Sport England is offering grants of up to £10,000 in match funding to sports clubs and groups using Crowdfunder to raise money to help them survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Local sports clubs and charities, community, voluntary and social enterprise sector organisations delivering sport or physical activity in their communities can apply for match funding of 50 per cent of what they raise on Crowdfunder, up to £10,000.
To be eligible, the Crowdfunder campaigns must sign up to the Active Together scheme and raise 25 per cent of their goal from a minimum number of donors, which will depend on the size of their total.
As part of the partnership with Sport England, Crowdfunder has scrapped its fees and will cover transaction costs for eligible campaigns. It will also offer advice, webinars and support to help sports charities offer tickets, membership and merchandise as rewards for donors.
The funds will be available to the clubs within seven days of being raised or awarded.
In a statement, Charles Johnston, property director at Sport England, said: “The partnership with Crowdfunder is one of several ways we are helping organisations survive during the pandemic and start to plan for the future.
“We are supporting projects new to crowdfunding so they can develop successful fundraising campaigns by engaging their local communities. It is great to see the level of interest generated and we look forward to seeing how campaigns progress.”
Rob Love, chief executive of Crowdfunder, said keeping community sports groups alive throughout the crisis was essential, because they would play a significant role in the rebuilding and recovery of people’s physical and mental wellbeing.
He said crowdfunding would allow clubs to diversify funding streams through neat campaigns, advanced sales and driving meaningful engagement between clubs, their members and local communities.
Sports clubs can sign up here.