Grants

LEEDS COVID-19 SPORT EQUIPMENT GRANT

Application deadline extended:

To help support Leeds clubs the Leeds Sports Federation equipment grant has been revamped into the “Leeds Covid-19 Sport Equipment Grant”

The grant is now open and aimed at clubs who have a taken a serious financial hit during the lock down, requiring assistance in starting up again now the government has relaxed the guidelines on sport and recreation.

We’ve made a few changes to the existing LSF grant to help speed up the process and stretch the funding to help as many clubs as possible:

• The application form is now smaller and in an electronic format.
• The grant maximum has been cut from £500 to £300 to allow us to distribute more grants to more clubs.
• You will need to forward to us by email your latest accounts and a current bank balance by email as supporting information to sport.club.development@leeds.gov.uk
• If successful you will receive the grant hopefully within 7 days of confirmation, you will then be asked to forward the invoice once you have purchased the equipment.
• Priority will be given to clubs who are located in areas of higher deprivation, or those who are offering activity that helps to increase participation of under-represented (in physical activity) including those with a disability, of a BAME community, and females.

The full grant criteria can be found – here

The online application form can be found – here

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KEY COMPONENTS FOR A SUCCESSFUL CLUB

Members of the Leeds Sports Federation Executive Committee have been involved with many projects raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for voluntary Sports Clubs in and around the Leeds area.

They all agree that apart from the obvious ‘hard graft’, ‘paperwork’ and ‘persistence’ – the four most important components most likely to improve your chances of success are those below:

(Click the logos below for more information)

CASC Status – Becoming a CASC is not a hugely difficult task, it does however involve some paperwork and putting in place certain standard documents and procedures within your Club. The HUGE benefits are once you have CASC status you qualify for tax relief on all donations and you can get reduced rates from your local council.

Gift Aid increases the value of patrons donations to Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) by allowing them to reclaim basic rate tax on gifts. So put very simply if a patron gives you 100 pounds, with ‘giftaid reclaim’ this becomes more than 120 pounds, all you have to do is complete the paperwork!

Clubmark – As a single, national standard, Clubmark accreditation gives sports clubs of all types ‘a structure and direction’. Clubs awarded Clubmark can see many tangible benefits, including – Increased membership and/or membership retention, Continuous improvement, Improved funding opportunities, Coach development, Volunteer recruitment, Links with schools, Better Club profile, Improved marketing and communication, Club development.

Registering for VAT – Depending on the size of your Club you may want to consider registering for VAT – If you have a turnover of more than 15,000 pounds a year at least consider it. Again more paperwork, but the bonus may be not paying VAT on some potentially very expensive items!