Swim England’s Head of Fundraising, Michael Mogan, is to lead two online fundraising seminars early next month to help club to boost their coffers. This comes as Sport England announced details of a £16.5 million Return to Play fund which has been set up to help groups, clubs and organisations financially impacted by coronavirus restrictions. The free seminars will focus on the Return to Play: Active Together element of the Sport England, which has £1.5m available to clubs as part of a crowdfunding initiative. Match-funding of up to £10,000 is available to cover loss of income.
Sports clubs and organisations are being encouraged to set up their own campaigns to help sustain them through the pandemic. The Swim England seminars will focus on the best ways to achieve this but will also touch on other areas of the Return to Play fund and other opportunities that can help bring cash into the clubs. The workshops take place on Wednesday 4 November and Wednesday 11 November from 6pm and clubs can sign up to three volunteers to attend by clicking here.
Claire Coleman, Swim England Head of Development, said: “The crowdfunding initiative will help clubs and organisations set up their own campaigns to help sustain them through the coronavirus crisis. It’s a great alternative if they don’t meet the criteria of the other aspects of the Return to Play package. We’re keen to hear from any aquatics clubs that may have already had success through other fundraising campaigns to share their experiences. If you wish to get involved, please contact us by emailing volunteering@swimming.org.”
The other two elements of the Sport England Return to Play fund are small grants and the community asset fund. A total of £10 million is in the small grants pot and clubs, groups and organisations can apply for between £300 and £10,000 to respond to the immediate challenges of returning to play in a Covid-19-safe environment. The community asset fund has £5 million available to provide grants ranging in value from £10,001 to £50,000.
Further details about the Sport England packages are available by clicking here.