Grant application Overview

You can apply for a grant award up to £750. If the available funding is oversubscribed, we may at our discretion choose to award part funding, so that more clubs can benefit from the available funds.

The grant award must be used to benefit youth fencing in schools, clubs or universities located in Scotland. The grant has a specific purpose of supporting clubs, schools and universities in introducing fencing to young people who have not experienced fencing before.

Each year the Foundation for Scottish Fencing sets a budget to fund grant awards for that year. Each Foundation for Scottish Fencing grant award can be up to a maximum of £750.

Grant applications will be accepted by the Foundations committee from January to May. Applications will not be accepted any other time. If an application misses the application window the applicant needs to reapply at the next application window the following year. Applications will not be carried over. 

The grant application form is at the end of this document. Please read the Grant application guidelines and terms and conditions before applying.

1. The fencing club/school/university must be located in Scotland.
2. The fencing club/school/university associated with the application must have a current British Fencing club membership.
3. The applicant must have a valid British Fencing membership and be registered with a Scottish home counties region. 
4. The club/school/university must have a coach who is registered in the current British Fencing coach register https://www.britishfencing.com/coach-search/ at the time of grant application. 
5. The club/school/university must have a Welfare officer who is registered in the current British Fencing Welfare register at the time of grant application https://www.britishfencing.com/welfare-zone/welfare-officer-register/.  OR have completed BOTH Sport Scotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training (CWPS) modules 1 & 2 and Sport Scotland Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer (CWPO) Training (Note: School or University Fencing clubs welfare is covered by the schools/university own welfare codes.)
6. The fencing club must have a club bank account in the fencing clubs name.
7. Only one application per club will be considered. Within this application, a single grant of up to £750 can be applied for.
8. Grants will not be awarded to retrospectively fund kit that has already been purchased.
9. The club/school/university cannot apply for a grant where the club/school/university already has sufficient funds in their club bank account which out with club operation expenditure is of an equivalent or greater value than the grant award being applied for.
10. Applications must be received during the January to May application window.

The Foundation for Scottish Fencing competitions and the grants they fund have a specific purpose of encouraging young people who have not experienced fencing to take up fencing in Scottish clubs/schools/universities. 

Ineligible applications include requests for:

1. Grants for an individual rather than a club.
2. Capital improvements (land purchase, building construction, building modifications, etc.)
3. Operating expenses (salaries, office supplies, utility bills, etc.)
4. Funding for trips or travel expenses such as competitions/events..
5. Projects or scholarships, that benefit individuals.
6. Third-party donations
7. Recurring events or services
8. Auctions, raffles, or fundraising initiatives.
9. Replacing existing club kit. Fencing clubs charge a monthly membership, the purpose of which is covering costs such as replacing existing club kit
10. The club/school/university must not apply for a grant where the club/school/university already has sufficient funds in their club bank account which out with club operation expenditure is of an equivalent or greater value than the grant award being applied for.

1. Grants are only available to Fencing Clubs geographically located in Scotland.
2. The fencing club/school/university associated with the application must have a current British Fencing club membership.
3. The fencing club must have a club bank account in the fencing clubs name.
4. Any approved grant award will be paid via bank transfer direct to the club bank account.
5. A Club/school/university may only be awarded a single grant every two calendar years.
6. Clubs applying for the grant must be listed in the British Fencing club register. https://www.britishfencing.com/club-finder/
7. Clubs applying for a grant must have an accredited coach listed in the current British Fencing coaches register who is recorded against the club applying for the grant. https://www.britishfencing.com/coach-search/
8. The club/school/university must have a Welfare officer who is registered in the current British Fencing Welfare register at the time of grant application https://www.britishfencing.com/welfare-zone/welfare-officer-register/. OR have completed BOTH Sport Scotland Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Training (CWPS) modules 1 & 2 and Sport Scotland Child Wellbeing and Protection Officer (CWPO) Training (Note: School or University Fencing clubs welfare is covered by the schools/university own welfare codes.)
9. Applications must be received during the January to May application window.
10. Applications will be reviewed by the F4SF committee members for consideration. The committee will discuss the merits of each application and will vote to agree/reject award allocation. Further information from the applicant may be requested by the committee as part of the review process. An explanation will be provided should any applications be rejected, please note that the committee’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.
11. Successful applications will be awarded an amount up to a limit of £750 for any single grant requester. Requests for amounts greater than £750 will be rejected.
12. If the available funding is over subscribed, we may at our discretion choose to award part funding, so that more clubs can benefit.
13. If a grant applications cannot be fulfilled due to lack off available funds the applicant will need to re-apply the following year and their application will go through the application process again.
14. Grants will not be awarded to retrospectively fund kit that has already been purchased by a club/school/university.
15. The club/school/university must not apply for a grant where the club/school/university already has sufficient funds in their club bank account which out with club operation expenditure is of an equivalent or greater value than the grant award being applied for.
16. Only the Foundation for Scottish Fencing can order and purchase kit associated with the grant award. 
17. Once a grant has been approved the applicant will be advised and the Foundation for Scottish Fencing will order and purchase the kit associated with the grant application.
18. Fencing kit will only be ordered from the following approved suppliers.
    https://www.leonpaul.com
    https://allstaruhlmann.com
    https://bladesbrand.com/
    https://pbtukfencing.co.uk
    https://enpointefencing.com
19. In all circumstances, ALL kit purchased with the grant award remains the property of the Foundation for Scottish Fencing and shall remain an asset of the Foundation throughout its lifetime and subject to the terms and conditions (T&C’s herein). This also applies to kit where the club applicant are contributing funds to the kit purchased under this grant application.
20. Any kit purchased as part of the grant application must only be used by the club/school/university in the application. It cannot be re-distributed to any other individual or club.
21. All kit purchased as part of the grant application cannot be sold. It remains the property of the Foundation for Scottish Fencing and it will be a criminal offence to sell any Foundation for Scottish Fencing kit.
22. All equipment provided will be clearly labelled/stamped/marked as the property of the Foundation of Scottish Fencing or F4SF prior to dispatch. 
23. The equipment provided shall be maintained by the clubs (subject to fair wear and tear), with any repairs done by the clubs at their own expense (where the Foundation presents equipment as refurbished the expectations in this respect are limited to those specified at the time of award)
24. Clubs commit to bring, or as a minimum to make available on agreed non- financial terms on a case by case basis, all equipment to any Scottish based competitions listed on the Foundation for Scottish Fencing website for which they receive a written request by the Foundation.
25. Equipment provided under this process may not be used for any form of personal or commercial pecuniary gain, except where this has been agreed as acceptable and in the spirit of the award by the Foundation Council.
26. If the clubs circumstances change and you cannot utilise any funding or kit received you will be required to contact us and return any unused kit.
27. In the event of a club in receipt of the equipment ceasing to operate, or no longer requiring the supplied equipment, the Foundation must be informed within 28 days (This is so that where necessary the equipment can be returned to the Foundation for redistribution)
28. Clubs awarded a grant commit to supporting YDS events by providing referees, volunteers at future YDS events subject to the geographic location of club and YDS events.
29. If the club associated with the application is deemed by the Foundation for Scottish Fencing committee to have  broken any of the terms and conditions of the grant application then no future grant requests will be accepted by the Foundation from that club. All equipment purchased with the grant request will be returned to its owner the Foundation for Scottish Fencing.
30. If the grant application is successful the club will post on their website/social media promoting the benefits the grant will bring from the Foundation for Scottish Fencing.
31. Successful grant applicants must agree to complete and return a follow-up questionnaire on how the grant has benefitted the club.

What you will need to complete the online application

1. Applicants British Fencing membership number.
2. Club/School/University British Fencing club membership number
3. Principle coach details including BF membership number.
4. Child protection officer details BF membership number (If Applicable)
5. The Club/School/University club bank account details.
6. Information on what your fencing club would use the kit for.
7. Supplier quote(s) for kit being purchased. (see request for kit form below) You will need to complete this before completing the online grant form.
8. Details of any other funding you have received.

Applications will be reviewed by the Foundations committee members for consideration. The committee will meet and discuss the merits of each application and will vote to agree/reject award allocation. Further information from the applicant may be requested by the committee as part of the review process. An explanation will be provided should any applications be rejected, please note that the committee’s decision is final and cannot be appealed.

There may be occasions where the value and volume of grant applications are greater than the available funds and as such grant award values may be less than the applicants requested amount, or may not be available at all. Therefor the committee will aim to provide a fair spread of allocation across requests that have been received, but this cannot be guaranteed. 

Applicants will be informed whether or not sufficient funds are available at the time of application. If the value of received grant applications are of a greater value than can be fulfilled then the applicant will need to re-apply the following year and their application will go through the application process again.

Once a grant has been approved the applicant will be advised and the Foundation for Scottish Fencing will order and purchase the kit associated with the grant application.