The purpose of the Doris Gray Enabling Grant is to support schools and other not-for-profit organisations in Scotland, to run programs and events to encourage girls and young women to take up engineering studies or careers.

Eligible Organisations

Any school, youth group, charity or other not-for-profit organisation in Scotland may apply.

Eligible Activities

1. All activities must take place in Scotland or be specifically to support young women resident in Scotland.
2. Activities to be paid, or partly paid, for by the grant must have as their main aim, the encouragement of girls and young women to take up engineering studies or careers.

There is no restriction on the type of activity, provided it meets the above criteria. The activity could be delivered by the organisation itself, or the grant be used to buy in the activity from an outside organisation. The latter may be a commercial organisation, but the applicant must be a not-for-profit organisation as stipulated in “Eligible Organisations” above.

Activities should not be those which are normally state funded, e.g. normal school curriculum activities, for which there happens to be a short fall of state funding, unless the proposed activity would add value and novelty to a pre-existing activity. Examples of activities might include: support for special activities at careers days, engineering oriented after school club activities for girls, etc. The more imaginative the better!

How to Apply

Applications should be made using the Doris Gray Enabling Grant Application form which can be downloaded below.

Decisions will be made within 1 month of receiving the application and the activity should be completed within 6 months of approval. Any leaflets, posters or signs associated with the activity should include the words “Supported by the Women’s Engineering Society Doris Gray Fund” and the Doris Gray logo, which can be downloaded below. A short report, with pictures, should be submitted with accounts, within 1 month of completion. WES reserves the right to use extracts and pictures on WES’s website.

Budget Limit

It is anticipated that the majority of successful applications will yield between £100 and £3000. Applications will be considered on their merits, in competition with other applications in that round.

Enabling Grants Awarded