There are lots of opportunities that archery clubs can tap into and successfully draw down funding to support the growth of the sport at grassroots. This page offers guidance on where to look for funding and suggestions on some of the key points to consider when submitting a funding application.
A well-resourced archery club will be aware of information on local and national funding opportunities. This page offers guidance on where to look for funding and suggestions on some of the key points to consider when submitting a funding application.
There are lots of opportunities that archery clubs can tap into and successfully draw down funding to support the growth of the sport at grassroots, however, funding is not handed out on a plate! Applications are not always approved and even after you’re awarded funding you will still have to work to show the benefits it brought to the club or community.
Updates on individual funding streams will be announced on the Archery GB website, Facebook and in the various e-zines, newsletters and magazines. Archery GB can provide advice on applications and write supporting letters to awarding bodies or act as referees for clubs. Please contact the office for more information, as we will need to see further documentation to ensure we are supporting a valid cause.
If you or your club require support in writing an application, proof-reading a bid or any other support please contact the Sport Team by telephoning 01952 602795, or by email to: sport@archerygb.org
Obtaining grant funding is not an exact science, as different funding bodies give out money for different reasons. Therefore, the first tip is to tailor your application as you would a job application/CV to the position you want. The same application information used repeatedly may gain funding at some stage but a little bit of work might mean your application is seen as more attractive and is successful quicker.
Before you apply for funding, you should write down everything you want and form a club development action plan. This will be useful in your quest for funding, remember: you’re not chasing the money; you’re seeking funding to help achieve the club’s aims. A development action plan doesn’t have to be long, a page or two is fine, but it will give you an idea of what is needed in the club to achieve those aims.
Extract the action points that need money and write up a wish list – everything that the club would want in an ideal world. Then you should fully understand what each funding agency is agreeing to give money towards before applying. It might be that you don’t apply for a large amount of funding to get everything you want, but instead apply for a small part of the wish list to several different funders.
Read all the information about the grant stream and make sure you are applying for the most relevant one and check that your project fits with the organisation’s strategy or guidance notes.
Download a sample application form of the programme you are interested in and gather the information you need so you can see whether you have everything required or need to find additional information. If there is a telephone number or email address then ring/email to check that your project is eligible and it is something that they would want to fund – this will save you a lot of time and effort!
You will need backing from others within your club; don’t try to apply on your own. Ask someone else to re-read the information or help with the application. You will probably need an independent referee – someone who knows the club and what it is trying to achieve – a teacher or local Councillor – and possibly a reference letter – which Archery GB can provide.
Write clearly and concisely, and answer all the questions that the application asks. Don’t write too much just to fill the box or to meet word or line counts. It’s better to write fewer words as long as you explain your proposal clearly.
Finally, remember that just because your club needs new equipment doesn’t mean that you’ll be granted funding – your application needs to explain how you will meet the funders objectives and demonstrate need for the project, and how you will continue to deliver the project once the money has all been spent.
Contact Archery GB to let us know you have applied, so that if we’re contacted and asked about your project (which does happen!) we know all about it and can confirm to funding agencies that the project is a worthwhile one.
Remember that some schemes will be heavily oversubscribed so preparing your information in advance will hopefully ensure its success, but not always.
For clubs applying in England for Sport England funding, the Code for Sports Governance sets out which organisations are eligible for funding. The code seeks levels of transparency, accountability and financial integrity for any organisation who asks for Government and National Lottery funding.
FCS Associates have developed a grants finder map which makes finding the right opportunity much easier.
The Alec Dickson Trust is passionate about volunteering and about young people making a difference. Grants of up to £500 are available. Grants are available for projects in the applicant’s local area that involve local people and can demonstrate that through volunteering or community service they can enhance the lives of others, particularly those most marginalised by society.
The first round of Active Londoners funding is now open. Funding will be awarded as grants of different sizes – depending on the scale of your project and how long it runs for. Active Londoners provides small and medium grants of:
Applications close at 12 noon on Thursday 28 February 2019
Schools, colleges and community groups in England can apply for grants to Blue Spark Foundation for a wide range of projects. Many grants will be under £2,000, most will be under £5,000 and only in a few cases will grants exceed £10,000. Projects which could be supported include sport, vocational training, community projects, enterprise projects and educational excursions.
Projects must be open to the wider general public for at least 104 days a year and have a total cost of under £250,000. You must have already secured at least 20% of the total cost. Grants must go to work close to Veolia operations. The next deadline is 28th February 2019.
Sport England’s approach to Small Grants has changed! Sport England has relaxed a few rules about what they can't fund, and are trying to make it as simple as possible to apply to their Small Grants programme. The focus of your application should be what difference your project will make, not what you purchase to make it happen. They also want to know how many new participants will be involved. One of the main differences made to this fund, is that it will no longer matter if your project takes more than 12 months to deliver, and you can spread your funding over three years, if required.
They are also happy to contribute funding to bigger projects. You can request grants up to £10,000 for revenue related expenditure and new/additional movable equipment. Sport England may make slightly larger awards in exceptional circumstances only. Sport England will also be doing more to support organisations which are able to support inactive people become active. N.B. The fund only funds projects which mainly focus on people 14 years and older.
The Big Lottery Fund is now called The National Lottery Community Fund. Last year alone the National Lottery Community Fund gave out over half a billion pounds of National Lottery funding to community projects across the UK, benefitting more than 11,000 projects.
Their current open funding which may be suitable archery clubs includes:
There are Sports Councils in each Home Nation in the UK. Sport England, Sport Northern Ireland, Sport Scotland and Sport Wales work to coordinate all the different organisations involved in developing sport in their country and distribute lottery funding to clubs, local authorities, national governing bodies of sport and other non-profit organisations.
The UK Sports Councils invest National Lottery and public money to help people play sport and take part in physical activity.
A £16.5m Return to Play Fund is available. There are three parts to this new fund – Small Grants and the Community Asset Fund, which have been adapted from pre-coronavirus funds, and Active Together crowdfunding, which has been extended – with all three now focusing on a safe return to play and narrowing the inequalities gap in sport and physical activity.
The Sport Facilities Fund (sportscotland’s main facility funding programme) and National Lottery Awards for all (funding for a wide variety of one-off costs) are still open for application.
The Progress grant is intended to help progress sport and activity to the next step and support long-term sustainability. This grant is intended to help clubs and organisations work towards three principles of Tackling inequality, Creating long-term solutions to be more sustainable, and Taking innovative approaches.
Sport Hardship fund open until 12noon 5 November – although may be extended. The fund has been developed to help sport and physical recreation organisations meet their obligations, in particular fixed costs, which are no longer supported with revenue as a result of coronavirus.
Welcoming and accessible spaces can have a big impact on an archer’s experience – and can increase the likelihood of coming back. Funders providing grants for facilities are probably more interested in what the new facility can do for the local community rather than specifically providing for your club. So, remember to think about the wider benefits that your project can bring, such as how many more people you can bring into the sport. It is unlikely that you will be able to apply again so take the time to get your bid right.
Sport England’s Community Asset Fund is a programme dedicated to enhancing the spaces in your local community that give people the opportunity to be active. There are a number of things that they want to achieve with this funding, but most importantly they want to help local organisations to create quality and financially sustainable facilities that benefit their community for years to come –which may mean providing help to get things up and running too.
While they will continue to invest in projects that retain people in sport and increase the number who are regularly taking part, they are also looking to invest in projects that look beyond this to how sport and physical activity can – and does – change lives and become a force for social good. Grants of up to £50,000 are available to eligible clubs.
Sport Scotland, Sport Wales and Sport NI also have similar funding opportunities.
Facility Funding for Home Nations is covered in the Handy Guide to Funding in the Resource section of this page. The Handy Guide to Funding also has other funding opportunities for facilities, coaching and equipment.
There are numerous websites that you can use to search for funding. If you find something that might suit your club, always go to the original website or source of information as funding programmes close or change their priorities all the time and the site you have just searched on might be out of date.
Funding Central is a free smart website for all third sector organisations, including community groups, providing access to thousands of funding and finance opportunities, plus a wealth of tools and resources supporting organisations to develop sustainable income strategies appropriate to their needs.
Search for funding for the voluntary and community sector from 150 Local Authorities using the new Local Authority Funder Finder.
GRANTnet is a free-to-use service from GRANTfinder, can help small businesses, charitable and community groups to find suitable funding.
Fundraising involves raising money from your local community or businesses. This could be through sponsored events, sponsorship or internal club events raising money for club purposes and possibly a charity at the same time. There are numerous ways of doing this and it can be a lot of fun! Check with your local council whether you need to register a particular scheme under the Lotteries and Amusements Act 1976.
Sell 100 numbers (1 to 100). Each number costs £1 per month (Taken annually £12). Each month there is a draw with the winning number receiving £40 and 2nd place receiving £10 (and whatever you wish). Some clubs have a Xmas or Annual Dinner/Awards super draw with everything doubled.
Sell numbers every week at 1 per number. 49 per draw, winner (the number of the bonus ball) gets £25 which leaves up to £24 profit each week. This needs a willing volunteer to do the selling.
Ask for a direct debit of £1 (or more) per month from members etc to support the club. They will not notice the money go out and if you can get a number of people involved the money will start to add up.
Hold a fun day at the club, possibly allow a fair to use the ground and take a cut of entry money. Consider a BBQ or just do it coffee morning style with stalls and a bouncy castle.
Dress up as Bond....James Bond, or Robin Hood! There are lots of companies providing packages to set up themed evenings.
All you need is a large supply of plastic ducks…and some running water! Ducks can be sold at £1 each with prizes for the first three ducks across the finishing line. Local canoeists can be very useful in retrieving the ducks!
There is a growing resale market which allows you to earn money and dispose of unwanted handsets ethically. For best return the phone needs to be in good condition and working but the resellers will take non- working handsets.
Maximise merchandising opportunities - jackets, shirts, ties - make a profit from club leisure wear by adding 10% or whatever you wish to the price.
These are commercially available. You can have 20/40/80 teams and put your name to a team. The winner is revealed when the card is complete and they receive 50% of the money.
This idea can be used at a dinner, or any other event. Everyone puts in £1 and stands up. Decide whether a toss of a coin will be heads or tails and either put hands on head or backside. The coin is tossed and all those who guess correctly remain standing. The numbers are very quickly down to 2/3 people and finally a winner. The prize can be 50% of the money raised.
While it costs to hire the races, they are a good earner, especially if the races and individual horses are sponsored. There are numerous companies that hire out the tapes, betting slips, race cards etc. There is horse racing, greyhound racing, and scalextric racing options available.
On foot or in cars. Charge an entrance fee for each participant with prizes at the end. Someone needs to set the challenge, ensure a safe route etc.
It can be difficult to get on the shop rota but a great way to raise funds and increase your club’s profile in the community. A few people on each till and you pack people’s bags for them. The best time to do this is in the run up to Christmas and around Easter.
Can you do a sponsored 24 hours archery shoot? Or perhaps not swearing, or speaking? There are plenty of things you can get sponsored for - from finding different ways to get into work for a week (e.g. tricycle, hopping etc.) to having your beard/hair shaved off. Sometimes people will be more willing to sponsor you if you donate 50% to a charity, 50% to the club.
We run two funding webinars a year. The most recent one is available to view on YouTube. The webinar gives an overview of the current sport and funding policy of the Government, and funders such as Sport England, Sport Scotland and others, as well as how to best align your project and funding applications to the criteria of the funders.
Please get in touch with Archery GB to gain support for projects and help in preparing applications – email sport@archerygb.org
