Participation Places
Licensed Organisations can apply for participation places, allowing young people facing barriers to participation the opportunity to start their DofE programme at no cost to the young person.
- Bronze, Silver, and Gold participation places
Participant bursaries
Licensed Organisations can apply for participant bursaries which is used to directly support a young person with the cost of doing their Expedition or Residential sections with an Approved Activity Provider (AAP), or to support with costs associated with completing DofE sections.
Up to a maximum of £125 per young person to be used for:
- One-off AAP costs for the Expedition and/or Residential sections
- Personal expedition equipment (walking boots, waterproof coat, waterproof trousers, sleeping bag*)
- Food up to a maximum of £15 per 24-hour period during the Expedition
- Campsite, bunkhouse or similar up to £15 per night during the Expedition
- Personal travel to/from the Expedition or Residential. Eligible costs would include train, bus, taxi or mileage rates using own vehicle at 55p per mile.
*Personal expedition equipment should be kept by participants after completing their DofE, allowing access to similar activities in the future. This section is not designed to fund equipment for a Licensed Organisation’s equipment stores; this can be covered through the sectional equipment section. If any young person does not anticipate using their equipment after their DofE, we encourage the LO to collect unwanted items so that participants in future years can benefit.
All costs should exclude VAT unless the Licensed Organisation self-declares on the grant application form that they are unable to reclaim VAT.
Sectional equipment
Licensed Organisations can apply for up to £2,000 in total to purchase sectional equipment to help support young people doing their DofE.
- Up to £250 to purchase equipment for participants’ Physical, Skill or Volunteering sections
- Up to £1,250 for Expedition sectional equipment where the LO is required to replace equipment or purchase additional equipment to meet the growing needs of delivering DofE programmes.
All requested items must:
- Be reusable for DofE activities
- Be owned and retained by the Licensed Organisation, who must have the ability to store and maintain them so they can be used for future cohorts
- Demonstrate value for money
- Clearly help facilitate the activity and support participants to do their DofE.
Expedition equipment
Up to a maximum of £1,250 per LO. Funding can only be used for the following expedition equipment:
Team camping equipment
- Tents
- Cooking stoves (excluding fuel)
- Fuel bottles
- Cooking sets
Personal camping equipment
- Rucksacks and covers
- Dry bags
- Sleeping bags and liners
- Sleeping mats
- Plates and cutlery
Personal emergency equipment
- Maps and cases
- Compasses
- GPS trackers (excluding subscriptions)
- First aid kits
- Survival shelters/bags
- Torches
- Safety equipment for participants doing their expeditions via modes of travel other than walking, e.g. buoyancy aids for water-based travel, helmets for cycling.
Participant clothing
- Waterproof jackets
- Waterproof trousers
- Walking boots and socks
Volunteering, Physical and Skills section equipment
The equipment should allow your Licensed Organisation to start or continue to offer sectional activities to multiple cohorts. Purchased equipment helps facilitate the activity and supports participants to complete their sections.
Training for DofE Adult Leaders
Licensed Organisations can apply for funding of up to £1,000 to support Adult Leaders to complete appropriate expedition-related qualifications, or continuous professional development (CPD) training to maintain or develop their qualifications.
The maximum funding per adult is £500, this cannot be used for membership or registration fees. Funded courses include:
- Lowland Leader
- Lowland Expedition Leader
- Hill and Moorland Leader
- Summer Mountain Leader
- Minibus driver training
- First aid
- National Governing body qualifications in other modes of travel, like mountain biking or canoeing will also be considered if required to complete an expedition
- Pre-approved localised adult training courses required by the Licensed Organisation’s risk assessment.
Where qualifications have multiple training elements, the Licensed Organisation should apply for each training course separately once the Adult Leader has completed any of the pre-course requirements.
An LO can apply for the cost of CPD workshops and courses to maintain or develop their Leader’s qualifications. These courses must enhance a Leader’s skillset for safe and effective delivery of DofE Expeditions.
Licensed Organisations
To support delivering DofE programmes, a Licensed Organisation can apply for funding of up to £250. This funding can be used for, but not limited to:
- Travel to sectional activities, this can include the use of transport (minibus, bus, coach hire). Fuel costs at 15p per mile for hired vehicles and 55p per mile for personal vehicles.
- Food and drink up to a maximum of £15 over 24 hours per adult, while supervising an expedition.
- Campsite, bunkhouse, or similar fees up to maximum of £15 per night for each adult, while supervising an expedition.
- Expedition equipment for Leaders, this kit must be kept by the LO so that adult Leaders have access to the equipment (waterproof jacket and trousers, walking boots, sleeping bags, tents and rucksacks for staff, DofE clothing and merchandise).
- Equipment maintenance (replacing tent poles, re-waterproofing jackets and trousers)
- Certificate or map printing
- Facility hiring for standalone DofE celebration events and purchasing reusable items.
