The Participation Fund is a pot of money to support current UCL students who are experiencing financial hardship and are therefore facing significant financial barriers accessing Students’ Union UCL clubs and societies as well as any other co-curricular or extra-curricular activities. Financial barriers can be especially hard for some students. but this should not prevent them from having amazing co-curricular and extra-curricular experiences and opportunities.
The funds will be awarded based on an individual’s financial needs, and can be used to help cover the costs of membership fees, or any other associated costs (such as kit, specialist equipment, travel or room hire).
The fund is open to all UCL students of all programmes of study and for use in any Students’ Union UCL affiliated club or society. Students can also apply for funding to support other co-curricular and extra-curricular activities they are involved in whilst studying at UCL.
Students can apply to the fund if they are able to demonstrate they would face a significant financial barrier to participating in extra or co-curricular activity, such as (not an exhaustive list):
- Paying the membership fee to join a club, society or similar UCL activity
- The costs of taking part in club or society core activity
- Joining Bloomsbury Fitness
- The costs of attending an extra-curricular or co-curricular event
- Purchasing or renting equipment or specialist clothing required to take part in a club, society or other similar activity
- Purchasing or renting adaptive equipment for disabled students taking part in club, society or other similar activity
- Taking part in a voluntary activity with a local group or charity
- Being involved in an activity run by our Reps or Officers
- Attending or presenting at a conference or other event (that is not a core part of the course of study)
- Taking part in an international trek, project or leadership/representation activity
An example of a request that would be considered for funding:
A student wishes to purchase football boots to take part in the football club or needs assistance with the membership fee. (Applicants will have to show they have considered good value for money in their request)
An example of something that is unlikely to be funded:
A student applies for funding to attend a society social holiday/trip abroad, or to take part in social events relating to alcohol.
Students can apply for up to a maximum of £500 per academic year. You can either apply for the maximum award of £500 in one application, or can apply for smaller amounts across a maximum of three applications during the academic year.
Please note that you can only apply to the Participation Fund for upcoming costs, and not to reimburse you for retrospective costs. We will not accept applications for any items which have already been bought at the start of your application.
If you are thinking about applying to the fund, please complete the contact form below.
This is not an emergency fund, so please allow at least 20 working days from submitting the contact form until the funds are needed.
Your contact form is confidential and will be sent to our Advice Service who will send you an application form to complete. You will also be asked to provide evidence of your financial situation, including recent bank statements for the last two months for all your accounts.
An adviser will review your application form and evidence and provide any relevant feedback before submitting your application to the Finance Panel to review. The Advice Service can offer wider financial advice (including how to maximise your income) and may signpost you to additional funding sources if appropriate.
Once your application has been reviewed, you will receive an outcome via email. If your application is successful, the Advice Service will arrange to have the funds transferred to you.
Outcomes are at the discretion of the Participation Fund Panel and decisions are final.
Once you receive your award, we will ask you to send us receipts or proof of purchase for the items you have bought within ten working days. If you do not send us the relevant receipts, you will not be eligible for any future Participation Fund applications.
Please note that Participation Fund is currently receiving a very high number of applications. The average current processing time is therefore 4-6 weeks.