1. Home

‘Sports Club Accelerator’ Fund

Contents:

Introduction

We have opened applications for the second year of the ‘Sports Club Accelerator’ Fund to provide much needed financial support to local sports clubs.

Up to £3,000 is available exclusively for sports organisations to help meet the costs associated with their development.

The fund is aimed at sports clubs located within the Lisburn and Castlereagh area who are affiliated to both a national governing body as well as their local sports advisory body, Sport Lisburn & Castlereagh.

The closing date for applications is Friday 23rd August.

Who can apply? - eligibility

Our fund is open to constituted sports clubs who are affiliated to their national governing body as well as their local sports advisory body, Sport Lisburn & Castlereagh.  This grant is exclusively for sports clubs based in the council area that meet the following criteria:

  • an open and accountable governing document (Constitution or Articles and Memorandum of Association, or applicable governing document) that has been properly adopted
  • a bank account in the name of the organisation, which requires a minimum of two unrelated members to authorise withdrawals and an annual set of independently examined financial accounts, endorsed at an Annual General Meeting
  • a Management Committee or Governing Board, elected by its membership at an Annual General Meeting, and elected office bearers
  • have appropriate Safeguarding Policies for protecting Children and Vulnerable Adults, who are involved as part of the group’s programme
  • public Liability Insurance, minimum £5 million, to cover all risk associated with the activities of the organisation

What we will fund

The fund has been developed to help sporting organisations meet costs during this challenging time of 'cost of living' increases but for this scheme we want evidence of tangible beneficial outcomes such as:

  • sports equipment (Not clothing merchandise or kits)
  • specialist equipment e.g. disability equipment, performance analysis equipment
  • small scale improvements to grounds e.g. outside water tap, fertilise pitch, permanent bins
  • club Development Officer post which would see a minimum of 200 hours of coaching delivery in a school/club setting
  • sports festival e.g. one off event to help boost the existing membership of your club
  • up-skilling of coaches/volunteers through Coach Education courses and workshops

What we will not fund

The scheme will not fund non-tangible running costs such as:

  • rent/lease
  • facility hire (for existing training sessions)
  • utilities - electric, heat, light, water
  • governing body fees
  • insurance (essential building/contents insurance, public liability, pro-rata)
Please note that only one application is permitted per club. Multiple applications relating to different sections of a club will not be considered.
 

How much we will fund

The recommended minimum grant to apply for is £1,000.

But please note we will also consider funding applicants who need less than this amount to make their project happen. The maximum amount that any group will be awarded is £3,000. Any money granted is for costs incurred from 1st April 2024.

In the event of the funding call being oversubscribed, we reserve the right to apply a reduction across all applications to bring the awards in line with the available budget.