UK Ultimate Players, Often or not funding is something that is discussed at a clubs AGM or around the table in the local pub after training. If you’re a club that is interested in expanding and attracting new players to the game or you are just wanting to run an event or something along those lines, then consider this options.
Grassroots funding is something designed to support the ideas of individuals or groups who have put together new opportunities and activities. It will fund things such as equipment or pitch rental. However it is not designed as a long term support for things like reoccurring pitch rental, coaching wages, etc. Either way, this type of funding is easy to get hold of. It is in small pots and the requested amounts are often only a couple of hundred. Importantly, on a funding point, it’s not tied down to a submission date and is available as and when projects apply. If your sessions are open to new players and your club is accessible to people, then this type of grant could be used to fund a club equipment bag of discs, bibs and cones. So how do you get to these types of small grants? The government supports a network of organizations called Councils for Voluntary Service, or CVS’s for short. These organizations are designed to support voluntary based services (such as armature sports clubs) with funding, training and opportunities. Local CVSs, particularly those in cities, often have “in house” funding for sports or grass roots activities, especially if children and young people are involved in participating. CVS’s also offer a multitude of other very helpful services for volunteer individuals and groups. Access to training opportunities for volunteers, often funded. Help writing and understanding policies such as club constitutions, child safeguarding policies and things of that nature. These organizations also offer a vetting system for clubs to use to make sure their volunteers (coaches in our case) are suitable for working with children and young people. There is usually a nominal fee of £10, or there-about, to cover their costs of getting the CRB checks done. However, the UKU also offer this service and should be something you consider if you have juniors at your sessions. So how do I find my local CVS? This is probably best done via a Google search “CVS Brighton” or “Councils for Voluntary Service Bristol” for examples. Then contact them by phone and book a meeting with an advisor. This is free of charge. Small grants could also go towards funding workshops for coaches in your club to attend. UK Sports offer a many sessions, mostly only a couple of hours long, that offer invaluable knowledge in areas such as having children and young people playing sport in your club, safeguarding, coaching young people, running basic session, etc. UK Sports Workshops can be found here: http://www.sportscoachuk.org/workshops.php The grants could also be used to help pay for UKU Coaching Certificates for example. http://www.ukultimate.com/coaching_scheme/level_1 Hopefully this email has given people a tool that the previously did not know was available. Even if a subsequent phone call to your local CVS doesn’t lead to any funding right away, I hope it encourages people to keep trying different avenues. Money is out there and no one needs to tell us twice that Ultimate is a more than credible and worthy cause for charity. Feel free to contact me with any questions or requests. I can’t promise that at the moment I have a lot of free time but will one day get round to replying to you! Liam Kelly Youth Development Coordinator [email protected] 07595 618 129 p.s. I’m not sure if this is still something that is still happening but the UKU sometimes give funding to small events and things like that in areas where ultimate is not “off the ground” and people are looking to encourage growth. Link: http://www.ukultimate.com/system/files/UKUA+Development+and+Innovation+grants+%28v1%29.pdf __________________________________________________ BritDisc mailing list [email protected] http://www.fysh.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/britdisc Staying informed - http://www.ukultimate.com/staying-informed
