The pandemic has really highlighted how a community place for sport plays an important role in bringing people together and improving lives.
Which is why we were so enthused in September to team up with fundraising platform Crowdfunder on ‘A Place for Sport’ – our brand new fund which supports grassroots clubs’ own fundraising efforts to improve their off-field facilities.
Two months in, our partners and clubs are gradually familiarising themselves with the new funding approach, and it’s been a similar ‘getting to know you’ time for our new Senior Investments & Support Officer Phil Clarke.
Phil joined in the same week that we opened ‘A Place for Sport’, and has one of the lead roles in assessing applications.
Phil said: “As it involves crowdfunding, this fund is very different from anything Sport Wales has offered before. To be successful with their projects, and secure financial support from us, clubs need to engage with their local communities more than ever. The whole process takes a bit of getting used to.”
“Because it’s so different, we expected A place for Sport to be a slow burner to begin with, but we’re pleased with the variety of applications that are starting to come in.
“We’ve received applications for a range of off-field improvements which clubs can’t apply for via our Be Active Wales Fund, so that’s been really positive and shows that the new fund is needed.
“Now that the first few projects have been completed, and we’re working with the comms team to produce case studies, we’re hoping for a snowball effect when clubs see how others have successfully gone about crowdfunding.
“These stories will really help clubs and our partners to see what’s possible. We’d love to see clubs be creative with their projects. There’s a lot of potential here for clubs to approach us with fantastic ideas that bring the wow factor.”
Phil continued: “As well as the overall concept of A Place for Sport being different to a traditional Sport Wales funding scheme, the process through which applications are dealt with differs too as the Crowdfunder platform removes a lot of our administration work.
“As a result, we’re able to assess projects the instant they’re up and running on the Crowdfunder website. We discuss each project as a team and respond to the applicant within hours. If elements of the application need further attention then we’ll feed this back to the applicant right away to help them refine it.
“It’s very customer-focused and it’s helping us to build stronger relationships with clubs. Crowdfunder have been a pleasure to work with too.”
In appointing Phil, the investment team has recruited someone with excellent experience of working ‘on the ground’ in community sport.
Prior to joining Sport Wales, Phil worked for five years in the sport development team at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and also has experience in football coaching, performance analysis and delivering grassroots coaching courses for the FAW. He also plays cricket in the summer months for his local community club Llantwit Fardre.
Phil, who is a Manchester United fan (but we can’t hold that against him!), said: “At Sport RTC I was often supporting community clubs with their funding applications, so to now be on the other side of the fence, deciding on funding awards, is really exciting.
“Like so many others who apply to work here, I am passionate about sport and all of the benefits it brings to individuals and communities, so I’m thrilled to be playing my part at Sport Wales.”
New fund provides a baptism of fire for Phil
Some successful crowdfunding projects so far…
One of the first clubs to be successful is the RCT Weightlifting Club in Pentre, who set up a fundraising project to help build them a changing room and shower area for women. Their original fundraising target was £8,000 and due to the quality of their project we assessed them as being worthy of receiving 50% match-funding if their crowdfunding went well. Therefore, the amount they had to raise to be eligible for our support was £4,000.
They absolutely smashed it, with over 100 supporters donating £4,079 in less than a month, so they secured our additional £4,000. We were extremely impressed by the club’s commitment to creating an even more welcoming environment for local women so were delighted to pledge that additional money.
But our very first recipients of A Place for Sport support were Treharris Mini and Juniors FC, who have been awarded Sport Wales funding towards new changing facilities as part of wider plans for redeveloping their home ground. Watch this video to find out more about their overall project and what the funding means to their club...
Crowdfunding – support for our partners and clubs
To help our partners to better understand the parameters of A Place for Sport and the crowdfunding process, our investment team has organised a number of drop-in sessions next week for partners.
The hour-long sessions are being offered on Monday 22 November (10am or 2pm), Tuesday 23 November (12pm or 3pm), or Wednesday 24 November at 9:30am. Partners can sign up for one of the sessions here.
Meanwhile, clubs and community organisations who are interested in finding out more about how to crowdfund can sign up now for our next webinar on Thursday 25 November. At the session, clubs will be able to hear from a representative from RCT Weightlifting to learn from their experiences.