Investing in Sporting Opportunities for Rural Communities
Sport England has recently unveiled a £10 million investment fund that will create sporting opportunities for people in rural areas.
The eligibility and assessment criteria are also available from Sport England. Please visit Sport England’s Funding Guidelines for more.
More on Themed Round Funding
The Rural Communities Themed round is the first in a series of themed funding rounds, which opened for business on 1 April 2009.
Themed rounds will enable Sport England to tackle specific challenges and opportunities that they know exist in grassroots sport as well as helping to ensure that their investment is effectively distributed across the country and across different communities.
Why Rural Communities?
People in rural communities are the focus of the first round because we know they face particular barriers to participating in sport, such as reduced choice in the sports available to them and transportation issues getting to and from facilities. Sport England’s Active People Survey 2 shows that two thirds of the local authorities with the lowest sports participation rates are in rural areas.
We also know that there are specific challenges for organisations and communities delivering sport in rural England; small and declining local populations and higher costs, for instance, can hinder sustainable local sporting provision.
The Rural Communities Themed Round will give a wide range of organisations, from local authorities to sports clubs and smaller community groups, an opportunity to develop and deliver new and innovative projects to overcome these barriers to both participation and supply.
Successful bids will make significant contributions to two of Sport England’s strategic outcomes: growing participation in grassroots sport and sustaining participation by improving the quality of people’s sporting experience.
Further Funding Information
For information on funding opportunities available to local sports organisations including local sports clubs, please visit our funding information page.
