Introduction to your budget

Our online application form will accept a maximum of 25 budget lines.

How much can I apply for?Link to this section

Starting Up Award: you can request up to £8,000. This can be used for social venture costs. It cannot be used to pay for your time.

Scaling Up Award: you can request up to £18,000. This can be used for social venture costs, living costs/salary or a combination of both.

Your chance of receiving an Award is not affected by the amount you apply for.

What can the funds be used for?Link to this section

UnLtd Awards can be used primarily for running costs, but we will consider reasonable requests for capital items (these are fixed assets such as equipment). Conditions will apply to any individual items that cost over £1,000.*

£500 of your budget must be allocated to enable participation in UnLtd events and workshops.

Examples of the types of costs you could use an UnLtd Award to pay for:

• Personal living costs, paying yourself or staff on payroll (Scaling Up ONLY)
• Company formation and registration fees
• Insurance
• Enhanced disclosures and safeguarding costs
• IT costs (conditions will apply to IT hardware items over £1,000)
• Printing, advertising, and publicity
• Venue and equipment hire
• Materials
• Travel and subsistence (mileage at 55p per mile in line with HMRC guidance)
• Volunteer expenses
• Mentoring and support
• Sessional and freelance costs (does not include paying yourself)
• Minor repairs, decoration, or the installation of minor fixes

UnLtd Awards cannot be used to pay for:

• Capital works; such as the acquisition, development, or structural improvement of land or buildings (including semi-permanent structures)
• The purchase of vehicles such as a car or van (we will consider the purchase of a bicycle(s) which is not for personal use)
• Loans, interest payments or tax liabilities
• Contingency funds or amounts for general expenses where the intended use of funds is not clear
• Funding activities outside the law, against public policy or anything that fosters ethnic, religious, or commercial disharmony
• Funding to undertake formal qualifications (but can be used to provide short-term training if critical to the success of the venture)
• Funding to employ others to undertake the bulk of the award activity
• Costs incurred prior to receiving an Award approval from us

If you include ineligible items in your budget, or you ask for more than we can offer your application will not be progressed.

How much detail should I provide in my budget?Link to this section

When we assess your application, we will check that all of your budget items are eligible, so please ensure that there is enough detail for us to understand how you plan to use the funding.

You do not have to list small items individually, but make sure you list any capital items or anything that costs more than £1,000 on individual lines. You can use a maximum of 25 lines. Please avoid using pence by rounding up your costs to the nearest pound.

An example of the right amount of detail below:

• Travel to UnLtd Events – £500
• Company registration – £50
• Enhanced Disclosures x 10 volunteers – £350
• Insurance for 12 months – £500
• Freelance support: website build – £1,000
• Sessional costs: external marketing support x 10 hours – £1,000
• Volunteer expenses x 10 events – £200
• Launch event: venue hire – £900
• Launch event: refreshments – £500
• External expert panel fees x 3 (including prep time) – £900
• Laptop – £900
• Training (safeguarding & first aid) – £300
• Total – £7,100

Value for money and transparencyLink to this section

We expect Award Winners to ensure they are getting value for money; this may mean obtaining more than one quote for the supply of goods and services, using price comparisons, or considering alternatives where feasible. When using funds to pay others (such as sessional or freelance workers) Award Winners must avoid conflicts of interest, such as paying members of immediate family or household. Approval must be sought if you think a conflict of interest exists.

Award funds must not be withdrawn as cash at any time. All expenditure funded by the Award must be traceable through electronic or other auditable payment methods and supported by appropriate records and evidence of spend.

We are looking to ensure that your budget matches the narrative in your application. We may ask you for more detail on your costs if your application progresses.