Sportsmatch
Sportsmatch 2011-12 opened to new applications on 17 January 2011 for projects starting after 1 April 2011. The first awards will be made in early April and regular Panel meetings will be held until November. The last date for submitting applications is 19 September 2011 - but applicants are advised to apply in plenty of time for when they want their project to start, and competition for funding usually increases towards the end of the year. The Sportsmatch guidance has been updated so it is advisable to revisit the Sport England site prior to submitting a new application. http://www.sportengland.org/funding/sportsmatch.aspx Clubs, voluntary organisations, sports governing bodies, councils, schools and universities can get their applications in now, and the first awards will be made in early April.
Sport England's Sportsmatch programme makes awards to not-for-profit organisations running projects at a community level which meet one or both of Sport England's objectives of Grow or Sustain. Eligible sponsorship is matched pound for pound, up to a maximum value of £100,000.
For the first time, bids will be accepted where the sponsor has an existing relationship with the club and isn't increasing the amount it invests, provided it is for new projects. This recognises the hard work done by sports clubs to maintain relationship with local businesses, which is especially important in difficult economic times when finding new sponsors may be more challenging.
Sport England often receive more fundable applications than they have budget to support so we recommend you read all the information here to give your application the greatest chance of success.
How does it work?
Sportsmatch supports formally constituted not-for-profit organisations and statutory bodies. This might include sports clubs, voluntary organisations, local authorities, schools, universities or national governing bodies of sport.
If a sponsor gives £10,000 to its local rugby club to organise new coaching opportunities in the community, we could match that with a grant of £10,000 - thereby doubling the amount of money available to the club. We can match eligible sponsorship which has been given by an eligible company, trust, charity, or private individual. Sponsorship contributions can be either cash or in-kind, but in-kind sponsorship cannot consist of more than 50% of your total sponsorship amount. Projects can be supported by a maximum of five sponsors. More detailed information on sponsors' eligibility can be found here.
Projects can involve revenue and/or capital expenditure. There is no maximum capital project cost and all capital expenditure must be eligible i.e. only for equipment of a non-permanent nature. However the maximum capital grant which Sportsmatch can award is £25,000. We will not fund capital projects that involve construction, refurbishment or land improvement.
Before making an application, we suggest you complete the pre-application checklist to help you decide if your organisation and project are eligible for a Sportsmatch award. We would also strongly recommend that you read the Sportsmatch guidance document, and read the pages in this section which explain what Sportsmatch cannot fund and what makes a good application.
If you require any further help please call the Sport England funding line on 08458 508 508 or click here.
