Funding
If your club or group is struggling financially due to the impact of COVID-19, there are funding options available to support you.
Sport England
Sport England have launched a number of funding pots to support clubs and groups through the COVID crisis.
To find the fund that best suits your needs and to apply, click here.
They have also launched Active Together, a £1m crowdfunding programme.
This investment aims to help community sport and physical activity organisations who are experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis by matching money raised through crowdfunding up to £10,000.
Crowdfunding advice
Crowdfunder are running monthly introductory webinars which will help you to learn about
• Insider tips and tricks when crowdfunding for sports clubs
• Experience and advice from a successful crowdfunding journey
• Launching Crowdfunder’s new Learn platform for sports projects
Find out more about Active Together and Crowdfunder here.
New funding: Small Grants aligning with the Coronation year
In this coronation year, Sport England are also looking at two additional areas which reflect His Majesty the King’s personal passions.
They’re inviting projects that focus on sustainable activity while reducing the impact on the environment, to put forward their ideas – for example activity which could involve purchasing locally made equipment to extend capacity in a club or using local community assets to minimise travel.
Government support
The Government have a made number of financial support measures available which your club may be eligible for.
Paying employees through the job retention scheme
Other COVID-19 related funding options
Doing Our Bit Covid 19 self isolator grant scheme
These grants are available to groups that can support those who have to self-isolate because of COVID 19.
The Community Foundation Staffordshire
The Community Foundation for Staffordshire will be awarding grants from the Covid-19 local appeal and the NET Coronavirus appeal to organisations supporting those communities that have been affected.
Whilst everyone is stuck at home shopping online right now community sports clubs are cashing in if your members shop via easyfundraising! easyfundraising are the UK’s biggest charity shopping fundraising site! 4,000 shops and sites will donate to your club or team for free when club members, volunteers and supporters shop with them. This includes all the big names like eBay, John Lewis & Partners, Argos, JUST EAT, Decathlon, and Under Armour.
Charity Excellence COVID-19 Funder Database
The Charity Excellence Framework (CEF) platform enables any UK based non-profit to increase its impact and financial resources; it is free and is very quick and simple to use.
Reaching Communities will fund activities supporting people affected by the crisis and organisations struggling financially because of the impact of Covid -19. Funding can cover up to cover 6 months of expenditure. Most funding will be between £10,000 and £100,000.
More Funding
We cannot supply you with pots of money; nor do we have the magic formula to guarantee successful applications. What we can do is offer guidance on where to look for funding and advice on some of the key principles to consider when submitting a funding application.
Key Principles
- There is no secret formula to funding or grant applications
- Try to match the grant to your project’s need
- Clearly identify your project and its outcomes
- Identify how much money you need
- Be clear and to the point
- Plan the application process with the whole club
Planning Your Project
- When form-filling, be clear about your project giving a brief description
- Clearly identify the outcomes of your project
- How will you deliver your project? Establish an action plan with timescales
- Demonstrate sustainability – how will your project continue after the money has been spent?
- Identify any risks which might jeopardise the project if funding is given
- Look at how to minimise those risks
- Preparation and planning will help to minimise paperwork
- Most importantly – read the guidance notes which accompany the application forms
Funding for Sport Participation
Increasing participation and activity in sport and physical activity is at the heart of what we want to achieve. If you are looking to find funding for ways to increase physical activity in your club or organisation, please see a list of grant funders who may be able to offer support.
England Athletics Club Improvement Fund
Amount available: Up to £500
Deadline: Three funding panels are planned for mid July 2023, end September 2023, mid January 2024
Suitable for: Please see their website for details.
Description: The Club Improvement Fund will provide grants of up to £500 to support clubs with projects that aim to reduce some of the barriers they are facing. We want to fund projects that will help clubs to provide a safe, sustainable and welcoming environment for their athletes and runners.
Sport England Small Grants Programme
Amount available: Awards of £300-£15,000.
Deadline: 31st March 2024.
Suitable for: Please see their website for details.
Description: The Small Grants Programme seeks to develop opportunities for communities to get more people physically active and we’ll support new projects through providing National Lottery funding of between £300 and £15,000.
Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Activity Fund
Amount available: Awards of between £300 and £10,000.
Deadline: Unspecified.
Suitable for: Community organisations with new projects providing opportunities to become more physically active.
Description: Sport England have launched a new £5 million fund to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee that aims to use sport and physical activity to bring communities together and tackle inequalities.
Sporting Capital
Suitable for: Community Clubs, Social Enterprises, Charities and profit-with-purpose businesses
Description: Sporting Capital invests in organisations that make a difference through sport. The loan funding will be used to help organisations develop new projects, operations and revenue streams. Our goal is to help develop more sustainable community sports organisations.
Funding for Facilities
If you are looking for funding to improve a local sports facility or transform a community asset for physical activity purposes, and more, then you are in the right place! Please find below some information on facilities and capital grant funding streams.
Swimming Pool Support Fund
Amount available: See above link for more details.
Deadline: First closing date: 11th August 2023. (Another round will be available in September.)
Suitable for: Local authorities with pools in their area.
Description: The government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) provides a total of £60 million to local authorities in England as a support package for public leisure facilities with swimming pools, and is split into two phases.
Sport England Places and Spaces Fund
Amount available: Up to £10,000
Deadline: Please note, this fund will close to new applicants at the end of Friday 25th August 2023.
Suitable for: Eligible organisations include sports clubs, charities, community, voluntary, and social enterprise sector organisations, and town or parish councils.
Description: Are you looking to create, enhance or redevelop a sports facility in the West Midlands for the benefit of your community? You could get up to £10,000 in funding from the Places and Spaces fund in partnership with Sport England and Crowdfunder.
Veolia Community Grants
Amount available: Grants of between £10,200 and £75,000
Deadline: Reviewed quarterly
Suitable for: Constituted not-for-profit organisations and local authorities.
Description: Grants are available to create or improve buildings or outside spaces for the benefit of the community. Please download the criteria document via the above link for further details.
Veolia Environmental Improvement Grants
Amount available: Grants of over £75,000
Deadline: Unspecified
Suitable for: Environmental Bodies that are enrolled with ENTRUST, the regulator of The Landfill Communities Fund.
Description: Grants are available to enable landscape scale improvement projects such as habitat creation/management, and/or species protection. Please download the criteria document via the above link for further details.
Sport England: Strategic Facilities
Amount available: Anticipated bids of £500,000 – £2million
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Local authorities (not exclusive)
Description: Tackling inactivity: Helping people who are inactive is one of our major priorities. Over the next four years, we’re dedicating at least 25 per cent of our total resources to tackling inactivity.
Facilities: The places where people play sport have a really big impact on a person’s experience and likelihood they will come back regularly. That’s why we’re continuing to invest in all types of facilities, especially multi-sport for our major strategic investments.
Biffa Award
Amount Available: £10,000 to £75,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Various types of community groups and organisations
Description: Landfill operator Biffa funds projects that develop or improve public amenities. This can include sports facilities as long as they are publically accessible. All projects must meet their geographical eligibility criteria which can be checked on their website.
Football Foundation Funding
Amount available: Various.
Description: Funded by the Premier League, FA and Government (via Sport England). Large and small grants available covering everything from goalposts to 3G pitches. More than 60,000 grants worth over £800m provided to clubs and organisations since 2000.
Funding for Social Outcomes
Sport and physical activity promotes a wide-range of benefits and is proven to be an advantageous method to achieve social outcomes in our communities. The following funding streams have a clear focus on achieving social impact, of which a sport and physical activity programme can play a significant part.
Each funder will offer grants for different outcomes. Please ensure to check the accompanied guidelines of each grant for further information.
Your Community Fund
Amount available: Grants of £500.
Deadline: There are funding quarters available to view on the above link.
Suitable for: Projects that are people led and help to build strong, diverse communities.
Description: The Midcounties Co-op believe in putting local change in the hands of local people. That’s why we’re proud to support local community group activities that bring together people from all parts of society. Nobody knows your community like you do, so if you’ve got an idea that will make a difference or need help with a community project why not apply?
Matthew Good Foundation Grants for Good
Amount available: Five charities will receive a share of £10,000.
Deadline: Funding will be awarded every three months, in April, July, October and January, with an application deadline of the 15th of the month before.
Suitable for: Local community group, charity, voluntary group or social enterprise that has a positive impact on communities, people or the environment.
Description: Every three months, they’ll share £10,000 between 5 shortlisted projects that have a positive impact on communities, people or the environment.
Trusthouse Major Grants Programme
Amount available: Single or multi-year grants between £10,000 and £100,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Charitable organisation in the UK with a total annual income under £1 million with a focus on Family Support (early intervention to support vulnerable children and families, families coping with addiction, families of prisoners).
Description: Single or multi-year grants between £10,000 and £100,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs.
Trusthouse Small Grants Programme
Amount available: Single-year grants between £2,000 and £10,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Open to any charitable organisation in the UK with a total annual income under £250,000 with a focus on Community Support.
Description: Single-year grants between £2,000 and £10,000 for core costs, salaries, running and project costs.
Arts Council
Description: The Arts Council looks to invest in initiatives that champion and develop artistic and cultural experiences that enrich people’s lives. Physical activity can play in a key role in an arts and culture-focused initiative and can be a significant instrument to achieving social change and empowerment through creativity.
Please see the link above to view their current funding streams.
Boost Charitable Trust
Amount Available: Small awards (£500 or less) and Large awards (over £500)
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Charities or non-for-profit organisations with a focus on sport
Description: The trust aims to Build On Over-looked Sporting Talent. All of its activities, are designed to ‘champion the disabled and disadvantaged and to inspire them to overcome their challenges through the power of sport’. Grants are categorised into small awards (£500 or less) and large awards (over £500).
Caudwell Children Enable Sports Programme
Amount available: Various (based on merit)
Deadline: No specified deadline
Suitable for: Individuals and groups in need of financial support to purchase equipment
Description: The Enable Sport Programme provides specialist disability sports equipment to support the development of talented children so that they can participate in competitive sport. They provide a range of equipment giving young athletes the opportunity to develop their skills and progress in all types of sporting activities at local, national and international levels.
Community Amateur Sports Clubs
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Community-based Sports Clubs
Description: CASC can assist which providing tax breaks for clubs. To be eligible the club must be properly constituted as a not-for-profit organisation, with no provision for payment to members during the life of the club or upon dissolution. It can be either unincorporated (ie an association of members with unlimited liability) or incorporated as a company limited by guarantee (not shares).
Community Foundation for Staffordshire
Suitable for: Various (dependant on type of funding stream targeted)
Description: The Community Foundation for Staffordshire administers many different grants schemes from various funders. We offer grants from our own funds, from funds set up by local donors and philanthropists, local businesses and individuals, and from national and regional charities and trusts.
Morrisons Foundation Grant Funding
Amount available: No limit for grant applications (please note that match funding applications have a limit of £1,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Charities registered with the Charity Commission
Description: The Morrisons Foundation supports charities making a positive difference in local communities across England, Scotland and Wales. They will award grants for charitable project that demonstrate a significant contribution to a local community and match fund the money that colleagues of Morrisons raise for their chosen charities.
The National Lottery Community Fund
Current Status: Open with no current end date
Hands out half the good causes money from the National Lottery. They are committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need through these funding streams;
(1) Awards for All England
Amount available: £300 to £10,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Voluntary or community organisations, registered charities, constituted groups or clubs, non-for-profit or community interest companies, social enterprises, schools and statutory bodies
Description: The Awards for All programme aims to help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. To do this they want to fund projects that meet one or more of the following outcomes:
- People have better chances in life – with better access to training and development to improve their life skills.
- Stronger communities – with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems.
- Improved rural and urban environments – which communities are better able to access and enjoy.
- Healthier and more active people and communities.
(2) Reaching Communities
Amount available: Over £10,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Voluntary or community organisations
Description: Reaching Communities make and offer grants to support organisations with great ideas that enable communities to thrive. We support ideas that meet one or more of our three funding priorities:
- Bring people together and build strong relationships in and across communities
- Improve the places and spaces that matter to communities
- Enable more people to fulfil their potential by working to address issues at the earliest possible stage
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Amount available: £3,000 to £5million
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Non-for-profit organisations
Description: The National Lottery Heritage Fund will look for fund programmes that have an aim to create awareness and celebrate local heritage. This can include a variety of ideas and initiatives, such as cultural traditions, historic buildings, monuments and environments as well as histories of people, places and communities. Sport boasts a rich heritage and Staffordshire & Stoke-on-Trent is no different!
Peter Harrison Foundation
Amount available: No minimum or maximum (projects will be assessed on suitability and merit)
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs
Description: The foundation has an Opportunities Through Sport Programme aimed at assisting sports activities or projects for disabled or disadvantaged individuals.
The Tudor Trust
Amount available: No limit for grant applications (please note, it is unusual for the trust to accept awards of £10,000
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Please see the exclusions list on the Tutor Trust website (follow the link in the title)
Description: As a grant-making charitable trust, the Tudor Trust aims to provide funds for a wide-range of organisations that work to bring about positive change to people and communities across the UK. They distribute funds based on identified issues and developing solutions that organisations demonstrate, rather than base the worthwhileness of a project on national and local agendas. Please note that the Trust cannot fund sport and leisure projects without a strong social welfare focus.
Wooden Spoon
Amount available: No limit (please note it is unlikely that the charity will fund projects under £5,000)
Deadline: No current deadline
Suitable for: Organisations with a legal status. Examples include schools, charities, and clubs
Description: As a children’s charity of Rugby, the Wooden Spoon organisation is offering long-term grants for projects that enhance and support the lives and children of young people through direct activities or services in order to demonstrate positive influence. The project must have a minimum life-span of five years (preferably ten).
Fundraising
Fundraising can be considered a key aspect to raise the much needed funds for sports clubs and community organisations to continue their sport and physical activity initiatives. Please see below information of some key fundraising support opportunities.
ClubDraw
Current Status: Open
ClubDraw helps clubs in every sport, large or small, to raise those all-important funds. Any club can join the ClubDraw network to offer their supporters chances to win weekly cash and amazing ‘Prizes That Money Can’t Buy’ – all while helping to raise funds for good causes in their club or community. It’s a great way to support a club while having the fun and excitement of a guaranteed weekly prize draw! Whatever your sport, whatever the size of your club, you can raise money with your own localised lottery.
easyfundraising
Current Status: Open
easyfundraising turns your everyday online shopping into free donations for your favourite cause. Just start your online shopping first at easyfundraising, then shop as normal. Our retailers will then make a small donation to say “thank you”.
They have 3,598 retailers to choose from and so far we’ve raised over £25 million for thousands of community groups, schools, sports clubs, small and large charities across the UK.
Fundrazr
Current Status: Open
Provides you with a stress free approach to raising valuable funds. Fundrazr’s vision is to become your most important fundraising partner. They want to help you by giving you great fundraising ideas.
They understand the difficulties of raising money and we are passionate about providing an alternative funding source for startups, charities, and personal causes. An example of this is through the support of sports teams.
Funding for Individuals/Performance Athletes
SportsAid
Current Status: Open – Nominations take place every autumn – check with your NGB directly
SportsAid only supports unfunded athletes who are nominated by their sport’s national governing body. This ensures the right athletes get the right help at the right time – enhancing the sports’ talent development programmes rather than duplicating them. Nominations take place every autumn.
Local Funding
Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Local Authority Funding Schemes
Please note: this document is currently under the process of being updated.
If you need any further guidance please try your sport’s National Governing Body Officer.