Community Foundations for Lancashire and Merseyside

Alice's WonderDance Foundation – Individuals

Grants of up to £250 for individual young people and their families in the Liverpool City Region, to remove barriers so every child can access dance. It pays for things like dancewear, transport to classes, emergency dance costs and support for first-year dance university students. This is a grant to individuals and families, not organisations (groups apply through a separate strand for up to £2,000).

Apply on the funder’s site

You could get: Up to £250; no fixed round
Deadline: Rolling; apply any time
Effort: Light; short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

Individual young people, or a family member applying on behalf of a child under 18, living in the Liverpool City Region only (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral)
No age limit or means test is stated, but the form asks why you need financial help and the examples target families who are struggling to afford dance costs
Community organisations and schools apply through the separate Alice's WonderDance Foundation group strand; people in Lancashire use the Lancashire Foundation's version of this fund

What it funds

Dance-related costs that stop a child or young person accessing dance. Examples given:

Dancewear subsidies for families struggling to afford equipment or dance clothing
Support for first-year students on a dance-related university programme
Transport costs for children to reach dance classes and programmes
Emergency support for dance-related needs such as broken shoes or emergency costs for competitions or exams

The fund carries forward the legacy of dancer Alice Aguiar.

What it will not fund

Costs already incurred before a grant is offered
Debts and other liabilities

How to apply

Check you live in the Liverpool City Region and that your costs fit the examples on the fund page
Download the individual application form (Word) via 'Apply Now'
Complete it with details of the applicant, what the dance funding is for, why you need financial help and a full cost breakdown, and sign the declaration
Email the form and supporting documents to applications@cflm.org.uk
Community Foundation staff check eligibility and may contact you for more information; a decision-making panel then makes recommendations based on the fund's criteria and budget

If the Apply Now button is not available, the fund is closed; check the opening and closing dates on the page before contacting the Foundation.

If you have applied to the Foundation within the last 12 months and provided these documents, you need not send them again, though a more recent bank statement may be requested.

Have ready

Proof of address
Proof of ID (copy of passport, driving licence, student card etc.)
Copy of bank statement confirming the account details for payment (can be redacted to show only account name, number and sort code)
Confirmation of course place, exam cost or competition cost (if relevant)

If applying on behalf of a child, the address, ID and bank documents should be for the family member submitting the application.

More like this

Other grants open to organisations like yours.