forms
only to find out that the Trusts criteria doesn’t fit you needs (for example,
does it allow for International students?).
2)
When writing an application, be
specific with how you will use the money. Some forms may ask for this but if
they don’t, stick it in anyway.
Month
|
Incomings
|
Outgoings
|
Total
|
This
|
shows
|
you
|
have
|
thought
|
about
|
finances
|
|
and
|
will
|
use
|
the
|
funding
|
wisely
|
and
|
effectively
|
Total
|
££££££££
|
Also, consider how this money will help you
to give something back to the conservation profession and heritage industry.
Make sure you dazzle them with all that volunteer work that you have been doing
(Note: if you haven’t thought about it before….it always benefits to do volunteer work!)
3)
Did you know that you can also
apply for money towards travel
costs, workshops and entry to conferences? Again, you will need to
apply far in advance but have a think about anything you would like to do,
perhaps next year. I know of someone who received funding to cover an 8 week
placement in New Zealand….dream big!!
Also something to note is that most of these charities are not just applicable
for students. When you are out in the professional big wide world and want to
attend ‘that interesting but pricey upcoming conference’....apply for funding!
4)
Don’t just shop around for
conservation related Charitable Trusts. There are various ways to receive
funding – it just takes a little bit of research and allowing yourself to stand
out. For example, have you ever looked into Crowdfunding? This is a way of asking a large amount of people to
provide a small amount of money towards your cause or venture. Donations can be
given with nothing expected in return or loans may be provided (with or without
interest). All you need to do is create a profile showing why you deserve their
donations and start networking!
I hope this has given you some ‘food for
thought’ for applying for funding, especially if you had never looked in to it
before. Good luck with your ventures and happy conserving to you all!
