The DofE Resilience Fund - The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

For many young people, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been – and will be – devastating. For disadvantaged young people, the impact will be greatest, as they face unprecedented challenge and change, affecting their academic, social and emotional development, and longer-term work prospects.

Through DofE, we have an opportunity to support young people facing disadvantage, when they need us most. Achieving a DofE Award levels the playing field and offers possibility, of progressing in education or securing a job interview.

To help young people facing disadvantage to recover from the effects of the pandemic, we’ve launched the DofE Resilience Fund to reduce barriers to DofE participation this financial year (until 31 March 2021).

The Fund comprises two time-limited packages of support that have been created in consultation with our Licensed Organisations (LOs). The packages are:

1. Funded Participation Places for disadvantaged young people

Our ambition is to fund over 12,000 Participation Places at all levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – for disadvantaged young people starting their DofE across the UK, until 31 March 2021.

We don’t want the Participation Place fee to be a barrier to disadvantaged young people taking part. By removing that barrier, we increase opportunities for young people who are facing disadvantage to start their DofE and gain the benefits of achieving an Award; raising their aspirations, helping them build valuable skills for their future and increasing their employability prospects.

This package is made possible by the support of generous donors, and therefore Participation Place funds will be restricted per Region / Country.

If your centre works with disadvantaged young people, please speak to your Ops Officer to find out more.

2. Funded online training for adults running DofE in Licensed Organisations

We’ll invest in online training for up to 3,500 adults running DofE in Licensed Organisations, with the aim of making 250 funded training courses available, across the UK, until 31 March 2021. The package will provide access to the following courses:

Introduction to the DofE
Expedition Assessor Accreditation Scheme
Award Verifier

NB. Outdoor courses will not be offered as part of this package.

Through funded online training, DofE centres will be able to upskill potential volunteers and increase capacity to reach more young people. Delegates will gain an understanding of programme flexibilities that enable access to young people irrespective of background, circumstance or ability.

Adults running DofE in Licensed Organisations or an organisation in the process of becoming licensed to run the DofE, will be eligible for funded online training. All funded courses are bookable through the Opportunity Finder and via some Region / Country webpages.

This package is made possible by the support of generous donors, and therefore training funds will be restricted per Region / Country.

Opportunity Finder