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Your guide to Millions of Pounds worth of Funding!

The sportessex A to Z Directory of Funding is an easy-to-use tool to help you find funding opportunities for individuals, clubs, sports projects and activities.
There is a wide range of grants and sponsorship opportunities available in Essex, from £100 to over £1 million. Please check the Noticeboard and Directory for regular updates and announcements of new funding sources. If you cannot find a funding source which meets your requirements, we advise you to look at www.grantfinder.co.uk

sportessex highly recommends that before completing an application form, you first contact the relevant funding body to discuss your project or proposal, or you can contact sportessex for help and advice.

Athletes Benevolent Fund
The British Athletes Commission (BAC), in partnership with Sports Aid has set up a Benevolent Fund as part of the BAC's member services with a view to creating, sustaining and developing a fund of monies from which current, recent and past elite athletes can benefit in times of hardship. Eligible applicants may apply under the following situations: injury, hardship, education, one-off need.
Website: http://www.britishathletes.org/benefits/benevolent-fund/

Awards for All
Awards for All offers grant funding of between £300 and £10,000 help improve local communities and the lives of people most in need. If your project is ‘sports for sports sake’ for example a club looking to gain more coaching qualifications, then the Sport England Small Grants will be a better fit. However, Awards for All will still fund projects with a wider social aim so if your ideas fall into one of the catagories below then Awards for All offer a good chance of receiving funding:
* People have better chances in life – with better access to training and development to improve their life skills.
* Stronger communities – with more active citizens working together to tackle their problems.
* Improved rural and urban environments – which communities are better able to access and enjoy.
* Healthier and more active people and communities.
Website: www.awardsforall.org.uk

Bag4sport
Bag4sport is a social enterprise that supports colleges, sports clubs, schools, youth clubs, communities and charities by turning unwanted clothing into cash. Fifty full bags could earn a sports club £200.
Website: http://www.bag4sport.co.uk/

BBC Children in Need Grants
BBC Children in Need provides grants for up to three years to properly constituted not for profit organisations working with disadvantaged young people aged 18 or under. Funding is available to organisations that work with young people who are suffering from illness, distress, abuse or neglect, are disabled, have behavioural or psychological difficulties and / or are living in poverty or situations of deprivation. The general Grants Programme is separated into Small Grants of under £10,000 and Main Grants of over £10,000.
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pudsey

BOOST Charitable Trust
Boost Charitable Trust was created in 2005 to Build On Over-looked Sporting Talent, to champion the disabled and disadvantaged, to inspire them to overcome their challenges through the power of sport.
Since inception, Boost has supported a number of organisations, with grants totalling in excess of £750,000.  The majority of which has been focussed within the United Kingdom.   
All activities, which you will find detailed on this website, are designed to give opportunities to those who wish to fulfill their sporting ambitions, at any level.
Boost believes that sport is for everyone, and we hope to work with people from all ages, races, colours, creeds and physical abilities.
Website: http://www.boostct.org/index.htm

Cash 4 Clubs
Cash 4 Clubs is a sports funding scheme which gives clubs the opportunity to apply for grants to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications, and generally invest in the sustainability of their club.
There are three tiers of grants at £250, £500 and £1,000. Previous grants have been awarded to the Southampton Canoe club which received a grant of £1,000 towards purchasing junior paddles and safety equipment; the Rugby Sea Cadets which received a grant of £1,000 to maintain and replace safety equipment; and Ipswich Basketball which received a grant of £1,000 to initiate a new women's team aimed at the 16+ league.
Applications can be submitted at any time and grants are awarded three times a year.
Website: http://cash-4-clubs.com

Comic Relief
In Essex there are two different Comic Relief Funds with two different ways of applying. The first is through Essex Community Foundation and is for grants up to £10,000 to be spent within one year of being awarded. Funding is available to support groups and projects that increase access to sport and exercise for people who face social exclusion and isolation and the closing dates are 9 January and 9 September each year.
Projects costing between £10,000 and £100,000 should be applied for through Comic Relief directly through their Sport for Change programme. The aim of this programme is to understand more about how sport can play a part in delivering positive change within the lives of individuals and communities and funded organisations should deliver one or more of the following outcomes:
* An increased sense of inclusion and wellbeing for marginalised and disadvantaged people
* Greater community involvement
* An increased understanding of how sport can help bring about positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities
* Greater knowledge across the community and sports sectors about effective work which uses sport as a tool for social change.
Websites: http://www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk/apply_for_a_grant/how_to_apply/index.html
http://www.comicrelief.com

The Cooperative Membership Community Fund
Community Fund grants, between £100 and £2,000 are awarded to community, voluntary, or self-help groups to run projects that meet the following criteria.  To be successful, a group must carry out positive work in the community and address a community issue, provide a good long-term benefit to the community, support co-operative values and principles and ideally be innovative in its approach. Grants for sports equipment can be made.
Website: http://www.co-operative.coop/membership/local-communities/community-fund/

Dickie Bird Foundation
The Dickie Bird Foundation provides grants of between £100 and £5,000 to individuals under 18 who are not able to participate in sporting activities to the best of their ability due to being financially disadvantaged.
Applicants will be asked for details of their monthly family income and to give details on how they intend on spending the money and the application also requires two referees.
Website: http://www.thedickiebirdfoundation.co.uk

Essex Community Foundation General Grants
Essex Community Foundation awards grants to voluntary or community groups, which are charitable in purpose and are working for the benefit of people in Essex, Southend or Thurrock. They support a wide range of projects and welcome applications from both new and established groups. Essex Community Foundation manages both a General Grants Round with a maximum of £10,000 funding and the Foundation have a history of supporting sports organisations. The deadline for applications is 9 January and 9 September each year.
Website: www.essexcommunityfoundation.org.uk

FANS
FANS stands for Free Access for National Sportspeople and is a scheme designed to provide support to the county’s leading talented sports performers.
The scheme provides nationally ranked sports people with free access to participating local authority and private leisure and sports facilities at designated times, for personal training and development.
For more information on FANS, or to download an application form, contact us here.

Football Foundation
The Football Foundation provides financial help for football at all levels and is dedicated to revitalising the grass-roots of the game.  Current grants include the Grass Roots Facilities Fund which can fund projects of over £50,000, Build the Game, for projects under £50,000 and Grow the Game for organisations which are looking to set up two new teams.
Website: www.footballfoundation.org.uk

Healthy Hearts Grants
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Grants of up to £10,000 are available for new, original and innovative projects that actively promote Heart Health and help to prevent, or reduce, the risk of heart disease in specific groups or communities.
Since the start of the Healthy Heart Grant programme over £1 million of exciting projects around the UK have been funded; from cycling projects for the visually impaired to circus skills workshops for teenagers.
There are two funding rounds per year, applications for the May round can be submitted during January and February with a closing date of 28 February. Applications for the November round can be submitted during July and August with a closing date of 31 August.
Website: http://www.heartresearch.org.uk/grants/healthyheartgrant

Live UnLtd
Live UnLtd provides young people aged 11-21 with exciting opportunities to develop an idea which could change their community for the better.
These young social entrepreneurs are awarded funding of up to £5,000 to start up their own social venture; from sports teams and recreational groups to hosting events, which is then coupled with non-financial support from a designated Live UnLtd Development Manager in their region.
The programme also gives young people the opportunity to erase the negative stereotypes associated with ‘youth culture’ in the media today and show that with the right financial and non-financial support, young people can become catalysts for positive social change within their community.
Website: http://www.liveunltd.com/

The Lord's Taveners
Founded in 1950 at the Old Tavern at Lord's cricket ground by a group of actors who enjoyed watching cricket, the Lord's Taverners has developed into both a club and a charity. The charity runs four separate schemes designed to help young people, and particularly those with a disability, take part in sport or gain mobility. There are a wide range of funds, each with their own criteria.
Youth Cricket -The Foundation provides complimentary equipment bags containing a variety of cricket apparatus, grants are available for the installation of non-turf cricket pitches, practice ends and nets and the charity also provides a limited number of grants for special projects that benefit youth cricket.
Grants can be used towards the cost of youth cricket festivals, tournaments or regional competitions. They may also be spent on the provision of special coaching schemes.
Specially Adapted Minibuses - Minibuses are available to give young people with special needs the opportunity to see the world beyond the confines of the organisation which cares for them. A contribution of £8,000 is required from the applicant towards the cost of the vehicle.
Sport and Recreation for Young People with Special Needs -Grants of up to £25,000 are available to enable young people with disabilities to participate in sporting and recreational activities within a group environment. Grants can be used for specially adapted sports equipment, playground equipment, soft play and multi-sensory equipment, riding equipment, pool hoists and water ski equipment
Sports Wheelchair Sponsored Scheme -This scheme assists with the purchase of manual sports wheelchairs for young people aged from 8 to 25 years. All applicants for standard sports wheelchairs will be requested to make a contribution of £350 before the order is placed. The Taverners will contribute up to 50% of the total cost (excluding VAT) up to a maximum of £1,500 for a bespoke sports wheelchair.
Website: http://www.lordstaverners.org

The National Hockey Foundation
The Foundation is a Charitable Trust originally established to develop and operate the hockey stadium at Milton Keynes. It is completely separate from the Hockey’s National Governing Body. Grants are available for between £10,000 and £75,000 for projects which aim to get young people involved in Hockey.
Website:http://www.thenationalhockeyfoundation.com/index.htm

People’s Postcode Trust
People’s Postcode Trust provides funding opportunities to small organisations, community groups and charities, through grants ranging from £500 - £10,000. Projects must fall within one of six categories, with sport being one of these.
Website: http://www.postcodetrust.org.uk/index.php

Peter Harrison Foundation
The Opportunities through Sport programme supports sporting activities or projects which provide opportunities for people who are disabled or otherwise disadvantaged to fulfil their potential and to develop other personal and life skills. Grants will often be one off grants for capital projectsl, however, revenue funding for a new project will be considered
Website: http://www.peterharrisonfoundation.org/

Reaching Communities
The Reaching Communities programme has two strands:
* Reaching Communities revenue and small capital – funding from £10,000 to £500,000 for revenue projects and/or smaller capital projects up to £50,000
* Reaching Communities buildings – funding of between £100,000 and £500,000 for large capital projects
Reaching Communities funds projects that help people and communities most in need. Projects can be new or existing, or be the core work of your organisation. Applications to the fund must achieve one of four outcomes, one of which is healthier and more active people and communities.
Website: http://www2.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_reaching_communities.htm

The Rowing FoundationThe Foundation gives grants of £500-£2,000 to help British rowing organisations and clubs whose requirements may be too small or who may be otherwise ineligible for an approach to the National Lottery or other similar sources of funds. Its purpose is to promote the participation in rowing of young people (those under 18 or still in full time education) and the disabled of all ages.
Website: http://www.ara-rowing.org/rowing-foundation

Sport England Grants Programmes
Small Grants - The small grants programme will provide funding for community-level activities that help people become involved in sport, keep people in sport or help people improve their performance at their chosen sport. The small grants fund is able to support projects costing between £300 and £10,000 and grants can be given on a rolling basis so that £10,000 can be drawn down every 12 months.
Sportsmatch – Sportsmatch brings additional funding to not-for-profit organisations that have secured sponsorship to deliver new projects to get people playing and enjoying sport. Grants from £1,000 up to £100,000 are available to match sponsorship from the commercial sector, private individuals or charitable trusts.
Inspired Facilities Fund – Sport England will invest £50 million funding in up to 1000 community sports projects between 2011 and 2014. Community and voluntary organisations and parish and town councils can apply for grants worth between £20,000 and £50,000 while Local authorities, statutory organisations and education establishments such as schools can apply for grants between £20,000 and £150,000. Funding can be used for building modernisation, sports lighting, outdoor surfaces and modular buildings and Sport England can provide contractors to carry out all the work including applying for planning permission.
Iconic Facilities Fund - The Iconic Facilities fund will direct capital investment of grants between £250,000 and £3m into a small number of strategic facility projects, ideally these will be led by a Local Authority project team. Facilities will have to involve at least two NGBs and should be of regional significance to them.
Protecting Playing Fields - Grants can be provided from £20,000 up to a maximum of £50,000 and the funding can be used to purchase of land for new playing fields or bringing disused playing fields back into use, purchase playing field land where there is a known and established threat, such as through the expiry of a lease or a development proposal, make improvements to existing pitches through levelling, drainage, reseeding and realignment and / or do any of the above in order to establish a community club-school link.
Website: http://www.sportengland.org/

sport:exl
sport:exl is the name of the Essex Foundation for young athletes.
The vision of sport:exl is to award grants and bursaries to aspiring and talented young athletes in the county who need a helping hand to reach their potential. The sport:exl grant making criteria is simple, directing its assistance to those who need it most, from young athletes not yet recognised by the National Governing Body for their sport, to those already at their peak and who may be a future Olympic or Paralympic Champion.
Website: http://www.sportessex.com/content.php?page=Sport:exl

Swimathon Foundation Grants Scheme The Foundation offers grants of between £300 and £2,500 to swimming pools, community organisations and charities who can demonstrate how funding will allow them to help more people participate in and enjoy swimming and to make swimming more accessible. Applicants must be a representative of, or have the support of, a pool participating in Swimathon or Simply Swim 2012. Examples of grants are organisations who provide swimming lessons targeted at a specific group or section of society who would have extreme difficulty in participating in mainstream swimming lessons and the costs of staging an event at a pool which aims to introduce non-swimmers, lapsed swimmers or very occasional swimmers to an enjoyable pool experience as part of a programme designed to sustain their swimming interest.
Website: www.swimathon.org/foundation

The Trusthouse Charitable FoundationThe Trusthouse Charitable Foundation currently distributes over £2m per year for projects across the UK. The funding is available through the Small Grant Scheme, which provides grants of up to £10,000 and the Large Grant Scheme which offers grants of between £10,000 and £30,000. The Trustees look favourably upon projects concerned with areas of deprivation and suggested projects include sports rehabilitation schemes and the provision of sporting equipment or facilities. It is not necessary to be a registered charity in order to apply however applications will only be considered from not-for-profit organisations.
Website: http://www.trusthousecharitablefoundation.org.uk