“Our Trustees are delighted to have allocated £5000 for this small grants programme for 2025 and are really excited to hear and support new ideas to come through that will benefit the growth and health of the Alexander profession”.
Kamal Thapen, Chair, FM Alexander Trust
In addition to our regular fund for more academic projects and research we now have new awards of £500 and £1000 available for Alexander Technique teachers with their own private practice, whether established or just beginning.
Who can apply?
You must be a registered Alexander Technique teacher to apply. The Trust is based in the UK, and therefore there must be UK relevance to what we fund.
If you are a teacher living outside of the UK please contact us with your initial idea, and we will advise you as to whether we can proceed with your application.
The small grants fund is specifically for:
– Testing out novel approaches: particularly around marketing and audience development
– New audiences or markets research
– Evaluation
– Marketing initiatives
Activities can include (but are not limited to):
– Carrying out one-to-one interviews
– Creating and analysing questionnaires
– Running a Focus group
– Undertaking training or mentoring to better support you to carry out primary research
– Desk research such as a review of literature
– Trialling different approaches to marketing
Example of projects for the new small grants fund
We are aware that as a new fund applicant it may be hard to envisage a successful project, so we have created some examples below that we hope will help to encourage your own ideas.
A. A new teacher would like to split-test two different types of marketing to see which is most successful. They use their grant to pay for design and printing costs, and to pay for a portion of their own time analysing and writing up a report on what they learnt from this experiment. This shows which approaches were most successful.
B. Two teachers with a strong track record of collaboration plan a piece of research designed to capture how their existing audiences value and describe their relationship with the Alexander Technique. This research takes the form of one-to-one interviews and is written up with the aim of sharing lessons about how to attract and market the work to new pupils. Part of the grant includes covering vouchers given as a thank you to research participants.
C. A teacher undertakes a literature review of the science of stress. They look for ways in which this can inform their target audience and marketing material.
D. A teacher is interested in the approach of high street chiropractors in their area. They collate and then analyse their real world and online marketing, leaflets and other promotional material to see if there are any insights to be gleaned for Alexander teachers.
E. A teacher is interested in approaching large corporations to run workshops. They research the approaches of wellbeing and healthcare professionals who are already working in this field, to gain insights on the best way to generate new work in this area.
Examples of what will we pay for:
– Costs of materials/ venue hire
– Travel costs
– Participant incentives (for example, an expenses payment for a focus group participant)
– Training courses
– Mentoring
You may include costs for your time. Please note that we require at least 50% of your overall project budget to consist of a ‘match fund’. This can be either as actual cash or as in-kind contribution. We envisage many applicants will provide their time as part of the match contribution. Please note we will not fund any teacher training or your own teaching.
What your application will be scored on
Providing your application meets the funding criteria, including the match fund requirement, a panel of our Trustees will review each application and score out of 5 in each of the following areas.
1. Clarity of aims and process
2. Competence and experience
3. Overall feasibility of your project proposal – budget/timeline/
4. Potential impact for the wider AT community
In essence this is a flexible fund with few restrictions designed to support the profession to grow and to help our peers to share ideas and what is working. You are welcome to contact us with any initial ideas before making an application.
We particularly welcome applications from people who have never applied to this fund or for any other kind of public funding before. You may apply as an individual or as part of a group.
FAQs
What conditions does the funding come with?
1. You are required to show a match funding amount on your budget. This can be actual money or in-kind. For example you may apply to develop a new training course for the public, requesting £500 from the fund but being able to show income from the course participants and/or in-kind value of your time is equal to £500.
2. The learning that arises from your funding project must be shared in some way publicly on our website for the benefit of the Alexander profession. This might be in the format of a slideshow, a paper, a video or a case study. You must also complete a short evaluation form at the end of your project.
3. You must have a bank account in your own name.
How do I apply?
You can apply here
Where can I get support with my application?
Advice surgeries are available with our Trustees. Please contact us if you’d like to take part.
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