We’ve committed another £1 million to combating the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) on sports clubs and community activity groups, in the form of match funding through Crowdfunder.
This ‘Active Together’ partnership with Crowdfunder follows a successful collaboration from November 2018, which saw us committing to match fund 23 projects up to the value of £15,000 each.
This time we’re matching crowd funds of up to £10,000 raised by clubs and organisations hit by the coronavirus crisis – and is in addition to the up to £210m coronavirus support package already announced.
Many of the 120,000 sports clubs and voluntary groups across England are facing financial hardship at this time, with this scheme aimed at continuing their cash flow, diversifying their funding streams and ensuring they’re ready to reopen as soon as it’s safely possible.
“The partnership with Crowdfunder is one of several ways we’re helping organisations survive during the pandemic and start to plan for the future,” said our executive director of property, Charles Johnston.
“We’re supporting projects new to crowdfunding, so they can develop successful fundraising campaigns by engaging their local communities.
“It’s great to see the level of interest generated and we look forward to seeing how campaigns progress.”
Active Together will provide clubs and organisations with the infrastructure to pre-sell things such as tickets, membership fees and merchandise, as well as securing rewards-based donations.
This means incentivising members and the community to support their clubs by giving now and redeeming later, or receiving rewards offered by the organisation – for example a free session in return for a donation.
What's crowdfunding?
On Crowdfunder, people pledge money in return for a reward which can be a product, benefit or service.
The Crowdfunder platform is scrapping all fees for the Active Together programme and is covering transaction charges to ensure every penny raised by a club goes to them.
They’re also providing a series of monthly webinars offering advice and examples of successful previous Crowdfunder projects involving sport.
“Grassroots sport plays a major part in millions of people’s lives across England,” said Crowdfunder chief executive Rob Love.
“Keeping these community hubs alive throughout this crisis is essential, as their role in the rebuild and recovery of all our physical and mental wellbeing will be significant.
"Crowdfunding is about more than just giving. It allows clubs to diversify funding streams through a neat campaign, advanced sales and driving meaningful engagement between clubs, their members and local communities.
“We’re proud to partner with Sport England to incentivise clubs to adapt to a new normal during these incredibly difficult times.”
Clubs and organisations can sign up via the Crowdfunder website. They’ll then need to set their crowdfunding target and put in place incentives and rewards.
Once 25% of the crowdfunding is met, we’ll confirm the match funding – up to £10,000 – and can distribute the money within seven days of being raised.
Criteria
To be eligible, organisations must be:
- Local sports clubs
- Charity, community, voluntary and social enterprise sector organisations that deliver sport and/or physical activity in their community – including organisations that are not solely or primarily sports organisations – for the benefit of people residing in England.
Pledge criteria
- If the application is approved, projects get match funding of up to 50% towards their initial crowdfunding target – up to a maximum of £10,000.
To receive a pledge, projects need to do two things:
- Raise at least 25% of the initial target
- Raise this from a minimum number of supporters (dependent on the size of the initial target).
