Sport England funding for clubs

Last month Sport England announced a £195 million package to help the community sport and physical activity sector in England which included the Community Emergency Fund.

The aim of the fund is to help community sport and physical activity organisations who are experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Since its launch 53 sailing and yachting organisations have applied for funding and to date a total of £131, 816.00 has been allocated to the 29 organisations approved so far, with an average of £4,500 going to each of the organisations.

“A number of clubs have already been successful in their application for funding from Sport England and we would encourage more clubs to apply and submit an application”, commented Alistair Dickson, RYA Director of Sport Development.

“The funding could be extremely useful for clubs and Sailability groups who have ongoing financial obligations that they are struggling to meet. Organisations who work with underrepresented or disadvantaged groups in their community are also likely to be looked upon particularly favourably by Sport England”, Alistair added.

Clubs should note that the fund is temporarily paused to new applications, however you can still prepare your application and the RYA will advise when the fund re-opens.

The RYA has created an application guide with advice and guidance for clubs planning to submit an application.

Find out more about the Community Emergency Fund and the criteria here

Further RYA guidance for English sailing clubs that may be considering a safe plan to restart is available here.