Congratulations on winning a Next Challenge Grant. There is some guidance below on what you can expect and what’s required of you.
Basic requirements
If you accept the grant money then the only things I ask are:
- Write a blog post for this website
- Send me some photos that I can use
- Help promote the grant in future (e.g. tell your friends, plug on social media and/or include a link to The Next Challenge Grant page on your website, if you have one)
Risk assessment
Please note that I have not assessed the risk associated with your plans and do not have the necessary information to do so. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have taken the necessary precautions.
FAQs
Geting the money
- Let me know when you need the money (e.g. a month before your trip or when you need to pay for something upfront)
- Money can be sent to UK bank accounts in pounds sterling (GBP) or to a PayPal account in any currency
- Bank accounts: send me your bank account number, sort code and the name of your bank
- PayPal: send me the email address for your account and the currency you would like (there is sometimes a small fee for conversion which will be subtracted from your award)
Getting kit
- If you’ve been offered any sponsored equipment as part of your grant then you should liaise directly with whoever is offering it.
- If you have any problems getting the sponsored equipment then let me know.
- If you are borrowing any kit from me, I will pay the postage to you and you will need to pay for return postage (you can use money from the grant if you like).
- Please return any kit by recorded delivery.
Writing your blog post
- Should be written within one month of your return
- Must be original (i.e. not already posted elsewhere)
- 500 – 1,000 words
- Format: Word document, Google Doc or text in an email
- Please include a sentence to say ‘thank you’ to those that donated to the grant (I’ll email it to them when I upload your blog)
Sending photos
- Please send 5-10 photos
- Attach them separately to an email (rather than embedding them in a document)
- Please include plenty of pictures of yourself – don’t be shy! – supporters like to see the people behind the challenges
- If you want the photos positioned in particular places in your article, just reference the file within the text of your piece (e.g. “Then we arrived at the campsite [insert photo_1.jpg here]”)
- If you are into photo editing then please send as JPEGs, at a width of 815 pixels, at 95% compression or lower
- Ideally, name the files ‘firstname-surname-trip-description-1.jpg’ (e.g. ‘elise-downing-running-coast-4.jpg’)
Videos
- If you have a video you would like to include then just send me the link to it on YouTube/Vimeo. Please don’t send me the original file.
If your plans change
- Let me know if your idea or dates change.
- Expeditions are complicated and so is life. I understand that plans may change. That’s OK but please let me know as soon as possible.
If you cancel your trip
- If you cancel your trip before departure then let me know as soon as possible. If you’ve already received the money then you will need to send it back so I can fund someone else’s adventure next year.
- If your trip is cut short for whatever reason then just let me know when you’re back home and safe.
