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Types of grants

The HCNC awards three types of grant:

1          EDUCATION GRANTS: These are grants to an individual community nurse working in Hertfordshire (a “Hertfordshire community nurse” or “HC nurse”) of up to £2,000 in any one financial year (with a lifetime maximum for any one individual of £6,000). They are available to enable HC nurses to access professional development, further education or research opportunities, which will increase their knowledge and skills and thus improve the quality of care to patients in Hertfordshire.

Any group of Community, Hospice or Practice Nurses employed in Hertfordshire can apply for an Education grant to help in run a particular course or project where the cost is £2,000 or less and cannot be recovered through NHS resources

GRANT RULES

Awards of Education grants are subject to the following rules.  The HCNC Trustees may require applicants to demonstrate they have been complied with the following.

  1. The applicant must be a currently working registered nurse, who also must have been working for a minimum of six months within Hertfordshire as a “Community Nurse”. The definition of Community Nurse is taken as defined by the Queen’s Nursing Institute ie. “working outside a hospital setting”. In the case of applications made by a group of HC nurses, the group may include the HC nurses’ manager.
  2. Grants for conferences with CPD accreditation may be given priority over those without such accreditation.  Not more than two applicants from any one organisation will be funded to attend the same course/conference.
  3. No grants will be made for courses or modules already undertaken.
  4. Applicants must have the approval of their manager to apply for the grant.
  5. Full details and costs must be included with each application. Subsistence expenses (travel, hotel and food costs) are not eligible.
  6. Applications must show how the grant will improve the quality of care to Hertfordshire patients.
  7. Applications must be for one activity only (for example a course, a conference or a project). In the case of multi-year academic courses, funding must be sought for each academic year.
  8. A HC nurse applying for an Educational Grant, who works part of the time in an adjacent county or in an acute hospital trust, must state (as a percentage) how much of their time is spent working as a HC nurse.
  9. Each applicant for an Educational Grant to attend a course or conference must agree to complete an evaluation form (available on this website by clicking the Grants button at the top) within 30 days of the end of the course or conference.
  10. Applications for equipment must show how its use will benefit patients, carers or families.
  11. If the start date of a course or conference is delayed, applicants must email Nicholas@nufton.co.uk  (our Hon Treasurer)  as soon as possible and if the course or conference is delayed by more than 90 days, then the Charity will cancel the award and it will be necessary for the applicant to reapply.   Invoices for courses and conferences must be received by the Hon Treasurer within 60 days of the start date of the course or conference. If the invoice is not received within that time scale, the applicant will need to notify the Hon Treasurer as to when the invoice will be submitted, or the grant will be withdrawn and the invoice will not be paid.
  12. Decisions of the Trustees about whether or not to award a grant are final.

SUBMISSION OF AN EDUCATION GRANT APPLICATION

Application forms for Education Grants are available on the HCNC website and can be completed at any time of the year. The Educational Grants committee meets every three months at the beginning of January, April, July and October. All sections of the application form must be completed and returned via the website.

Each application will be considered on its merits, taking into account in particular the benefit to the individual and the patients of Hertfordshire, and the applicant’s personal circumstances. Applicants will be notified by email of the result of their application.

2          COMMUNITY NURSING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

These are grants to an individual HC nurse or to a group of HC nurses of up to £20,000. They are available to enable a HC nurse or groups of HC nurses to develop a project or to fund equipment which will improve the quality of care to patients in Hertfordshire.

SUBMISSION OF COMMUNITY NURSING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT APPLICATION

Decisions to award Community Nursing Research and Development Grants are made in March each year. Applications for a Community Nursing Research and Development Grant must be submitted no later than February 1st for consideration at the March board meeting of that year.

Applications (emailed to violet@hertscommunitynursescharity.co.uk  ) must be in the form of a word document describing the project; and must include a summary of the benefits it will achieve for patients in Hertfordshire, budgeted costings, details of how the project will be monitored, how its benefits will be evaluated and whether other funding has been sought. A final report needs to be submitted within three months of the end of the project, showing how the project has benefitted the patients of Hertfordshire.

The trustees may ask recipients of a Community Nursing Research and Development Grant to make a presentation about the project to a meeting of the trustees.

3          WELFARE GRANTS: To enable a working or retired HC nurse or HC midwife access financial help following illness, disability or other life crisis.

GRANT RULES

  1. Applicants must work or have worked as a full time, registered HC nurse or registered HC midwife for a minimum of three years and currently be living in the UK
  2. Applicants must be in financial difficulty following illness, disability or other life crisis
  3. Grants will not be awarded to a student nurse or student midwife
  4. The maximum grant that may be awarded is a single grant of up to £1,000 per person

SUBMISSION OF A WELFARE GRANT APPLICAION

Applications for a Welfare grant can be made at any time of the year and will be assessed by the Queens Nursing Institute (QNI), who has an established welfare grants’ department. However, decisions to award a welfare grant will be made by the HCNC, who will also pay the grant. Application forms can be obtained through the QNI website, from the link on the HCNC website.

Apply for a Welfare Grant

Various supporting documents will be required to process the application, details of which are listed on the QNI application form.