It all begins with an idea or a purpose. To make a compelling application, first ask yourself why you want to travel off-Island. What type of experience are you looking for which will correlate to your interests?

Then research where this experience can be found, starting closest-to-home, especially if this is your first off-Island trip.

Most Rivington-supported trips are to the UK, a handful to Europe and one or two to global destinations.

Start by planning your core activity and list all the items which require payment. Next add all transport, accommodation and day-to-day living costs. Then consider specific travel items such as trip insurance.

Write down your list, and against each item research costs by using the internet and actual trip dates (which must be at least four months after your submission deadline). For big items such as flights, seek three quotes from different providers to check value-for-money.

If any of the items returns a high cost, think about money-saving alternatives such as a different style of accommodation, mode of travel or travelling on a different day of the week.

This budget also serves as a handy planning check list for when your application gains a green light of approval from us - and you can begin booking your trip.

A condition of trip funding is for applicants to tell others of their experience, to inspire and generate many more applicants. This can take any format: video testimonials, written evaluation form, social media promotion, an in-depth report, community presentations or mentoring another applicant. The choice is yours, but please complete within two weeks of your return.

The four application deadlines each year are 01 Feb / 01 May / 01 Aug / 01 Nov.

Yes, for a group trip there is the option to apply on behalf of participants, but you would need to identify those who could not otherwise afford to take part in the trip. For these individuals you can request full funding to cover 100% of the expenses rather than bringing the cost per head down for all.