RYA Northern Ireland is delighted to have received £113,800 in funding (over a period of three years) from The National Lottery’s Dormant Assets NI, Access to Resilience Fund to help support Sailability programmes across the country.
The funding will enable the creation of a new full time staff position at RYA Northern Ireland, focussing on supporting the Sailability programme.
You can find out more about the Sailability position here.
Dormant Access Northern Ireland is a Northern Irish organisation supported by the National Lottery Fund and supports organisations that provide support to small VCSE (Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise) organisations in Northern Ireland.
Having a full-time staff member dedicated solely to Sailability marks a new era in Northern Irish sailing and it is hugely significant in the progression towards the goal of ‘increasing diversity’ as stated in RYA Northern Ireland’s five-year strategy, Navigating The Future.
RYA Northern Ireland CEO, Greg Yarnall, said: “The funding is a massive boost to the Sailability programme, disability engagement and participation in NI and will support club volunteers to access training and gain qualifications, build partnerships with other local community organisations and support clubs to gain the skills needed to ensure Sailability has the resources and funding to continue develop here in Northern Ireland.
“Sailability Clubs in Northern Ireland are doing some fantastic work already and with the support of Sailability Coordinator (voluntary position), Ken Curry, there have been some exciting initiatives over the past 12 months that includes the Tri Racing Series held over Summer 2024. Additional funding to support the Sailability programme has been a priority since the launch of the Navigating the Future strategy in March 2023, where Improving Diversity was one of four strategic aims.
“We are delighted that the National Lottery have provided this funding, and we thank them for trusting us to deliver this exciting project.”
If you have any questions about the funding or how the new Sailability role, please contact greg.yarnall@rya.org.uk