Funding for Non League & Grass Roots Club's

[Munchkin]

For some reason the SSMFL committee thought it was a good idea to send an email about the funding available for steps 3-6 with the Division 2 clubs.

a bit like what you could have won ?

[Rhodes]

Munchkin - Do the hierarchy at Abbey Road feel somewhat aggrieved that Step 5 and Step 6 Club's are eligible for fairly decent size grants of £10,500 and £7,500 respectively but not Step 7 Club's. It does seem rather unfair doesn't it, I'm just mentioning Old Bradwell United because you posted but the same must go for the fourteen other Club's in Division Two, you were all eligible for a grant from both the Pitch Preparation Fund and Club Preparation Fund last year weren't you so why not now. By the way Jim Bowen was great on Bullseye back in the day wasn't he ?.

Edited January 31, 2021 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

It would be interesting to know how many Premier Division and Division One Club's benefitted from the £10,500 and £7,500 in grants that was recently made available to them by the 'Football Stadia Improvement Fund'. In last week's BBC Three Counties Radio Non League Show Dunstable Town Treasurer Matt Carrington was interviewed by Ollie Bayliss and, perhaps unsurprisingly, stated that Dunstable Town were unable to tap into a penny piece of the £10,500 due to not meeting the set criteria. Presumably the same goes for the majority of Premier Division and Division One Club's particularly those who don't own their own ground as Creasey Park is Council owned. I had a feeling there would be a catch and why does the funding need to be used by 31 March with evidence submitted to the Football Foundation of what the money has been spent on.

[Rhodes]

This is quite interesting and helpful, a new Podcast called 'In The Box' especially designed by the FA for the grassroots football community with expert advice on how to manage and boost your Club's finances during the lockdown period and beyond:

Funding, Marketing & Covid 19 for grassroots football | EP1 | IN THE BOX - YouTube

[Rhodes]

I will remind you nearer to the time however there is a free webinar on Tuesday 9 March at 7.00pm to explain how to make it easier for Club's and Community organisations to find, manage and grow sponsors. You need to register first and I think after the webinar the company are looking to sign Club's up for £8.25 a month for a year however that may be worthwhile doing if you can tap into some funding and sponsorship:

Webinar Registration - Zoom

[Rhodes]

There's an opportunity for Club's to win a free football kit by filling in the form below and sending it off by the end of February, I guess you have nothing to lose:

Win a Team Kit (discountfootballkits.com)

[Rhodes]

Club's such as Aylesbury Vale Dynamos and Buckingham Athletic may be able to get some financial help when they are 'flooded out' on a regular basis. Strangely only Bedfordshire and Berkshire are on Sport England's list of 'Focus Areas' however it does state that applications from other areas may be considered on a case-by-case basis, there is a help line and e-mail to make enquiries:

Financial support for flood-damaged facilities | Sport England

Financial Support for Flood-Damaged Sports Facilities (England-Various) - News - Grants Online

team BEDS&LUTON - Financial Support for Flood Damaged Facilities (teambedsandluton.co.uk)

[Rhodes]

Generous Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Shanak MP yesterday committed £25 million of new funding towards grassroots football facilities in his Budget announcement, watch this space for further details as hopefully some of it will be coming 'our' way soon:

[Rhodes]

Here we go folks, ahead of the eagerly awaited return of grassroots football, the Football Foundation is offering, wait for it, not one, not two but three different funding opportunities. Fill your boots:

Game on | Football Foundation

[Rhodes]

Don't forget that the Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund opens today, fill your boots:

New funds launched to help grassroots football return (thefa.com)

Return to Football Fund – £2.1m targeted to support clubs in the highest areas of deprivation in England, disability football and groups underrepresented in football, including women and girls, to support the return to football or activities aimed at bringing new players to the game. The Foundation has identified the groups most affected by the lockdown, where participation in football has decreased the most, and will seek to target funding towards them. 

Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund – A £14m fund opening on 15 March will provide six-year tapered grants to improve the quality of grass pitches. Thousands of football matches are cancelled every year because of problems with grass pitches and these grants form a key part of the Foundation’s overall Grass Pitch Programme which hopes to improve at least 5000 pitches by June 2024. 

Small Grants – A fund to help clubs pay for essential equipment and machinery they need to start playing again. Clubs can apply for up to £25k to refurbish their changing rooms, pay for grass pitch drainage, new goalposts, pitch maintenance equipment and portable floodlights. 

Edited March 15, 2021 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

An extract from the very latest FA guidance, following Government advice, ahead of Monday 29 March and the return of outdoor grassroots football, there is some information on funding and financial support available to Club's:

FA guidance for outdoor grassroots football return on 29 March 2021 (thefa.com)

Further FA financial support for the game

With the assistance of Sport England, we're pleased to confirm we will be offering funding to County FAs to provide discounted 2021-22 season affiliation. This will be available across the whole of affiliated football, assisting everyone with getting back to the game they love, and especially those from under-represented areas of the game such as women and girls, lower socio-economic groups, minority groups and those with a disability.

We, alongside Sport England, strongly encourage all of those restarting in the weeks ahead to ensure that everyone is able to benefit, no matter their age or gender, from fair and equal access to playing opportunities.

In addition to this, our ‘Return to Football Fund’, made possible with Sport England funding from the National Lottery, will provide £2.1 million targeted at supporting people in low participation groups to start playing again. It will also fund initiatives to bring new players into the game and cover the cost of adapting to COVID-19 rules.

Finally, alongside our partners at the Football Foundation, we also recently announced two other new funds to provide further financial support to clubs over the longer term.

The £14 million Grass Pitch Maintenance Fund is providing six-year tapered grants to improve the quality of grass pitches, while the Small Grants fund is available to help clubs pay for essential equipment and machinery they need to start playing again.

Clubs can apply for up to £25k to refurbish their changing rooms, pay for grass pitch drainage, new goalposts, pitch maintenance equipment and portable floodlights.

For more information and how to apply, visit the Football Foundation website.

Clubs and leagues can access our online support hub and podcasts which includes up to date information, guidance and signposts as well as other useful information relating to funding and support services.

The full return to grassroots football guidance document can be downloaded below.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

There is a 'COVID-19 Pandemic Support Grant' currently available for Sports Club's within Luton, organisations eligible include Community Sports Club's and Groups who deliver sport and physical activity opportunities so The 61 FC (Luton) and Crawley Green will be able to apply, I doubt Dunstable Town can however their knowledgeable Treasurer Matt Carrington may be able to find a way:

team BEDS&LUTON - Luton Sport and Physical Activity Covid-19 Support Fund (teambedsandluton.co.uk)

The fund aims to deliver immediate funding to those sports clubs and organisations supporting communities to be physically active. It will specifically look to support clubs and organisations to start up their activities again as we come out of lockdown.

[Rhodes]

A new tranche of so called Government 'Sport Survival Funding' is available as grants (not loans ?) to Club's at Step 3-6 level, the application window is open now and closes on Sunday 9 May. Fill your boots:

Football Survival Package - Summer 2021 | Football Foundation

Edited April 27, 2021 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

The Football Foundation and the Football Stadia Improvement Fund are offering support for Club's who have sadIy suffered damage from the recent storms and who are unabIe to make insurance cIaims through the proper channeIs for whatever reason:

Football Foundation and FSIF to support club facilities damaged by storm | Football Foundation

[Rhodes]

A number of funding opportunities from Barclays who offer Community groups the opportunity to access funding, resources and training in order to make football more accessible in Communities across the UK.

https://thehub.sported.org.uk/barclays-community-football-fund.html

[Rhodes]

This link might be useful to Club's with various sources and leads to funding streams:

https://www.grantsonline.org.uk/news/sports-and-leisure/

[Rhodes]

Some more links to potential funding streams for Club's, if you don't try you don't get do you:

https://nationalleaguetrust.org.uk/other-funds/

https://www.amateur-fa.com/clubs-and-competitions/club-finance/grants-and-funding

https://loveadmin.com/generating-income/10-sports-funding-grants-clubs-can-apply-for/

https://footballfoundation.org.uk/looking-for-funding

https://footballfoundation.org.uk/grant/grow-the-game

https://www.xero.com/uk/thefa/grants-funding-guide-football-club/

[Rhodes]

Funding is available for portable floodlights courtesy of the Football Foundation, the FA, the Premier League and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS):

https://footballfoundation.org.uk/grant/portable-floodlights?utm_source=Organic+Social+Media&utm_medium=Football+Foundation+Social&utm_campaign=Let's+Go+2024_Portable+Floodlights&utm_id=Let's+Go+2024