Walter Buckingham Foundation

The Walter Buckingham Foundation Fund supports young deaf people aged 16+ who want to continue their education beyond school, for example in further education, apprenticeships or higher education/university. It may be able to provide a one-off grant to help with the costs of books, equipment or other necessities to support young deaf people in their training and education beyond school.

Grants may normally be made up to £300 per individual applicant, although this should be seen as a maximum, and smaller grants may be awarded up to the charity’s overall annual limit for the WBFF. Larger awards may be considered only in extraordinary cases. All members of ODCS are permitted to apply, where we have a large number of applicants priority will be given to applicants who can show either evidence of financial hardship, be a first-time applicant or have support from a hearing professional. Applicants should be members of ODCS subject to our normal membership criteria.

Examples / scenarios:

• Apprentice A: After leaving school at 16, A is beginning an apprenticeship with an Oxfordshire caterer and is seeking £60 support towards the cost of buying a set of professional knives, which are essential equipment for the course.
• Student B: After doing A-levels at an Oxfordshire school, B is starting a university course and is seeking help towards the cost of a smartphone which can synchronise with a laptop and voice recognition software to support note-taking. The Fund could grant up to £300 towards the cost of the equipment.
• Student C: has started at College after leaving school at the end of year 11. They are seeking funds towards books and supporting materials for their course.

There are twice-yearly rounds for reviewing and awarding grants:

• Applications made by 30 April will be decided by the end of July of the same year.
• Applications made by 15 October will be decided by 15 December of the same year.

For all applications, the final decision will be at the discretion of the Committee, based on the agreed criteria for funding.

Please apply using this form