Could your club benefit from the Sport England Emergency Fund?
by Loretta Spridgeon 1 Apr 2020 16:24 BST
Marconi Sailing Club Open Day 2019 © Andrew Dowley / MSC
Opportunity for clubs and community organisations to bid for grants
Sport England has announced a £195 million package to help the community sport and physical activity sector in England cope with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
This includes a £20 million Community Emergency Fund which will be opened immediately for clubs and community organisations to bid for grants between £300 and £10,000.
RYA Director of Sport Development, Alistair Dickson, commented: "The RYA is delighted to hear the news that Sport England has opened up this opportunity for clubs in England.
"The Community Emergency Fund could be especially useful for clubs and Sailability groups who have recently closed their doors during the Coronavirus outbreak and who have ongoing financial obligations which they are struggling to meet. Those who work with underrepresented or disadvantaged groups in their community are likely to be looked upon particularly favourably by Sport England.
"As the fund is open until 31 July 2020, our advice to clubs and other organisations is not to rush an application but to carefully consider how their application can meet the criteria. Organisations can only apply once and Sport England is predicting to receive more applications than they will be able to give funding and organisations are going to have to show that they have exhausted all government funding sources before applying to this fund.
"The RYA is looking at the details and will be providing guidance on how to apply for this funding over the comings weeks, including webinars delivered by funding application experts. In the meantime, we encourage clubs and other organisations who are interested in applying to familiarise themselves with the current Sport England strategy, Towards an Active Nation and their investment priorities."
Find more information about the Community Emergency Fund including the criteria here.
The RYA has prepared guidance to assist clubs, classes and recognised training centres in line with advice from the UK Government and Public Health England; read more at FAQs for RYA Affiliated Clubs, Classes and Recognised Training Centres. If you require any further information please contact .