Timperley Cricket, Hockey and Lacrosse Club
“The process of bidding for Lottery money has become far easier than it once was”, says Colin Taylor, former club chairman and author of the club’s first Lottery bid in 1997 in which he put the case for funding for accommodation and changing facilities and an administration centre to replace the traditional wooden housing.
That bid failed, a fact that the club was made aware of some 20 months after they had lodged the application. “We were left high and dry because the funding goalposts had been changed due, in the main, to a change in priority by one of the governing body’s of the sports we are involved with,” recalls Taylor. It was their second bid for
Lottery cash in 1999 that ended in the award of a £0.4m grant from Sport England to part-fund a £1.1m redevelopment. “The newer grant-aiding process allows clubs to hear far earlier if they have made a successful bid,” Taylor says. Timperley’s approach to winning Lottery cash is a little different from the norm, Taylor believes. “We didn’t set out to chase funding,” he explains. “Rather, we undertook a root and branch evaluation of the club and its future, then put forward a sports development strategy embracing a 20 to
30-year track record of community involvement (the club has been very active in schools through their long- established post of Lacrosse Development Officer, for example). “We then went to Sport England’s North-west region and asked them: ‘Will your Lottery funding fit this strategy?’” The game plan succeeded.
Although the funding application process has grown less cumbersome, the task is still a daunting one for clubs, Taylor believes “Funding procedures and programmes can, to the inexperienced fund raiser, to be confusing. This creates a real problem for community and amateur sports clubs.” Given his experience
working within local authority fund administration and application departments, Taylor is well-placed to talk on the subject. “Applying for funding can be a big, long, confusing process. My view is not to chase the funding at all but to put together a robust financial and operational management plan, decide what you want to achieve and proceed from there.” “If you do not run your club as a business, you cannot demonstrate to funding sources any trustworthiness in
Case STUDIES
delivery. You have to put your
management house in
order and run profitably.” Although
Taylor admits his experience with the funding process is “mixed”, he believes that Timperley represents a good example of a club working in partnership with local and regional agencies and the community. “It is our strong record with
Trafford borough for example that helped us secure full funding for a sports development officer, in association with the authority
and Greater Manchester Sports Partnership. We are creating employment.” Despite past trials and tribulations, Taylor is broadly praising of the Lottery bidding process. “It made us look closely at ourselves and we continue to apply some of the lessons we learned from doing that. Lottery bidding worked for us, that’s for sure.”
“Applying for funding can be a big, long, confusing process. My view is not to chase the funding at all but to put together a robust financial and operational management plan”
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