Three young people in orange helmets climb across an outdoors climbing wall.

A young person wearing an orange helmet and brown puffer jacket climbs across an outdoor climbing wall.

The Resilience Fund

Find out how existing Licensed Organisations can apply for funding to support marginalised young people.

As young people face up to today’s challenges, we know the DofE has never been more needed.

In line with our Youth Without Limits strategy, we are committed to making sure that the DofE is open to all young people. We want our participants reflect the most diverse generation of young people ever.

The Resilience Fund offers a range of support for participants and organisations to help break down barriers to participation.

Please contact your DofE Operations Officer to find out if you can apply.

Read the funding guidance Read the application form guidance

See how young people are giving back to their communities through their DofE programmes and building life-long skills.

Eligibility criteria

This Fund supports marginalised young people to do their DofE for whom one or more of the below applies:

Those who have additional needs
Those who are deemed ‘at risk’*
Those who receive Free School Meals (FSM)
Those who are eligible for Pupil Premium (PP), Pupil Equity Funding or the 16- 19 Bursary
Young people at risk of exclusion from education
Those who are looked after or in care
Young people who are responsible for caring for someone else
Parents under the age of 18
Young people whose first language is not English, Welsh or Gaelic
Asylum seekers
Refugees
Young people in custody
Other – please discuss with your Operations Officer

* By ‘at risk’ we mean any young person who may be vulnerable due to, for example, their age, mental health, disability, illness, gender, race, religion, or belief sexual orientation, economic status or who may be unable to protect themselves from abuse.

This fund covers:

Participant places

Bronze, Silver and Gold participants

Participant Bursaries

Up to £125 of support for eligible young people*

Sectional equipment

Up to £2,000
Maximum expedition section support of £1,250*
Volunteering/Physical and Skills sections have a maximum of £250*
Funding excludes VAT

External adult training for DofE Leaders

Up to £500

Licensed Organisation Delivery support

up to £250*

*Eligibility criteria/items can be found in the Resilience Fund guide.

All costs should exclude VAT unless the Licensed Organisation self-declares on the grant application form that they’re unable to reclaim VAT. Then they should only include VAT for items which are eligible for VAT reclaim.

Key dates

Funding window 1

Applications open week beginning 14 April 2025 and close Friday 18 July 2025.

Funding window 2

Applications open week beginning 19 August 2025 and close Friday 28 November 2025.

Funding window 3

Applications open week beginning 5 January 2026 and close Friday 27 February 2026.

Application process

Step 1: Contact your DofE Operations Officer to find out more.

Step 2: If eligible, complete the DofE’s Grant Application Form. You can get support from your Operations Officer and our external guidance document.

Step 3: Submit your application form. Make sure you read and confirm that you agree to the DofE’s standard terms and conditions.

Step 4: We will review your application. Your Operations Officer will inform you by email whether you have been successful.

Step 5: If successful, use your grant in line with the agreement. Make sure you keep copies of all receipts and invoices.

Step 6: Complete an interim and final report in line with the reporting dates on the grant application.

Reporting requirements

Successful DofE Licensed Organisations will need to complete an interim and final report. These are usually expected at the 6 month and 12 month point of the grant.

We want the report to say how the grant has supported young people from marginalised backgrounds to do their DofE and the impact this has had.

We may also need itemised VAT invoices as part of the report for auditing purposes, as part of our terms and conditions.

If you’ve received support through the Resilience Fund and would like to share the impact it has had on your organisation and participants by providing a case study, please contact your DofE Operations Officer.

Impact of this fund

In 2024/2025, the Resilience Fund supported over 25,450 young people to access their DofE via a funded Participant Place along with over £480,000 of Participant Bursaries.

In total, the DofE supported over 1,400 Licensed Organisations with over £1.83 million to support more young people than ever access the award and have a positive experience.

The grant has been instrumental in enabling us to reach a greater number of young people within our community. By addressing financial barriers, the funding has allowed us to cover essential costs, making the DofE more accessible to those who might otherwise miss out.

The grant has been instrumental in supporting our school by making the award accessible to all students regardless of their individual challenges. The grant has improved the overall quality of our DofE programme in ensuring that all young people can participant meaningfully and successfully.

Licensed Organisation that received Resilience funding.