CAF: UKSAR Volunteer Training Fund

Overview

This fund aims to support search and rescue (SAR) volunteering activities by providing support for the costs of volunteers’ operational training to help improve the safety and quality of SAR services in the UK.

Who Can Apply

UK charitable SAR organisations seeking support to train their volunteers can apply.

The following umbrella organisations can make global applications on behalf of their affiliated groups for core training:

• Association of Lowland Search and Rescue.
• British Cave Rescue Council.
• Mountain Rescue England and Wales.
• Royal Lifesaving Society UK.
• Scottish Mountain Rescue.
• Surf Lifesaving Great Britain.
• Independent Lifeboats (including Independent Lifeboats umbrella body and independent applications from individual organisations affiliated to this umbrella body.

If you are affiliated to one of these SAR bodies, they recommend you contact them with sufficient time before the deadline to review your training request or discuss how they can incorporate your training needs into their application for funds.

If you are not affiliated to one of these SAR bodies, and meet the eligibility criteria below, you will be able to apply on an individual organisational basis.

Eligible organisations must:

• Provide both search and rescue services as part of their core activities.
• Provide evidence that their activities are tasked by a statutory authority by providing a tasking letter on a letterhead from the relevant statutory tasking authority.
• Provide search and rescue services on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week basis (where appropriate).
• Can prove that their training requirements reflect a confirmed operational need in their local area.
• Are a constituted organisation in the UK with a charitable governance document.

Funding

Grants starting from £1,000 are available. Funding can support up to 50% of training costs.

Eligible Expenditure

Funding will support SAR organisations with the training costs of operational volunteers to support UK SAR activities.

The training must be a high priority to the organisation and must improve both the capability of the organisation and its volunteers and reflect proven operational needs in a local area.

Applicants must set out why this training is a priority for their volunteers and how this training will benefit the organisation and its UKSAR capabilities.

Proposals should focus on high-quality operational search and rescue training, such as:

• Core skills training for new or existing volunteers, linked to proven operational needs in the local area.
• Avoiding skills fade for existing volunteers, caused by delays or reduction of training opportunities during the pandemic.
• Revalidation of core training for existing volunteers.
• Training which incorporates appropriate well-being approaches.

All training activities must be completed between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2026.

Eligible training costs include:

• Operational training for SAR volunteers in the UK that directly correlate with specific operational needs in the local area.
• Courses related to the training of operational SAR volunteers that are central to their activities.
• Hiring external trainers for course delivery.
• Administration costs (if essential to training courses).
• Volunteers’ travel costs and accommodation where this is integral to the training itself.
• Costs of training equipment (such as manikins or training defibrillators).
• Blue light training (if applicable).
• Up to 50% of the costs of the training.