They aim to help children and young people reach their full potential by supporting projects which have the following objectives:
The Foundation supports a wide range of projects initiated by many different organisations and individuals.
They value academic, vocational, artistic and sporting endeavour in equal measure and they are particularly keen to support projects which will help enhance the self-confidence, team working skills and future employability of children and young people.
Projects which they support include:
This list is illustrative and not exclusive as to the types of project that they support.
Who is eligible to apply for a grant?
Grant applicants must be resident in England.
They only make grants to support specific projects. They do not provide funding to support the running costs or general activities of an organisation.
Most projects which BlueSpark supports are likely to be initiated by schools, community groups, clubs, societies or other not for profit organisations.
However, individuals may also apply for a grant.
In most cases, they make grants direct to the organisation whose pupils or members are to be the beneficiaries of a project. They do not normally make grants to organisations or individuals in order to enable them to provide their own services or products (for which they would usually charge) on a free or subsidised basis to a third party.
In such circumstances, the third party itself should make the application for a grant. If this is impractical (e.g. because there are a number of third parties who will benefit from a project), they may agree to partner with an organisation or individual to help them make their services available to pre-identified third parties.
Grant applications must state exactly what the grant will be used for e.g. physical assets (such as sports equipment, or lighting for stage productions), services or facilities (such as music or drama tuition) or the provision of experiences (such as theatre visits). These examples are intended to be illustrative and not restrictive as to the funding which BlueSpark may provide to support projects.
Excluded activities
They do not make grants for:
(a) projects for children or young people under the age of 5 or over the age of 22;
(b) life skill mentoring services;
(c) counselling services;
(d) holiday clubs or playgroups;
(e) construction, maintenance or repair of buildings or facilities;
(f) training adults who work with children or young people; or
(g) student fees or maintenance.
