Neighbourhood Sports Fund

Manchester City Council’s Neighbourhood Sports Fund replaces the previously existing Sport Commission Fund. Administered by the Sports Development Team, The Neighbourhood Sports Fund demonstrates Manchester’s commitment to build a sporting legacy ahead of and beyond the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The fund will be exclusively for Manchester Sports Clubs seeking to grow and sustain participation in sport. Sports Development has 19 focus sports and applications must be from one of these sports. Our ambition is to create a world-leading community sport system with a network of vibrant, sustainable community sports clubs at its heart.

The fund will be available to clubs seeking to:
• Increase the number of Manchester residents who are members of clubs
• Increase participation in sport
• Reduce the number of 16-18 year olds dropping out of sport
• Increase the number of teams
• Increase opportunities for volunteers
• Develop new clubs
• Engage priority groups such as women and girls, disabled participants, and participants from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups.

In support of Sport England’s vision of a world leading community sport system and to contribute to Manchester’s world class city ambitions, the Neighbourhood Sports Fund is a key work strand of Manchester’s Neighbourhoods of Choice agenda. Manchester City Council are therefore looking for applications which aim to make a significant neighbourhood impact through sport.

A maximum grant award of £2,000 can be made, although significant value for money will need to be achieved to obtain the maximum grant possible. Match funding should be sought to maximise the impact of the award.

Support for completion of the application form can be obtained from the relevant Sports Development Officer. This officer will be submitting and discussing each application with a Sports Development Panel and therefore engagement with your relevant officer is crucial. The Sports Development Panel makes a recommendation for each application which is either to approve, defer or reject the project. All recommendations are then reviewed by The Neighbourhood Sports Fund Board for a final decision. You will be informed of the decision at the earliest opportunity.

For further details, see attached.

Closing date for applications: Monday 30 September 2013