This day next month the application window will close for the latest round of Sports Capital Funding grants.
The timetable is short and with it having been announced on July 12th, the challenges facing clubs in making all the right connections and getting their applications in order is tight.
Sport for Business member 2 Into 3 has been working with a number of sporting bodies to provide information and guidance on how this latest round is being run, what a successful application will have to include and the changes in terms of criteria and weighting that are now being applied in relation to sustainability and equal access for male and female sport.
To fill a gap for other sporting bodies and their affiliated clubs Sport for Business is partnering with 2 Into 3 to stage an online information session that will take place on Wednesday morning, August 16th at 10 AM and which will be open to clubs affiliated to those sporting NGB’s who sign up with us for the event.
If you are interested please get in touch via the expression of interest below and we will be in touch in the next 24 hours.
Applicants for local projects can now apply for up to €200,000, increased from the previous maximum grant of €150,000.
The maximum valid grant available for projects deemed to be of regional significance has been increased from €300,000 to €500,000.
In addition, this year’s SCEP “Guide to Making an Application” has a focus on climate action and sustainability for the first time, supporting local clubs to take steps to reduce their energy consumption and applying for more efficient lighting.
For the first time in the history of the SCEP, projects will only be considered for grant support if access is guaranteed to men and women on equal terms. As one of the stated objectives of the Programme is to increase female participation, all applications for funding of women-only facilities will be deemed valid for consideration.
This is an important change because it will either force many clubs to advance the idea of shared facilities or exclude others who have traditionally been open only to boys or men.
In some cases this will be welcome as a modern society has little space for old and outdated gender stereotyping.
In others though it will raise difficulties. GAA clubs are by definition only open to boys and men, with the LGFA and Camogie Association catering for girls and Women. In many areas one club has grown to accommodate all the different codes of Gaelic Games but in rural areas this might not be the case, with some clubs having grown up on the girls side to cater for a wider footprint and the GAA clubs being left to the boys.
Those clubs will no longer be able to apply.
Similarly the growth of women’s sport in the other major field sports of Football and Rugby will have had a lot of catching up to do over the past decade and while aspirational applications might be made, they will have to be backed up with a genuine plan to reach out to both genders on an equal basis.
