Welcome To The Jo Walters Trust

The Jo Walters Trust commemorates the life of Joanna Walters by giving grants to causes that she would approve of.

Mission Statement

In memory of Joanna Walters, and to celebrate her life and achievements as an inspirational person, teacher and motivator, the Jo Walters Trust provides opportunities to help people enrich their lives and the lives of others, through sport, outward bound, educational and environmental projects, both at home and abroad.

About the Jo Walters Trust

The trust is an approved Scottish Charity, regulated by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. It has 7 appointed trustees.

The Jo Walters Trust has made a round of grants each year to organisations and individuals since it started in 2011, in line with our charitable aims: education, sport, outward bound and the environment. To read more about the grants we have made to date, please see our Grants page. We have also campaigned to improve the stretch of road in Brighton where Jo was killed to make it safer for cyclists. For more on this campaign please see our cycling news page.

If you would like to get involved in our work, take part in an event, or make a donation we'd love to hear from you. Please see our contribution page for details on how to contribute either time or money. If you're interetested in hearing more about our work you can have a read of our blog, or subscribe to our newsletter using the link on the right of our website and you'll be automatically added to our newsletter. We promise not to share your information with anyone else.

Alternatively, if you'd like to contact us by email with suggestions, feedback or comments, we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at info@jowalterstrust.org.uk.

Apply for a 2022 Aberdeenshire Grant

In 2022 (as in previous years), a number of grants of up to £2,000 each will be made available by the Jo Walters Trust to people or organisations with a strong link to Aberdeenshire. In these ongoing extraordinary times, we are again inviting applications for project funding that will provide educational opportunities to people in the outdoors. Helping to facilitate people learning in the outdoors is one of the most valuable things we can do, particularly after another year when many have felt constrained and contained.

We'd love to hear from you if you have plans that you believe could help more people get outside to learn something! Whether it's for groups, families, individuals or schools, if you think a grant of up to £2,000 would help you achieve it please do apply below.

From the outward bound expeditions she did at school, to sailing adventures and her time in the OTC doing army training, Jo Walters was the product of plenty of time outdoors, and she believed it had huge benefits, both physical and mental. We know she would want more people to benefit from being in the outdoors, just as she did, and so in her memory, we are offering financial support to help this happen.

A few projects we have supported so far are listed below and might provide inspiration to anyone applying for a grant in 2021. You can see all the recipients of the last four years of grants through the links below:

2021 JWT Aberdeenshire Outdoor Education Grant recipients
2020 JWT Aberdeenshire Outdoor Education Grant recipients
2019 JWT Aberdeenshire Outdoor Education Grant recipients
2018 JWT Aberdeenshire Outdoor Education Grant recipients

Some sample projects we have supported to date:

Forest schools - we funded training for staff, and the purchase of the equipment several Aberdeenshire schools (including Craigievar and Banchory-Devenick) needed to get a forest school going. The feedback we get from these schools has been extremely positive.
Scout Groups: in the last few years we have funded the purchase of camping equipment, archery kit and a large tent for Kemnay, 1st Methlick and Westhill scouts.
Aberdeenshire Sailing Trust: the Jo Walters Trust contributed to the cost of a rescue boat so that they could bring children from local schools out sailing throughout more of the year.
Balmedie Primary School: the grant requested funds to buy a tipi and backpacks for Balmedie school to go on adventures. They have so far used this to host a talk about a husky trek and a farming talk which included live animals

To apply for one of the Jo Walters Trust Aberdeenshire grants in 2022, please fill in answers to the questions below. Do take your time to fill it in, and perhaps gather all the information elsewhere before filling it in here. We're keen to help you to apply, so if you have any questions do feel free to contact lucy@jowalterstrust.org.uk for advice or with questions.

Deadline:

The deadline for applications is 30th June 2022

Terms and Conditions:

Applicants must:

Show that their project will provide education in the outdoors
Have a strong connection to Aberdeenshire to qualify for the grant.
Show why the money is required to complete the project
Be willing to fund-raise up to half the amount required themselves.
Show a full breakdown of how the money will be spent.
Be willing to write a report of the project afterwards, ideally including photographs and video footage that can be shared in our publicity materials, including on the Jo Walters Trust website and social media.
Be willing to come and speak on behalf of the trust to generate interest for future grants/fundraising events.

The Trust's decision as to who will receive the grants is final.