Gino Watkins Memorial Fund Grant

Gino Watkins Memorial Fund Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: The Gino Watkins Memorial Fund
Amount: Up to £4,000
Last Updated: January 08, 2026

Summary

The Gino Watkins Memorial Fund & Edward Wilson Fund Grants support polar expeditions that enhance knowledge and safety in the Polar Regions. They welcome applications from diverse backgrounds, emphasizing youth engagement. The Edward Wilson Fund, administered by the Scott Polar Research Institute, particularly favors expeditions focusing on biological and ecological studies. Grants may be awarded for suitable projects, with a preference for those that train and involve young people, helping them gain valuable experience.

Overview

The Gino Watkins Memorial Fund is a Trust raised as a memorial to H. Gino Watkins, a young explorer who lost his life in Greenland in 1932.  The joint Trustees (the Royal Geographical Society and the University of Cambridge), appoint a committee whose aims, on behalf of the Trust, are to implement the Fund’s objects which are: The improvement and diffusion of knowledge of the Polar RegionsThe promotion of the acquisition of the special knowledge necessary for the success of Polar Exploration and for the prevention of accidents and loss of life on Polar expeditions andWith the view to the objects aforesaid the assistance by financial or other means of suitable Polar expeditions. To do so, the Fund provides approval and grants in aid to well-conceived polar expeditions. Each year the Fund helps appropriate expeditions to visit not only Greenland and other high Arctic lands, but also the Antarctic The Edward Wilson Fund, named after Dr Edward Wilson who died with Captain Robert Scott on returning from the South Pole in 1912, is administered by the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) and financed by royalties from some of the Institute’s publications and other donations.  Grants from the fund, which are nominated by the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund Committee to SPRI, are particularly applicable to expeditions in which biological and ecological studies are prominent. The Arctic Club Award is given to an expedition selected from those who apply to the Gino Watkins Memorial Fund. It is given, usually annually, to a sporting rather than a scientific expedition. There is one common application process; a grant may be awarded from whichever fund is more applicable.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The Trustees welcome applications for support from people of all backgrounds, including but not limited to school groups, scouting and guiding groups, and other youth organisations.

Ineligibility

Grants are rarely given for non-polar or populous districts.Ventures to Iceland in the summer and to Norway are not usually awarded grants.