IMPORTANT UPDATE: Application Portal Closed
We've had a huge rise in applications for our Awards. To give every idea the attention it deserves, we've temporarily capped each round at 650 applications. The portal will re-open on 6th January 2026 at 9am - in the meantime, you can still work on your application offline and reach out for support.
This guidance covers budget preparation, managing your Award spend, and what to do if things change.
When planning your budget, bear in mind that if you are successful your Award must be spent within 12 months of approval. Think carefully about all of the costs that you might incur during the Award period, and follow the guidance below.
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.
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:
UnLtd Awards cannot be used to pay for:
If you include ineligible items in your budget, or you ask for more than we can offer your application will not be progressed.
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 their own line. 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:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| 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 |
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.
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.
You will be able to view your approved budget in the application portal. This may differ from the budget in your application. You will be required to provide your bank details (this must be a personal bank account, not a business bank account) and split up your Award into instalments to be paid over the Award period. Usually, we will make 2 - 4 payments and no more than 50% of the total Award will be paid in the first instalment.
All UnLtd Award Winners must account for all of the funding received. You will receive a link to a secure folder which will contain a Financial Recording Form, where we ask that you:
When you have spent at least 80% of your first Award payment, contact your Support Manager who will check your Financial Recording Form and the proof of purchase you have saved in your secure folder so they can authorise your next payment. They must do this by the middle of each month to make sure you receive your next payment at the end of the month. The exact date will depend on the Support Manager’s working pattern, so it is best to make sure they have your up-to-date expenditure early.
When we have made all your payments to you, you need to keep adding your expenditure to the Financial Recording Form and saving your receipts in the folder until you have shown that you have spent all the Award money. We are regularly audited so it is important that you keep your expenditure up to date. The Award money must be spent within the 12-month Award period.
We need to see evidence that you have paid for the goods or services. An invoice is usually issued before something is paid for and therefore often will not show that a payment was made. We can accept an invoice as proof of payment only when we can see that the balance has been paid. Otherwise, we can accept a receipt along with proof of payment on a bank statement. If you are choosing to use a bank statement, please ensure that any personal details are not visible.
| Type of evidence | Is this acceptable? |
|---|---|
| Invoice showing the amount as due | No |
| Invoice showing the amount as paid | Yes |
| Invoice accompanied by proof of payment on a bank statement | Yes |
If you need to make changes to your budget, you must ask your Support Manager first and they will record any changes on the Financial Recording Form so that you can refer to them. We do understand that things change and do not always turn out the way you may originally intend so if you experience any problems, talk to your Support Manager.
If all or part of your Award is for living expenses, we do not need you to itemise them, but you will still need to contact your Support Manager when you are ready for your next payment.
*In relation to assets costing £1,000 or more they will remain UnLtd’s property unless we agree otherwise, and at the end of your venture you must dispose of them as required by UnLtd. If disposal of assets gives rise to any income, we may seek repayment of the whole, or any portion of that income. Assets must only be used for the purposes of the venture. Unless we request disposal, at the end of your venture you will undertake to ensure that any assets will only be used for charitable purposes. If we end our agreement before completion of your venture, we may keep any of the assets. *