There are numerous ways to raise money for your sports club – from sponsored walks and car boot sales to commercial sponsorship and large-scale merchandising. The only limit is your imagination.
Grant making or loan making organisations
- Sport England, Sports Council for NI, sportscotland, and Sports Council for Wales
- Regional sports board (in England)
- The National Lottery
- Awards For All
- Small Grants Programme
- Sportsmatch (a government funded scheme to encourage sponsorship of grass-roots sport)
| - Sports Aid
- Local Authorities
- Governing Bodies of Sport
- Football Foundation
- Community grants, trusts and foundations
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Each grant making organisation will have its own reasons for awarding grants and it is likely that these will be closely linked to the aims and objectives of the organisation
It is important that you understand the objectives or purposes of any grant making body before you apply for funding.
When making an application consider some or all of the following
- Carefully read through all the information and guidance provided
- Take a photocopy of the form and complete a draft copy first, an application form containing mistakes and crossings out is difficult to follow and may give a poor impression
- Provide relevant supporting material as requested (e.g. annual reports, annual accounts, publicity material, constitution, plans, estimates)
- Keep a copy of the completed application for your own records
| - Ask for advice before you apply to make sure your application is appropriate
- Make sure all sections of the form are completed clearly and in full
- Provide a clear and concise outline of the project
- Provide the name of a contact person who is knowledgeable about the project and application, and can be contacted during normal office hours
- Submit the application in good time to allow for queries to be resolved and papers to be prepared for the relevant decision-making meeting/process
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Ways to raise money
There are numerous ways of raising money – sponsored walks and car boot sales to commercial sponsorship and large-scale merchandising. The only limit is your own imagination.
- Membership Subs
- Donations
- Fundraising Events
- Special Functions
- Lotteries
- Sponsored Events
| - Sponsored Grants
- Merchandising
- Bar Sales
- Loan
- Share Issues
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Choosing the right way
Although there is a vast range of possibilities, the most important skill is selecting an appropriate and realistic funding method for the project that matches the available and expertise.
- The size of your organisation
- The range of people who are members and supporters
- The need fro a fund-raising coordinating group
- Your organisation’s location and catchment area
| - Your knowledge of grant-making bodies/organisations
- The amount of money you need to raise
- The type of project fro which you needs funds
- The expertise, resources and time available
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Sponsorship
Sponsorship is a business deal between 2 parties where both parties benefit from the arrangement.
Sponsorship is a business/commercial agreement between a company and a sports/sports organisation through which a company buys, either with money or through the provision of goods and services, benefits that it believes will complement its marketing strategy. In return, the sport/sports organisation will allow the use of it’s name in commercial activity and provide other agreed benefits.
| Company Benefits | Organisation Benefits |
- Publicity
- Corporate image
- Public Relations/community involvement
- Direct Marketing
- Endorsement
- Educational Sponsorship
- Client/Corporate hospitality
- Target Marketing
- Community Development
| - Sum of money
- Some goods
- Services from the sponsoring company
- Raised profile within the community through a link with the sponsor
- Advice and expertise from the sponsor
- Feel good factor within the organisation as a result of successfully negotiating the sponsorship agreement
- Additional business contacts
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Fund-Raising
Fund-raising ideas generated seem only to be limited by people’s imagination. Most fund-raising events can be easy to organise on a small scale depending on the number of volunteers.
Alternatively, it could be located on a much larger site, with pitches available to the general public and an extensive advertising campaign to attract customers
- Bowling Event
- Breakfast/Brunch Party
- Car Rally
- Casino Evening
- Coffee Morning
- Gala Sports Dinner
| - Disco
- Concert
- Quiz/Race night
- Auction
- Car Boot Sale
- Raffle
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Income from membership
Raising additional funds from your membership is an easy but often a controversial method
- Raising membership fees
- Putting a small levy on match fees
- Asking members to make donations
- Asking members to make a bequest in their wills
- Introducing social membership
| - Increasing the size of the social membership
- Putting up the bar prices with a small levy on each drink
- Adding to your hire charges
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CASC
The CASC scheme, seeks to recognise the important role played by sports clubs in local communities and is able to differentiate between clubs and businesses for rates and tax purposes.
To qualify for CASC status the club’s governing documents (constitution, memorandum, articles and club rules) must make explicit the following four principles, relating to how the club is run.
- There must be a policy of open membership and the club must not discriminate in terms of sex, race, religion ability, etc
- The core purpose of the club must be to promote one or more sports/activities
- The club must be non-profit making and any surplus profits must be reinvested into the club
- There must be a dissolution clause stating that, in the event of the club being wound up, any remaining assets will be distributed to either the governing body of the sport, a charity or another CASC.
Further Information
This website has useful resources, including “Fundraising, Grants and Sponsorship”, and “Taxation and Sport” along with other downloadable Top Tips, Role Outlines and information on available training including workshops and workbooks “Funding For Your Club”. Alternatively, telephone the runningsports Hotline on 0800-363373.
Other organisations worth checking out
National Agencies
Grants to support individual performers
Community Grants
These Top Tips are intended as a general guide, based on legislation at the time of publication. Neither runningsports, its staff, the authors nor reviewers can accept any liability for any loss arising as a result of reliance upon the information contained herein. Readers are strongly advised to obtain professional advice on an individual basis.
