GrantRadar

Hospice UK

Grants and bursaries for professional development

Hospice UK's professional development grants and bursaries help people employed by Hospice UK member hospices pay for accredited courses, modules and (in some cases) conferences, so they can improve their skills and the care their hospice gives. Individuals can apply for up to 50% of course or module fees, up to £1,500 a year, reduced pro rata for anyone working under 18 hours a week. There are three strands with slightly different rules, funded by the Freemasons' Charity (Masonic Charitable Foundation), the National Garden Scheme and the Wolfson Foundation; you choose the one that fits your role and course. Applications are open all year but must arrive at least one month before the course starts, and the money is paid to the employing hospice, not to you.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £1,500
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Moderate
full application with documents

Who can apply

  • Individual staff employed by adult or children's hospices that are members of Hospice UK
  • People employed by the NHS or Macmillan Cancer Support cannot apply (except under the Wolfson strand, which accepts staff of NHS-funded hospices whose charitable arm is a Hospice UK member)
  • Each strand has its own rules on roles and geography: Freemasons' Charity (MCF) bursaries are open to all hospice staff, including nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants, pharmacists, allied health professionals, complementary therapists, social workers, bereavement counsellors, spiritual care workers and HR, finance and fundraising staff, but only at hospices in a Masonic Province in England, Wales, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man
  • NGS grants are open UK-wide to all hospice staff except doctors
  • Wolfson grants are open UK-wide to nurses, doctors, healthcare assistants, allied health professionals and social workers only, with a limit of £3,000 in any three-year period
  • Applicants must show how the course will improve patient outcomes, and a manager at the employing hospice must endorse the application
  • Funding is first come, first served while each strand's budget lasts

What it funds

To support learning and development for professionals working in Hospice UK member hospices, so they can improve their skills and give patients, carers and families the best care possible:

  • Up to 50% of course or module fees for accredited courses, up to £1,500 a year
  • Individual accredited modules, or a particular year of a multi-year course (a new application is needed for each later year or module)
  • Freemasons' Charity (MCF) bursaries: direct patient care courses, and complementary and non-clinical courses (for example horticulture, spiritual care, bereavement, arts and complementary therapies, SATFAC, CCAB-accredited accountancy, CIPD-accredited HR and Chartered Institute of Fundraising-accredited fundraising courses)
  • NGS professional development grants: accredited courses such as dementia care, social and therapeutic horticulture, spiritual care at the end of life, advanced communication skills, understanding loss and bereavement, arts and complementary therapies, and breathlessness and fatigue management
  • Wolfson professional development grants: direct patient care courses and conferences; teaching and presenting skills courses; audit, evaluation and research skills courses
  • Wolfson strand only: attending the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) conference or the Palliative Care Congress (PCC) if you have a poster or oral presentation accepted (typically 50% of the conference fee or £75 a day, whichever is lower)

What it will not fund

  • Any course (or conference) that has already started or taken place
  • Courses not listed in the strand's guidance tables, unless agreed with the Grants Team first
  • Conferences (MCF strand), or conferences without an accepted poster or oral presentation (NGS and Wolfson strands)
  • One-day study courses
  • Applications from employees of the NHS or Macmillan (the Wolfson strand accepts staff of NHS-funded hospices with a charitable arm that is a Hospice UK member)
  • Courses termed as update or refresher courses
  • Subsistence, travel and accommodation costs incurred whilst attending courses
  • Courses already subsidised by Hospice UK
  • In-house training organised by the employing hospice, unless it meets the strand's accreditation exceptions and no more than 25% of participants are staff from the host hospice
  • Courses where fees are under £200
  • Costs towards research funding
  • Leadership and management courses (Hospice UK runs its own Strategic Leadership Programme)
  • Applications from outside the UK, or to study outside the UK
  • Applications from organisations that are not members of Hospice UK

How to apply

  1. Read the guidance and criteria for the strand that fits your role and course (Freemasons' Charity bursaries, NGS grants or Wolfson grants), and contact the Grants Team if your course is not listed
  2. Apply online through the strand's 'Apply now' link (Hospice UK's application portal) at least one month before the course, conference or module starts
  3. Ask a relevant manager at your hospice to endorse the application with a statement of support
  4. If successful, an award letter and acceptance form are sent to your supporting manager; you and the manager both sign the acceptance form
  5. Return the acceptance form with proof that the course has been paid for; Hospice UK then pays 50% of the fees (up to the award) to your hospice by BACS, in one or several claims

Grants must be claimed within 12 months of the award, or Hospice UK may withdraw them.

Payments go to the employing organisation; Hospice UK cannot make payments to individuals.

Grants are for the named person and course only; if you change course, or a colleague goes instead, a new application is needed.

Hospice UK encourages matched funding from your hospice or another source, and may ask for a report on the impact after the course.

Have ready

  • Manager's statement of support (no more than 200 words) explaining why the course matters for your own skills and development and for your hospice's services
  • After an award: signed acceptance form
  • After an award: proof of payment of the course fees (receipt, paid invoice, bank statement, remittance statement, or by prior agreement an accounts printout)

Further-year or further-module funding needs a new application each time.

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