Advocate’s Guidance
Advocate’s guidance
What are the aims and objectives of the Charity
The aims and objectives of the Hartlepool Henry Smith Education Charity (no 527395) are “to promote the education of persons under the age of 25 who are in need of financial assistance and are resident in the Borough of Hartlepool.”
The applicant’s home address must be in Hartlepool but the course of study or training that the individual attends or intents on attending can be at any recognised education or training establishment anywhere in the country.
The role of an advocate
While the Charity can only give limited financial assistance to students, it wants to prioritise assistance to the most deserving cases. It considers that, for reasons of efficiency and fairness, it is better to receive applications with support from someone who knows the applicant rather than directly from the students. The role of the advocate is therefore to steer potential applicants in their educational organisation to engage with the application process and to support the applicant in the making of an application for grant.
The advocate will make a statement about the reasons why the student is deserving of financial support. Receiving applications only via an advocate also lessens GDPR risks for the Charity in only gathering essential data about the applicant.
What can a grant be used for?
Anything that can be shown to meet the Charity’s aims and objectives in furthering the education of students within the Hartlepool borough – for example, clothing, books, tools, instruments, fees, travel costs all to be associated with education and/or training up to the age of 25 years.
How much can the applicant get?
The Charity’s income is modest and only generates grant monies from financial returns from capital invested via the Council. Subject to interest rates, the charity is likely to offer grants to about 25 people in any one financial year. A typical grant might be of the order of £50 to £150 based on individual needs and circumstances.
Who can be an advocate?
The Charity would expect an advocate to be a member of a school, college, university or training organisation and would have knowledge of the applicant and who would then be able to support the grant application. We would expect that a particular organisation would only support a limited number of applications per year – typically 3 or less.
What is the Charity asking an advocate to do?
The Charity would expect an advocate should be able to -
- Verify the identity, age and home address of the applicant
- Verify the information on the application form is accurate
- Explain why the applicant’s circumstances suggests a need of financial assistance
- Confirm what the grant will be used for
- Confirm that the applicant has a good attendance record,
- Say why they support the application
- Remind the applicant that, following any successful grant award, a short statement shall be required from the applicant 6 months after award to provide feedback on the benefits any grant has made to the applicant. The advocate shall support and remind the applicant at the time.
How to support the application
Complete the online application form collaboratively with the applicant once they have completed the first two sections.
