Grant Application or Begging letter?!

loopyalice

Hi all,

this is only my third go at this, but I love it as people really do try and help.

I'm a mature(!)student who is currently doing a degree via distance learning. Received last year £1,095 tuition fees from the local authority.
I work on a casual basis between 4-15 hrs a week. Frantically looking for something else.

As advised by Martyn, been trawling the net looking for grants and have actually found a few for which I might be eligible.

Now we come to the crunch. How does anyone sit down and write what in effect is a begging letter? the idea makes me cringe (although I know that's daft) and what do these applications look like. Are there any examples on the net, cos' if so, I can't find them.

Help much appreciated:o

hardtoexplain

Possibily CAB? Sorry can't really recommend anything else! These applications tend to be what you want to make of them, if there is any criteria they ask you to write about obviously do that but apart from that it's up to you! You could always contact the charity/trust and ask them for guidance, won't hurt!

devildog

Firstly I must stress that I have never done a letter for a grant but I have done plenty of begging letters for a charity, some with favourable responses and sometimes none. I don't know if the letter would take a similar line but I tend to state who I am and the charity I represent, what the charity actually does, how the letter receiver could help us and what our aims are with the donation they give us(or what we plan to do with any money raised)
So translated to you, who you are, what and why you are studying what you are, what you wish to accomplish when you get your degree and maybe find out about the institutions offering the grants and try and work something into the application that is relevant to them.

There are plenty of examples of 'general' donation letters online, it would be a case of looking at a few of them and putting one together to reflect your circumstances.

This is only me guessing mind you-hopefully someone will be along who actually 'knows'

MrsManda

The grants I've applied for in the past have have required me to fill out an official application form rather than just send a speculative letter. I treated them a bit like a job application form, using the criteria list to ensure that I include details of how I meet the criteria and also why the money would make a difference to me/my studies.

If there's no application form but there is a specific criteria I'd write a letter in a similar style to a cover letter for a job application - saying who you are, what you're studying, why you are applying and how you meet the criteria.

nimbo

good luck...

Derivative

To start off with, I am not a mature student (early twenties) so what I offer up as advice may not necessarily relevant - I'm not doing distance learning.

In my experience in having successful/unsuccessful grant applications, I would say that you basically need to give solid reasons as to why you 'need' the money.

Any specific things you need for your course, expensive textbooks, lab coat, etc.

Any field trips that may be mandatory.

Laptop or similar that's required for the course, for example I bought a graphical calculator which has helped me immensely on my course so far.

Career events, do you need a suit or related formal wear? Train travel to/from job interviews that may be related to your degree course.

Stationery is a small item in a budget but it'll pad out the letter, just don't overstate the costs.

Any factors that prevent you from obtaining work, for example large amounts of study required, necessity of travelling in for anything, etc.

I am not entirely sure of the grants you are applying for, but to me it seems like if you are simply asking for money to pay the rent and bills it is in effect begging. Try and focus on stuff that can actually be quantified over and above simple costs of living.

loopyalice

Thanks everybody. Lots of food for thought there. Now, where's that pen...!