Historic bursary fund transferred to SCF

The Dyke Exhibition Foundation is an historic bursary fund set up originally to enable boys of parents with limited income to study at Oxford University. Today, it provides bursaries for all young people from Somerset, Devon and Cornwall to help with the costs of attending university.  

In 2019, the Trustees approached SCF to discuss the idea of transferring the Trust to SCF. All three Trustees were looking to step down in the near future and their volunteer Clerk was also keen to retire.  

We worked with Trustees to understand their current challenges and were able to get support from the Charity Commission’s Revitalising Trusts programme. This programme works with Trustees to encourage transfer to their local Community Foundation and provides a direct link to the Charity Commission to support a smooth transfer process.  

The Trust transferred to SCF in 2020 and our team quickly got to grips with the bursary programme and application process. Since it was transferred, the Trust has awarded 34 bursaries to young people including Hayley*, who shared how important the bursary has been on her journey to studying fashion design. 

“It has been very difficult to progress with my education due to my mother’s disabilities and the fact I am a carer,” she says. “We are a family which has few resources and I have been in receipt of free school meals throughout school. I have also had fewer opportunities to go anywhere to view universities as we have no driver’s licence or car.  “I also have dyslexia and mental health problems. I have applied for all the student finance funding available but do not have nearly enough for all the costs involved in my course such as for fabric and materials, costs to put on fashion shows and transport to the university. The bursary has made a big difference in me being able to complete my course.”

*Name has been changed to protect identity