Annual Grant Funding Application Guidelines for Societies 2024-2025
The Annual Grant Funding Scheme gives all active societies for 2024-2025 the chance to plan their events and activities much further in advance as they will know how much funding they have to work with; it also stops any delays caused by the need for funding requests to be approved by the Societies Guild Committee, which is the route taken if applying for In-Year Grant Funding.
The Annual Grant Funding Application Form must be completed by Sunday 30th June 2024 – we will not accept any late submissions. Successful applicants will be contacted with their provisional allocated funding in August, which gives society committees the chance to alter their Freshers events and planned activity for the year.
It should be noted that the Union Grant for societies is limited and we have loads of active societies so it is therefore strongly encouraged that societies hold fundraising events throughout the year to achieve a greater level of income for their society. It shows entrepreneurship and creative problem-solving skills, proving that you are not solely reliant on Union Grants and are a more sustainable group. Societies can also raise funds by charging a small membership fee.
Criteria for Annual Grant Funding 2024-2025
- The applicant completing the form is the 2024-2025 Chair/President or Treasurer of the society; only the first application submitted will be considered per society
- The application must support the aims of the society, as stated within the society's 2023-2024 constitution
- The application must clearly outline the ways in which the society plans to increase student engagement or membership satisfaction
- The application must have a clear breakdown of how the money will be spent and the current plans in place to ensure that the society stands the best chance of successfully delivering these proposed activities
- The application must indicate how success will be measured, and what will constitute a successful delivery
- The application must not exceed the amount that the society is eligible for, as per the achieved CASES from the 2023-2024 academic year:
- Gold - £400, Silver - £300, Bronze - £200, Standard - £100 - Please see the CASES rewards system at the bottom of this page.
- The application must be submitted before midnight on Sunday 30th June 2024
Point of Consideration
Items that CANNOT be funded by union grant or membership money
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Item
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Suggested Alternative/Additional Information
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Events/Items exclusively for a group within the society
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Society events & items should be open to all members
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Large or expensive promotional materials (e.g. banners and roll-ups)
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You should consider investing in re-useable materials such as society banners with just the name and the recurring event, but no dates
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Club Nights, social balls and/or galas (Except Cultural Events)
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These events should charge a ticket price to cover costs; Cultural events can b supported through the One Brunel Campaign
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Personal items (e.g. personalised hoodies, uniform, personal equipment)
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Personal items for members can be bought using the society’s page to take payments from members but not using society funding
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Food or Drink (Including Alcohol) for society events
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Instead, you should consider charging a small entry fee (even if it’s 50p!) to cover the cost of snacks and refreshments. No Exceptions will be made for alcohol at events
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Sponsorships, Affiliations to Governing Bodies or Associations, and Gifts or Donations to Other Organisations
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Only applies for grant money given by the Union - If the Society covers this charge in their membership fee this money can be used
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Sports equipment, facility booking or transport
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The union supports many sports clubs under Team Brunel for members to get involved in and play at any level
The minibuses are hired by the union for Sports club use. These can be requested for society use if not needed by clubs however payment of use must come from the society function account or member contributions
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Any applications that go against the Union of Brunel Students’ Constitution, Bye-Laws, Policy and Motions or retrospective submissions after purchases made/event date
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Submitting your Annual Grant Funding Application Form for 2024-2025
All requests must be submitted via the online form below.
Please submit this form by midnight on Sunday 30th June 2024.
When requesting funding, please provide as much information as possible, in line with the criteria and points of consideration listed above. Most importantly, please provide a realistic breakdown of the amount you are requesting, for example:
£250 in total
£100 – fresher’s week dance performance on the quad – purchase costumes and stage make up (£60), print marketing materials (£20), donation to student photographer (£20)
£50 – subsidise 50% of 10 members tickets to a Women in Leadership conference in London
£100 – 1x minibus hire for trip
Please note, we will still hold a proportion of the Annual Grant Funding back, as we are aware that sometimes event ideas come up part way through the year and we want to be able to support these activities as well. However, the majority of Society Funding will be allocated over the summer for the year ahead.
The Society Funding held back will become available for societies to apply for as part of the In-Year Grant Funding Scheme. This scheme comes into force in September 2024.
What happens to my form once submitted?
Student Activities will review all application forms over summer and we will award the funding based on the information provided and against the criteria. Provisional budgets will then be circulated in July, with the budgets then ratified by the new Societies Guild Committee next year at the start of October.
If you have any questions, feel free to pop into the Student Activities Office, or email the societies administrator at Student.Activities@brunel.ac.uk.
CASES Rewards
The CASES Rewards system ensures that Societies are hitting the highest level of CASES possible so that they can then reap the best rewards possible.
Gold
Priority for requested facilities
Gold Tier for maximum in year funding requests (£400)
Promoted on Union Webpage as a Gold Society
Receive a certificate at the Societies Ball
Silver
Priority for requested facilities
Silver Tier for maximum in year funding requests (£300)
Promoted on Union Webpage as a Silver Society
Receive a certificate at the Societies Ball
Bronze
Promoted on Union Webpage as a Bronze Society
Bronze Tier amount of in year funding requests (£200)
Receive a certificate at the Societies Ball
Standard
This is the minimum standard required for a Society to remain active and for them to receive funding for the following year.
Standard Tier amount of in year funding requests (£100)