Download Leicester City Council Sport and Physical Activity Grants – Guidance

Leicester City Council Sport and Physical Activity Grants – Guidance Notes
Introduction:
Leicester City Council and Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport has created a funding programme and is
offering sports clubs, groups, individuals and coaches the opportunity to improve the infrastructure
and increase the number of people engaged and sustained in sport and physical activity.
Aims of the grants:
The objective of the funding programme is to raise the standards of sport and physical activity
provision in Leicester at all levels and to increase participation. These standards can be raised by:
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Improving Club Structures – E.G establishing new clubs or sections of existing clubs
Developing School & Club Links – E.G more young people joining community clubs as a result
of extracurricular activity
Increasing activity and improving health amongst the least active in one or more of the
following groups - Women and Girls, Young People, Black and Minority Ethnic Groups, Areas
of Deprivation and Disability Groups.
All projects must be able to demonstrate that they will achieve one or more of the aims above in
order to qualify for the grant.
Who will be funded?
Before you begin your application please use our Sport and Physical Activity Grant checklist to
ensure that you and your project are eligible for funding.
The Leicester City Council Sport and Physical Activity Grant: Grants of up to £10k per year over 2
years are available to support projects which can meet one or more of the objectives of the funding
programme. An application form will need to complete and supporting documents will be required
to as part of the application process.
Clubs, organisations and groups that are formally constituted, not for profit, school or sport
development groups or networks, national governing bodies of sport may apply. The fund will not
fund an individual, sole trader, partnership or any organisations established to make a profit. We
expect that any activity funded through the programme take place within the city boundaries and
target Leicester City Residents.
The applying club, group or organisation will need to have a written constitution or governing
document which should contain a clear non for profit statement. The club, group or organisations
membership should be open to all sections of the community and your governing committee should
include at least three non-related and non-cohabitating members.
Coach Education Grant: Grants of up to £200 for coach education are available for individuals who
support city sports clubs or organisations and can demonstrate a long term commitment to that club
or sport. Individuals will be allowed to apply for funds to support:
 The completion or minimum operating standards qualifications (First Aid, Safeguarding etc)
up to 50% or maximum of £20
 NGB Level 1 – Up to 50% or maximum of £100
 NGB Level 2 – Up to 50% or maximum of £150
 NGB Level 3 or Higher – Up to 50% or £200
Individuals applying for level 1, 2 or 3 qualifications will require a reference from a member of the
club or group they will be supporting.
Talented Athlete Grant: Grants of up to £250 are available for anyone who competes at a (states
county in the promotional brochure?)regional, national or international level. The grant is to support
talented athletes help them reach their full potential. Individuals applying will require a reference
from either a national governing body officer or a member of the club they are part of.
The applicant should live in Leicester, though the sports club they attend may operate outside of the
city boundaries. Individuals can apply each year and applications will be treated on merit. Those
athletes who were awarded grants last year must demonstrate considerable progress over the 12-18
months to receive further funding.
Event Grant: Grants of up to £500 are available for clubs and organisations to organise one off
events which will encourage more people to take part in sport and physical activity. Grants are
available for one off events taking place in the city of Leicester. This could range from open days to
promote local sports clubs, to one off competitions that will attract teams from the East Midlands or
beyond.
What will be funded?
Leicester City Council and Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport will fund:
 Projects that focus on the targeted aims and groups outlined in the objectives of the funding
programme.
 Projects that target Leicester City residents.
 Projects that are able to start in the Spring/Summer of 2016.
 Projects that are new or clearly build on existing provision.
 Eligible items include, but are not limited to: Coaching costs, venue hire costs, equipment
costs (maximum of 20% of total funding request), marketing costs, coach education costs,
promotional events and materials.
The Leicester City Council Sport and Physical Activity funding programme will not fund:
 Projects that do not focus on targeted aims and groups outlined in the aims of the grants.
 Projects that have already started.
 Projects which run during school curriculum time.
 The general running costs of an organisation; this includes day to day expenses such as rent,
utilities and insurance costs.
 Repeat or regular events and existing activities.
 Items which will only benefit an individual (excluding talented athlete and coach education
grants)
 Projects that don’t demonstrate good value for money. Competitive prices for equipment,
materials and other items should be sought.
 Non-critical marketing and communication costs.
 New and used motorised road vehicles.
 Activities that the government/statutory organisations have a legal obligation to fund.
 Contingency costs and VAT that you can recover.
 Sponsorship, endowments or loan repayments.
 Projects that do not comply with statutory regulations, e.g. planning permission.
Preparing Your Application:
If you decide that you would like to apply, please take the following steps:
Plan your project
Grant applications are more likely to be successful if the project has been carefully thought out and
clearly described within the application form.
We have put together further guidance on writing your application, which includes a Project
Planning Template which will be required for grants of over £1000. Non-statutory organisations will
need to include copies of the following with your application:
 Governing document/constitution
 Most recent accounts (new organisations please submit a three-year income and
expenditure forecast)
 Last three bank statements (new organisations please provide evidence that you have a
bank account)
 Safeguarding policy (if working with under 18s or vulnerable adults).
Assessment Criteria
Once we have established your application is eligible and we have the documents requested, we
assess its strengths in four key areas. You will have the opportunity to explain how your project
meets each of these criteria in your application form.
Why is your project needed?
This is your opportunity to tell us why your project needs to happen. While it may be simple to
answer this question, a strong detailed application will tell us how you know this. Key things that can
support your answer to this question include:
 Any research that supports the need for your project and sets the wider context. (e.g. Sport
England Youth Insight, Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport Data Insight, Local Authority, Social,
Health and Sports participation statistics)
 Evidence of demand from participants for your project to happen. This can include survey’s,
waiting lists, letters of support or any other evidence you can provide that shows your
project is driven by local demand.
 Evidence of support for your project from local, regional or national organisations such as
NGB’s or local community groups.
 Evidence that indicates your project will contribute to the aims of the grant within your local
community.
What difference will your project make?
Here you should tell us how the sporting opportunities your project will provide will meet the
objectives of the funding programme. You should ensure that your answer to this question fully
explains what you want your project to achieve. Leicester City Council wants to support projects that
will provide clear sporting benefit.
Strong applications will be very clear about what will be achieved and the difference that our
funding will make to people's participation in sport and physical activity.
How will you make your project happen?
Here we are asking for more information about how you have planned your activity to be successful.
The level of detail you need to provide will vary depending on the complexity of the activity you are
planning. We want to gain a full picture of what will happen and have assurance that everything has
been planned thoroughly. Examples of things to consider include, who will take part? When and
where will sessions take place? How long will sessions last? And who will run the project? How you
will attract participants to your project? What partnerships you have put in place?
For projects requesting over £1000 you are asked to provide a detailed plan which you can attach to
your application, we have developed a project planning template that is available for you to use.
Sustainability - What will happen after this project ends?
Here we want you to describe how your project will encourage participants to continue in sport and
physical activity after our funding ends. Leicester City Council wants to support projects that will
have a lasting impact on sports participation so this is your opportunity to explain how you will do
this. This does not necessarily mean we expect you to financially maintain the project. Strong
projects can also establish opportunities for long-term participation through partnerships with other
local sports providers or by offering lasting skills and experience for people to take away. However
your project will tackle this challenge, this section is your opportunity to describe your approach.
Current Provision
Here we want you to tell us about what activity your organisation currently delivers and your track
record of success in delivering projects which meet the objectives of the funding programme.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Successful projects will be expected to collate data and effectively evaluate the project. Forms and
templates will be provided to help successful applicants do this. Required data will include
participant details, registers of sessions and evidence of spend to prove that the grant was spent as
originally intended. Leicester City Council and Leicester-Shire and Rutland Sport will reserve the right
to claw back funding if monitoring and evaluation requirements are not met.
When?
Applications will be accepted from March 1st 2016, with projects to run between April 2016 and
March 2017.
Chance of success
Sport and Physical Activity Funding programme has limited funds, and we sometimes have to turn
down eligible projects simply because we don’t have enough money to support everything. If
projects are spread over 2 years, continued funding will be dependent on performance and available
funding.
Once you’ve pressed submit on your application we will check it is complete and that you have sent
all the supporting documents we need. If anything is missing or we need some further information
we will contact you within 5 working days and give you up to 10 working days to get the information
to us. Once everything is in place we will assess your application. These two steps combined will take
up to 4 weeks. During this period we may need to contact you about your application and we would
typically do this by email.
We realise that unsuccessful applicants will be disappointed, and we have provided guidance notes
and templates to minimise the likelihood that this will happen. If your application is unsuccessful, we
will write to you, giving details of the reasons.
What do you need to do now?
 Complete the Sport and Physical Activity Grant Checklist
 Complete the Sport and Physical Activity Grant application form.
 For applications over £500 complete a short development plan for this project (see
template).
 Provide evidence of club or organisation structure – E.G Constitution, articles of association.
 Provide evidence of clubs financial position.
Please submit your applications electronically where possible by sending them to
[email protected]. If you need to send paper copies of any documents please post
them to:
Sport Regeneration
New Parks Leisure Centre
St Oswalds Road
New Park
Leicester
LE3 6RJ
If at any point you require further support please do not hesitate to contact us on
[email protected] or 0116 454 0590.
You will receive confirmation of receipt within 5 working days.