Sponsorship and Funding

Can the WCF help with funding my course?

Congratulations, you are looking at furthering your own development and your career. The Worshipful Company of Farmers are proud to be able to facilitate a range of prestigious and highly regarded courses and perhaps one of the courses is just what you are looking for.

We don’t want anyone to be unable to attend any of the courses, due to financial restrictions, so in certain cases we are able to offer some help. If you would like an initial discussion about the possibility of assistance in funding your participation please contact the Chairman of Education, Stephen Watkins or the Assistant Clerk, Duncan Couper.

But before the Company can consider assistance we will need to be certain you have exhausted all other avenues of possible funding. So before contacting us please read through the rest of this section and act on the advice it contains.

So how can you raise funds for your course?

In our experience the delegates who will benefit most from one of our courses are also the delegates who, by preparing the case and presenting it effectively, are most likely to be able to raise donations and sponsorship to help fund their own courses.

To help you decide who to approach, we suggest try the following possible avenues for funding:

• Are your employers able to fully or part-fund the course.
• Is your own business able to fully or part fund the course?
• Who else might be able to help you with a grant or donation?
  • Your suppliers?
  • Your customers?
  • Any of the trade companies you use?
  • Your professional advisors – Solicitor, Accountant, Rural Chartered Surveyor?
  • Your County Agricultural Society.
  • The Round Table.
  • The Masons.

There is also funding available for agricultural education from various agricultural charitable trusts. We suggest you locate potential sources via the internet and investigate to see if any are applicable to you.

When applying for a grant –

• Explain your situation, where you work, who for and what you do.
• Explain what the course is about.
• Explain how the course will enhance your education and career.
• Explain how you in turn will be able to put back into the agricultural industry.

Should you be invited for a course interview, you will also be seen by the finance panel. You will be asked how you intend to fund the course and what steps you have taken to make sure that you have the funds in place to attend if your application to join the course is successful. So if you are going to need sponsorship, it is highly advisable to have made some approaches, or certainly have some firm ideas about who you will approach, before your interview.

But remember we do not want anyone to be denied the opportunity to attend one of our courses due to lack of funding.

Good luck and we hope to see you on one of our courses soon.