Pitstone Step-Up Grants

Do you need a helping hand to step-up to the next level?

Pitstone Step–Up Grants are grants available to eligible Pitstone residents, funded from income from a local charity*.  They are designed to relieve hardship, need or distress by enabling the long-term transformation of the recipient’s quality of life in some way.  This could be through removing barriers to enable an individual to pursue a life-improving opportunity that would otherwise have been unaffordable, or to complete some form of training or upskilling that will demonstrably improve their professional or earning potential, where funding is not available from another source.

*  Pitstone Parish Charity, Registration Number: 261752

Education Step-Up Grants:

These will enable the recipient to pursue opportunities as part of their formal education that would otherwise be unaffordable. They can be used to meet costs associated with accessing  any level of formal education from primary school to postgraduate or gaining professional qualifications.  Grants may be considered for multiple years where applicable, but an award of a grant in one year is not a guarantee of funding for subsequent applications.  An Education Step-Up Grant may be considered for things like assistance with a bus pass if taking up a school place farther afield, cost of college equipment or providing a deposit for university rental accommodation.  The maximum grant will normally be £1,500.

Career Step-Up Grants:

Theses enable the recipient to undertake training or obtain specific tools or equipment in order to make a step change in their ability to pursue a particular career and enhance their earning potential.  Examples of Career Step-Up Grants might include paying for someone working as a parcel delivery driver to undertake an HGV training course, or a grant towards the cost of tools to become a self-employed plumber after completing the required qualification course.  The maximum grant will normally be £2,500.

Life Step-Up Grants:

These will cover the costs of particular activities designed to enhance life skills through specific experiences.  Life Step-Up Grants could include contributions towards participation in specific experiences or schemes designed to expand the horizons and experiences of participants.  The maximum grant will normally be £1,000.

Community Organisation  Step-Up Grants:

These will contribute towards the costs of a specific project being undertaken by any community organisation active within the parish where the work is intended to serve those in the parish facing particular barriers in life. They can be used towards capital or revenue costs but cannot be used to cover core operating or annually recurring costs.  Community Organisation Step-Up Grants are for those organisations that are tackling need, hardship or
distress in the community, for example providing food or assistance.  (If your group has a more general need, please apply tor a Parish Council grant instead.)  The maximum grant will normally be £5,000.

Helping Out Grants:

Although it is anticipated that the vast majority of grants will be made within the four categories shown above, applications will be considered to assist with situations that do not fall within any of them but still meet the charity’s criteria of relieving need, hardship or distress. The same requirements will exist to demonstrate a clear need and show what the impact will be on improving the quality of life of the recipient.  An example of which may include assistance towards the installation of a ramp if a resident becomes a wheelchair user. The maximum grant will normally be £1,000.

To Apply:   

Read the Grant Making Policy and Application Guidelines, then complete the Application Form (both documents downloadable below).  If you’d like us to deliver a copy of the documents to your home, please call 01296 767261 or email stepupgrants@pitstone.co.uk and we’ll happily drop it off to you. 

Application Deadlines:

Grant applications will be considered four times each year.  Your application needs to reach us by:

• The end of May for our June panel

• The end of August for our September panel

• The end of November for our December panel

• The end of February for our March panel

Pitstone Town Lands Charity

If you are in need, hardship or distress but have a short term or specific need such as help buying spectacles or white goods, you should contact Pitstone Town Lands Charity rather than Pitstone Step-Up Grants.  Please ring Gill Lowe on 01296 668809 or email her on gill.lowe@pitstone.email.