Advice to Units on applying for a Ulysses Trust Grant
Introduction
This advice complements and extends the brief information given in DIN Reference 2010DIN07-120 dated August 2010.
Purpose of the Trust
The Ulysses Trust (UT) is a registered Charity (Reg No 1012346) whose mission is to assist challenging expeditions and adventurous activities for the members of all Volunteer Reserve Forces (VRF) and Cadet Forces of the UK in order to develop their character, initiative and leadership qualities, and to support morale, recruitment, retention and public esteem.
Terms of Reference
In order to support expeditions, UT will:
Sponsor expeditions and adventurous activities on either a single or joint-Service basis.
Support VRF and Cadet, or exceptionally individual, expeditions or adventurous activities.
Fundraise to a level judged by the Trustees to be necessary.
Disseminate views and information about sponsored expeditions and undertake liaison activities as required. Maintain archives of expeditions supported by the Trust. UT is a Corporate Member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), thus enabling expedition leaders to use the Library (900,000 maps, 500,000 pictures, database of 6,000 expedition summaries and 3,500 full reports), the Expeditionary Advisory Centre, and attend London or Regional RGS lectures. Six RGS Membership Cards are held by the Hon Sec and will be loaned to units or individuals on request.
In general the purpose of the grants will be to provide:
A top-up fund for minor expeditions, which are unlikely to attract widespread public interest or external sponsorship.
A pump-priming fund for major expeditions during the early critical phase of a project. These expeditions would normally attract the endorsement of the parent Service AT desk officer (see Para 5 below), if High Risk or Remote, or an appropriate Service association, club or learned society. Such endorsement also provides a potential to attract commercial companies, charitable trusts or other benefactors. In the case of high-profile and potentially costly expeditions being planned a year or more ahead, larger grants may be available; the Hon Sec should be contracted as early as possible.
Individual activities and expeditions are not normally supported, but may be considered, dependent on:
the logic of an individual project
the benefits to the Services and the VRF or Cadet unit concerned
the relation of cost/benefits
UT does not as a rule support expeditions that embrace competitive sports (however challenging), routine package holiday activities (however adventurous), or those whose principal objective is to fundraise for other charities (however worthy).
Civilian Expeditions
Except in compelling and exceptional circumstances, it is not within the UT terms to support civilian expeditions or individual reservist's participation in civilian expeditions.
Criteria for Financial Support
The UT Applications Committee, when considering bids for financial support, will place emphasis on the following factors:
The adventurous aspect, the originality and the degree of challenge presented to participants.
The contribution of expedition members to the leadership and planning.
The benefits accruing to the applying VRF or Cadet unit, including the training potential for future leaders for VRF and Cadet Force expeditions.
The number of VRF and/or Cadet Force members on the expedition and the potential of the unit to fundraise. The effort made to acquire other funds, and the difficulty of so doing.
The scientific and technical content which may enhance the value of an expedition.
The public interest value with particular emphasis on scale, objectives, locations and characteristics of expeditions which can claim to be unique and thus attract media interest.
The level of essential personal contributions as a proportion of the overall costs.
Whether adult participants are paid and in receipt of CILOR or not, the reasons for this, and the level of commitment and contributions of the sponsoring unit.
The formal approval of the appropriate Service or Cadet Authority and political clearance where necessary. However, if time is short, it is better to apply as soon as possible in action parallel to obtaining these.
Grants are not normally more than 25% of individual contributions for cadet units and 50% for others. (Note change.)
Applications
Applications for grants will only be accepted on the UT website at www.ulyssestrust.co.uk. The UT On-Line Application Form can be found under the button ˜Grant Application”, along with a copy of the UT DIN. UT does not require a copy of the Joint Service Adventurous Training Form Alpha
(JSATFA); however, it is necessary for the authorizing officer (usually the Unit or Establishment Commanding Officer) to certify on the On-Line Form that the expedition has the approval of, and will be conducted in accordance with the regulations of, the appropriate Service authorities. It is important that bids for grants are submitted at least two months prior to the start of the expedition. Exceptionally, late bids may be considered. Applications should be submitted on time, even if political clearance and confirmation of numbers have to follow.
Applicants should note:
The UT Applications Committee is influenced not just by the nature of the activity and the environment in which it is taking place but primarily by the factors at Para 6 above.
Applicants are advised to ask for what is needed and not to inflate the sum on the basis it may suffer a percentage cut. A realistic, well-justified application will be better received, and only very occasionally will a request greater than 25% of personal contributions be considered for cadet units and 50% for others. (Note change.)
Grants of up to £5,000 may be authorised by the Applications Committee; grants in excess of this require the authorisation of the Trustees. In the latter case, late applications will rarely be considered.
It is particularly important that all applications include a comprehensive and accurate income and expenditure totals for all eligible participants. (This is part of the on-line form.) It must include the total of the expected personal contributions from all entitled (Reserve or Cadet) expedition members.
Individuals participating in expeditions for whom a JSATFA is inappropriate, will need to add additional information to their application (in CO’s Comments Box) to cover the issues of insurance and sponsorship.
Organisers of expeditions involving major costs are encouraged to discuss their plans with the Hon Sec at honsec@ulyssestrust.co.uk as early as possible and prior to submitting an application in order to determine the extent of UT's possible involvement.
The on-line application process is largely intuitive. Applications should be carefully scrutinised for accuracy before submission. Applicants will be notified by e-mail of the status of their submission. Difficulties should be reported to the Ops Director at opdir@ulyssestrust.co.uk.
Post Expedition/Exercise Reports
(PXRs)
PXRs are to be submitted as follows:
Initial Short Report. To be completed by the leader or a member of the expedition within 1 month of return to UK. The key points are to:
Use a journalistic style.
Contain 250-500 words in MS Word format, (including: Expedition name: Objectives: Location: Dates: Participating unit(s): Participating personnel: (total numbers, Reservist and/or Cadet numbers).
Send 3 - 5 good quality people-action JPEG photos (not embedded in the text) with captions.
