Active Humber is working with Sport England to secure vital funding for the area’s sports clubs and physical activity organisations facing potential closure and financial hardship as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
A funding pot of up to £20 million is now available through Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund (CEF) for community organisations to claim in order to stay afloat during this difficult time.
“Our local sports clubs are facing exceptional financial costs and potential closure as they cope with the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The CEF has been introduced to provide financial relief for these clubs and represents a vital lifeline for organisations that play such an important role in our communities,” said David Gent, CEO of Active Humber.
Active Humber works with hundreds of sports clubs and organisations in Hull, East Riding and North and North East Lincolnshire, helping to promote and fund physical activity and sport as a source of physical and mental health.
David continued: “We want to make sure that as many of our region’s sporting organisations financially survive this period of uncertainty.
“More than 3,500 sports clubs across the UK have applied for the funding so far. We are encouraging any organisations in our area that may benefit from financial aid to get in touch.”
Scunthorpe Boxing Club has been supported throughout the CEF application process by Active Humber.
Andy Richardson, head coach at Scunthorpe Boxing Club said: “We’ve been running for almost 10 years and one of our main focuses is reaching at-risk youth in our community, helping them to channel their energy into something productive.
“If we’re successful in our application, the money will support our running costs over this period - such as rent and insurance - which would usually be covered by our members’ weekly subs payments.
“We had two boxing shows planned over the last few weeks, which are usually big fundraising events for us. These have obviously had to be cancelled, so we’ve lost upwards of £1,000 in revenue.
“The CEF financial support is critical. It will mean that, once this is all over, we can reopen as normal.
“Active Humber has been a huge help. The team have made the process really easy and have provided us with invaluable advice – which is needed now more than ever.”
David added: “This funding is designed to support clubs that really need it. The Humber region is full of deserving organisations that perhaps haven’t received their fair share of Sport England funding before – simply because they didn’t know it was available or perhaps how to apply. We don’t want this to happen again.
“So if you run, manage, play for or participate as part of a sports club or organisation in a similar position, I would urge you to get in touch as this funding won’t be available forever.”
