Applying for a grant from YuFund - guidance notes and criteria
YuFund and YuStart are two sources of funding open to projects at York and groups/individuals should
consider which suits their project needs. Please see www.yorkspace.net/students for details
YuFund grants, enabled through donations made by alumni and friends, are allocated by the YuFund Disbursement
Group in April and December and the process is managed by the Development and Alumni Relations Office (DARO).
Who can apply?
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Any current member of the University (staff or student) can apply for support on behalf of a student society,
sports club, unaffiliated student group, College or Department.
The Fund does not have the means to assist students once they have left the University. Applications from
alumni will not be considered.
When are the application dates for the Academic Year 2015/16?
Applications to be
received by DARO
Sunday 1 November 2015
Sunday 20 March 2016
Disbursement Group
Meeting
Tuesday 8 December 2015
Tuesday 19 April 2016
Tuesday 6 December 2016
Applicants informed
Wed 16 December 2015
Wed 27 April 2016
Wed 14 December 2016
DARO publicises the application process through all University channels with the help of YUSU and Departments two
months ahead of each meeting. This strict deadline for applications must be adhered to and no applications received
outside the timescales specified can be considered.
What projects are suitable?
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Those seeking to enhance the York experience through academic, extra-curricular, sporting or volunteering
activities.
Those which seek to maintain and improve the fabric of the University and which would not normally be covered
by the Estates budget.
How much can I apply for?
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YuFund considers projects which require funding in an amount ranging from £100 to £10,000.
YuFund matching enables projects to access up to £500 of YuFund funding without going through the application
process by running a project on YuStart. Please see http://www.yorkspace.net/students/yustart
Please note that for larger projects where you have already accessed YuFund matching through YuStart, you may
still be able to apply for additional support from YuFund.
Which projects will not normally be considered?
 Applications from individuals (academic or student) seeking support for tuition, maintenance or other course fees,
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or for replacement staff costs for sabbatical or other leave.
Projects for which alternative sources of funding (research councils, other university funds etc) have not been
explored.
Retrospective funding.
The Fund will not underwrite event losses, nor fund events to benefit a third party charity.
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Applications for grants to provide food or drink at an event will not be considered, if an application is otherwise
suitable, these elements of project expenditure will be removed.
Free events for which it would be appropriate to make a charge.
How will applications be prioritised by the YuFund Committee?
Due to limited resources, YuFund is unable to support every project for which it receives an application and those that are
successful may find that the full project costs cannot be met. Projects are encouraged not to rely on YuFund for total
support.
The YuFund Disbursement Group will consider the following when scoring applications and the following criteria
contribute to that process. Projects should:
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Have the widest benefit for the University and wider York community.
Meet a clearly expressed student, staff or overall College need.
Enable students to optimise their academic and personal potential.
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Demonstrate value for money, offer long-term benefit or added value.
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Have already raised, or intend to raise, part of their total project cost from alternative sources, particularly
through YuStart, the University’s crowdfunding platform.
Please note:
 The Fund will not usually make commitments to fund projects on an ongoing or a multi-year basis. Grants are
‘one-off’ contributions to support unique activities, or to provide ‘start-up’ funds for new initiatives which, if
successful, are expected to become self-funding or which can thereafter be supported from other sources. The
exceptions to this rule are a very small number of projects with a wider community and volunteering focus.
 Grants are rarely given to projects where an income is expected (e.g. theatre shows where an admission fee is
charged). Projects of this nature can now seek funding directly from alumni, family and friends through the
University’s crowdfunding site, YuStart.
How do I apply?
All administration and processing of applications is handled by DARO.
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Applications must be submitted on the standard online application form at
http://www.yorkspace.net/giving/students/yufund.
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Applications should be cogent, well written and presented. To aid projects in gathering information and crafting
their text a downloadable draft form is available.
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All fields in the application form must be completed in full in order for the application to be considered. A model
application can be found on the YuFund webpage.
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Each application must be supported by a statement of endorsement from Head of Department, line manager or
team leader. In the case of student societies this will normally be the YorkSport President or YUSU Activities
Officer.
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The Endorser should receive a copy of your completed application form for consideration at least a week before
the application deadline to allow enough time to consider their endorsement. The completed endorsement
should be forwarded directly to yufund@york.ac.uk by your endorser.
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Projects will be submitted to DARO in the first instance and will not be put to the Disbursement Group for
consideration unless they fall within the agreed criteria and have followed the process outlined above.
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DARO will run funding applications workshops at which advice on project suitability can be obtained.
Alternatively please email yufund@york.ac.uk. Please see http://www.yorkspace.net/students for details.
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Applicants unsure of project suitability are encouraged to seek advice. Once projects are submitted no changes
can be made.
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Unsuccessful applicants will be given feedback by email.
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It is a condition of acceptance of any award that the individual, group or department will
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Sign and return an acceptance of conditions
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Attend the lunchtime session for successful projects on Wednesday 6 January 2016, 1.00pm to 2.00pm
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Produce a report about their project to assist with fundraising publicity and the generation of new
support. An example of the reporting format can be found on the YuFund webpage.
Where does YuFund come from?
Substantial funds are raised from alumni, staff and friends through the Giving to York programme each year. Donors
give either one off gifts or make a regular gift monthly, quarterly or annually and these are directed by donors to different
aspects of University life.
 Funds donated to support extra-curricular activity, sport and opportunities are directed to YuFund.
 Funds donated by donors who do not specify a preference are split between Student Support and YuFund.
 Donors can also make a gift to their College. Colleges have direct access to these provided that all projects are
agreed by the College Council.
Revised 20 July 2015