Funding - Cash 4 Clubs offers free help (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Funding - Cash 4 Clubs offers free help

2:43pm Monday 29th June 2009 in

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CASH 4 CLUBS, a scheme that gives money to grassroots sport, has announced it is to award significant grants to community sports clubs for a second consecutive year and has extended the scheme nationwide.

Clubs and associations from the North are invited to apply for the free funding, with the first window for applications now open. The initiative, funded by Betfair, the UK’s largest online betting company, and in partnership with SportsAid, seeks to provide much-needed money for clubs involved in any sport.

In 2008 over £30,000 was distributed to 30 sports organisations in specific regions across the UK, but the scheme is now being opened-up to clubs in all areas of the country.

Grants can be used to improve facilities, purchase new equipment and generally invest in the sustainability of their club. Awards of up to £1,000 are made on a quarterly basis, with applications judged by an independent committee. To apply clubs need to fill out an application available at www.cash-4-clubs.com.

Olympic Swimmer and World Record Holder Mark Foster has backed the Cash 4 Clubs initiative.

He said: “It was at my local club in Southend that I started swimming and without the support of this community club I would never have represented my country at the top level of the sport.

“Clubs need funds and that is why Cash 4 Clubs is such a fantastic scheme as it gets money straight to where it can have the most impact."

Betfair CSR Manager Georgina Corbett added: “The Cash 4 Clubs scheme has proved exceptionally popular in the areas in which it was trialled last year. Betfair is passionate about supporting grassroots sport at all levels, and so we are delighted to be expanding the scheme nationwide in 2009.

“New sources of funding are particularly rare in the current financial climate and so we hope that the decision to extend the scheme, when many budgets are tight, will be a welcome one.”