Tapping into new Sport England funding streams

Following the recent announcement of a number of new funding initiatives by Sport England, James Coney of sports surface specialist total-play Ltd shares his advice on how to maximise your chances of securing funding to improve your club or organisation’s sports and leisure facilities...

“At total-play Ltd we’re accustomed to providing clients, ranging from schools to professional sports clubs and playing at grass-roots to first class level, with the information they need to make a successful bid for funding; advising on our area of specialism, synthetic and natural playing surfaces, to provide a design, specification and projected costs in line with the funding body requirements. Whatever the sport and regardless of the level of play, when applying for funding the basic rules remain the same, and here we look at how you can maximise your organisation’s chance of success when it comes to applying for the latest funding streams being made available through Sport England.”

The opportunities

A raft of funding initiatives from Sport England, which invests National Lottery and Exchequer funding in organisations and projects that will ‘grow and sustain participation in grassroots sport and create opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport’, represents an outstanding opportunity for a diverse range of organisations including sports clubs, voluntary or community organisations, local authorities, schools, colleges and universities to update, upgrade or otherwise develop their sporting facilities.

Whether you are looking to buy new equipment, refurbish an existing winter sports pitch or install a new, state-of-the-art MUGA (Mixed Use Games Area) synthetic surface - and whether you’re looking to secure a few hundred pounds or tens of thousands - the opportunity is there and you need to act now to maximise your chance of success. First of all, you need to research which of the available funding streams is best suited to your organisation and project...

Small Grants

This programme makes grants ranging from £300 to £10,000 to not-for-profit organisations toward projects that ‘either grow or sustain participation in sport or to support talent development’ with a total project cost of under £50,000. Projects must be based in England, deliverable within 12 months of receipt of award allocation letter and serve a membership open to all sections of the community, among other criteria.

Priority will be given to projects that either increase the number of adults participating in moderate intensity sports or that seek to reduce the drop off rates for 16-19 year olds; in particular in Badminton, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Gymnastics, Netball, Rugby League, Rugby Union, and Tennis. The type of projects likely to benefit from Small Grants include setting up new clubs, after school clubs, establishing a new team, multi-sport taster sessions, those that encourage sport in the community and the purchase of additional equipment.  

Sportsmatch

Sportsmatch aims to encourage sponsorship of grassroots sport by the commercial sector to deliver new community projects that grow or sustain participation in sport by offering to ‘match’ third party sponsorship with awards ranging from £1,000 to £10,000. Organisations that could benefit include sports clubs, voluntary organisations, local authorities, schools, universities or governing bodies of sport; especially those that are looking to fund projects to encourage groups underrepresented in sport to participate, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and black and minority ethnic communities. For 2011 – 2012 applications, Sport England funding for the project must be spent by 31 March 2012.

Iconic facilities fund

Drawing on the 2012 Olympic Games for inspiration, the Iconic Facilities fund aims to create first-class facilities for grassroots sport on a local level. £30m investment will be made over the next three years in innovative, large-scale, multi-sport facilities' projects that are ‘regionally significant for at least two sports and can demonstrate long-term financial viability’. One stream of the £135m Places People Play initative, aimed transforming the places where people play sport, in cities, towns and villages across the country, Iconic Facilities funds will be allocated to major infrastructure development projects that meet a series of strict criteria; including that they will benefit all sections of the local community and are of regional significance.
Applications open on 10 October 2011 and close on 19 December 2011, with the round 2 prospectus now available for interested parties.

Inspired Facilities

Some £50 million has been allocated to this ‘People, Places, Play’ funding stream as part of Sport England’s drive to deliver a London 2012 legacy of increased mass participation in sport, with the specific aim of making it easier for local community and volunteer groups to improve and refurbish sports clubs or transform non-sporting venues into modern grassroots sport facilities.
Up to 1000 community sports projects will benefit from funds between 2011 and 2014, from refurbishing and upgrading existing facilities through to converting existing buildings into new sporting venues. The focus is on projects that involve investment in infrastructure such as building modernisation, outdoor sports lighting, outdoor sports surfaces and AdiZones, modular buildings and sports equipment, and applications are now being invited.

Protecting playing fields

The second of five rounds of this ‘People, Places, Play’ funding stream is set to open on 24 October 2011 and close on 12 December 2011; so interested clubs and societies will need to act quickly to ensure they don’t miss out this time. Focusing on protecting and improving playing fields and developing community sport, some £10 million of National Lottery funding is being invested in community sports projects for playing field improvements that ‘will contribute to both retaining and increasing participants in sport across England at the local level’.

Projects that improve the condition of pitches, create playing field land of more than 0.2ha, bring disused playing fields back into use or offer support to community and voluntary groups and local authorities in the protection of playing fields will be considered for funding. Orgnaisations that include fully constituted clubs, associations or trusts, Local Authorities, LEAs, foundation school or colleges, voluntary aided or controlled schools, independent schools, institutes of further education, institutes of higher education, parish and town councils, national governing bodies and private sector companies and businesses are all eligible for funding.

Making your play for funding

Once you’ve decided which of the Sport England funding streams best fits your project profile – in depth details of all of the above streams can be found at www.sportengland.org – you need to prepare your application. While full details on how to apply for each of the different streams is available on the Sport England website, as a general rule you will need to provide detailed information on each of the following areas when it comes to putting forward your case:

• Sports Development Plan – outlining exactly how your proposed project meets the criteria set by the funding guidelines
• Project Plan – detailing how the project itself will be carried out, from preparation through installation to completion
• Business Plan – including income and expenditure and highlighting the project’s future sustainability
• Detailed funding application – Most funding will require you to complete and in-depth application form giving full details of your club, business or organisation to help evidence your eligibility

Expert advice and guidance

As part of your application, you’ll most likely be required to provide information from prospective suppliers in terms of costing, specification and implementation. At total-play Ltd, while we don’t offer funding consultancy services as such, we have worked closely with numerous clients to help them ensure that their applications contain all the technical detail that will give them the best possible chance of securing funding on projects that range from the design and installation of synthetic surfaces for cricket and MUGAs through to refurbishment of old and construction of new natural turf pitches.

A good, experienced supplier or contractor will be able to provide:
- Construction advice which highlights best value and helps create a realistic option
- Valued engineering solutions
- A clear understanding of the funding process (i.e. quotation, tender, timescales etc.)
For full details of all of the funding opportunities available via Sport England, visit www.sportengland.org. For full information on the total-play range of services, including the design, installation and maintenance of both non-turf and natural sports surfaces, please contact us.