Belfast City Council Support for Sport: Small Development Grant

Overview

The Belfast City Council Support for Sport Small Development Grants are designed to provide assistance to Belfast based sports clubs and community organisations that participate in sport and physical activity.

Support for Sport: Sports Event Grant - specific conditions for eligibility

Organisations must:

• Be a club or a constituted community group with a current membership affiliated to a governing body that is recognised by Sport NI or Belfast City Council (National Governing Bodies are not eligible to apply)
• Have authorisation of two office holders within the sports club or community organisation.
• Have at least 25% of funding from non-Belfast City Council sources (except for the equipment grant). This cannot be ‘In-kind’ funding. In other words we will provide 75% of eligible project costs. For example, if your total income/project cost is £2000 the maximum you can ask for is £1,500.

Eligible Types of Project

1. Coach education training

For clubs who want to train new or existing coaches in any area which will benefit the club. This includes all levels of accredited sports-specific coaching qualifications

2. Club development training

For clubs that are working towards improving through achieving awards, such as Sports Equity, first aid qualifications, child protection training and fitness qualifications.

3. A ‘kick start’

For new clubs that are starting up (or existing clubs that are starting up a new section), we can help with initial start up costs such as coaching costs and facility hire. Clubs with their own facilities may only apply for facility hire which is necessary to deliver outreach activities taking place elsewhere. Clubs who apply for this area of funding may also be eligible to apply for a one-off equipment grant.

4. A ‘try-it’ event

For clubs that want to hold an event to promote their organisation or sport and to attract more people to join. We will only offer funding to programmes that are additional to normal club training sessions. Funding will cover costs such as facility hire (if the event is being held outside your club’s facilities), coaching costs, marketing, officials’ costs, medals, trophies and certificates.

5. A Sports Festival / Development event

For clubs wishing to organise an event to provide new competitive opportunities for junior or beginner members, or to raise the club’s profile. This might include facility hire (only if the event is being held outside the club’s own facilities) officials’ costs, medals, trophies and certificates.

6. Equipment grant

You can apply for an equipment grant. This is a one off payment of £250 towards the purchase of new training equipment for new clubs or new sections within existing clubs that have been established within the past three years. The equipment must be for club use. Equipment for individual/personal use is not eligible

Eligible Project Costs

1. This scheme can be used to pay for:

• Staff costs (coaches, umpires, referees) where they have appropriate qualifications and have been checked through Access NI if appropriate
• Tutor costs or course fees provided by governing bodies or recognised training providers
• Facility hire for events outside club premises
• Marketing materials up to a maximum of £200
• Travel within Belfast for visiting teams
• Medals, certificates, and trophies up to a maximum of £200

Restricted costs:

• Costs must be proportionate to the overall cost of your project and essential for delivering it. If they do not think that the amount you have asked for is good value for money, they may also offer you less than the amount you applied for. To make sure you provide value for money, they can cap any project costs they are funding. If you are successful, these costs will be shown in the letter of offer, for example, facilitators, residentials, catering, and so on.
• Where eligible they will only give funding for catering, hospitality or refreshments if these are clearly detailed in your application form, your budget and are essential to the project. If you need to provide catering, hospitality or refreshments, you must explain why it is essential.
• You must clearly list any costs for facilitators, mediators, consultants or project evaluators clearly in the budget. You must also describe the work they intend to carry out and how it is reasonable and necessary to your project.
• Any item or service bought for £3,000 or over must have at least three written quotes for it.
• Any item or service bought for £8,000 or over must have at least four written quotes for it. Please contact the Central Grants Unit if you intend to purchase any items or services over £8,000 with Belfast City Council money.
• Staff time claimed for the project:
  • Any staff time charged to the project will only be paid at the normal hourly rate of the post and only where the post is not funded from another source.
  • If you have an appropriate paid member of staff in post (funded from another source) who could deliver all or part of the project we will not provide funding for that part of the project. If you cannot use your member of staff, we will pay external/sessional rates, but you must explain why your own member of staff cannot work on the project, and provide appropriate information. For example, this might be that another project already has a claim on the member of staff, with evidence of the dates and times of the two projects clash or confirmation that your member of staff doesn’t have the skills needed and so on.
• If your organisation owns its own minibus, we will not pay commercial hire rates for its use in the project. They will pay a maximum mileage rate based on local government rate which includes insurance, maintenance and fuel use. If you cannot use your own minibus, they will pay hire rates, but you must explain why you cannot use your bus and provide appropriate information, for example, that another project already has a claim on the bus, with evidence that the dates and times when the two projects clash.
• Internal costs - costs for use of own facilities or internal charges within a organisation (notional costs) will only be eligible if they are normally used for commercial activity. If you are also in receipt of a grant that contributes to the running of your building and you have now also been awarded funding towards these costs through the small grants you must notify your BCC Project Officer. You will also be asked to provide confirmation of this when you complete project monitoring.
• Overheads - must be clearly calculated and apportioned. If you are also in receipt of a grant that contributes to the running of your building and you are have now also been awarded funding towards these costs through the small grants you must notify your BCC Project Officer.
• Conflict of Interest - in the application your organisation confirmed that it had no conflict of interest with the suppliers used for the project. Should any potential for a conflict of interest arise such as where a member of your organisation or members of their family receive personal benefit/payment from the grant, you must notify your BCC Project Officer. You will also be asked to provide confirmation of this when you complete project monitoring

Policy requirements
To be eligible for funding, you must have the following policies in place.

• your organisation’s own policy and procedures for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk of harm consistent with current legislation and best practise
• all members of staff and volunteers who will be employed/engaged in the project or programme and fall into the regulated categories as per the Safeguarding of Vulnerable Groups (NI) Order 2007 (as amended by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012) have had the appropriate level of Access NI check carried out
• Equal opportunities – Only if you employ staff.
• Specific grants may have further policy requirements. Please read the full notes for the grants you plan to apply for.

Support for Sport: Small Development Grant

Funding Limits

Maximum award: £1,500 each financial year, groups may make multiple applications during both calls for funding but a group will only receive a maximum of £1,500 in total each financial year. However, an additional award of £250 may be awarded for the purchase of equipment if applicable.

Paying the funds
They will pay 80% of your grant when:

• they receive your signed letter of offer
• you have attended the mandatory training session (if required)
• you have provided any outstanding information or repayments for previous projects.

They will pay the other 20% once they have received a satisfactorily completed monitoring form within six weeks of completing your project. If you have been selected to provide invoices and bank statements for the project, we must receive and be satisfied with the information before we release any final payments.

Completing your budget for small grants
You must show that all costs are reasonable and necessary to complete the project, and you should give us enough detail to assess this. For example, you should give us the unit costs and quantities needed, 10 artists x £50 = total cost £500.

They will not consider your application as eligible if you do not provide a detailed project budget.