While fishing as a whole has been bouncing back with a welcome spike in licence sales and participation lately, it’s still a challenging time for many clubs and organisations. Which is why news of Sport England’s “Active Together” crowdfunding initiative could be a vital boost for any clubs who find themselves in need of extra support! Here’s a brief summary of how it works and how to apply, along with some great tips and advice from our Club Support Manager, Mark Wilton.

Get up to £10,000 for your club or community organisation!

Looking to help the sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Crowdfunder and Sport England have teamed up to make £1 million of match funding available. But how does this work for angling organisations?

If your angling club has experienced short term financial difficulty or needs to adapt how it operates due to the Covid-19 pandemic, you might be eligible to take part. This needn’t just mean clubs facing hardship, we should point out. You might be an angling organisation with a major new influx of youngsters or new anglers to cater for, who could urgently do with upgrading facilities, for example.

Indeed, following the reintroduction of angling as a permitted sport, it has been great to see an increase in anglers on the bankside with many clubs reporting an increase in membership. However, to cater for this high demand now is the ideal time for a lot of clubs to think about making an investment in the facilities they provide. This could mean new fishing pegs or platforms, better access paths or car parking areas for less able-bodied anglers, or indeed new fish stocks, etc to help attract and retain newcomers.

Follow the link below for further information on setting up a crowdfunding campaign and you can apply for up to £10,000 match funding today.

Who will be prioritised to get the money?

Priority will be given to projects that are in the most deprived communities to ensure that our match funding reaches those most in need. This will be organisations that do one or both of the following:

> Deliver activity in areas experiencing social and economic deprivation, including rural communities

> Work with one or more of the following groups as a main focus:

• Disabled people
• Lower socio-economic groups
• Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME)

Click here to visit the official Active Together page and view further details

Tips and advice to help your club’s bid

• Putting together an application that really sells the vision and initiative of what you are doing is key. As far as possible, provide as much detail as to the community and wellbeing benefits as you can! Do check the pledge criteria (below) carefully.
• This fund could be a lifeline for clubs in severe need- but it is NOT purely for those struggling. It’s also a chance for those doing something really positive to grow and adapt.
• Making the very most of your social media reach and most active members is key to any crowdfunding push. Along with your bigger picture objectives, make a detailed list of all those who can help publicise what you are doing, from key supporters to local companies and media sources.
• Today’s crowdfunding success stories are all about harnessing creativity. Is there something novel you might offer your supporters? Whether it’s a named peg on a new lake, or a special way of saying thank you, be imaginative and think outside the box!
• For those clubs who are Angling Trust members, don’t forget to make the most of your member benefits. Marmax, for example, offer an exclusive 15% discount on recycled fishing playforms, while all member clubs can also get free advice and help with applications from our team (see the end of this blog for contact details).
  
• Last but not least, don’t despair if your bid is not accepted. Even if you don’t succeed, there is nothing stopping you from going ahead with a crowdfunding push under your own steam, regardless of whether Sport England match your efforts. Similarly, there are other pots of money, including the FIP (Fisheries Improvement Program), you could apply for. 

Pledge Criteria

If your application is approved, you will get match funding of up to 50% towards your initial crowdfunding target, up to a maximum of £10,000. To receive a pledge, you will need to do two things (the ‘fund conditions’):

1) raise at least 25% of your initial target,

2) raise this from a minimum number of supporters. The breakdowns of this are below:

● 25 supporters if your target is up to £5,000

● 50 supporters if your target is between £5,001 and £10,000

● 75 supporters if your target is between £10,001 and £15,000

● 100 supporters if your target is between £15,001 and £20,000

If either of these conditions are not met, the pledge will be withheld until both have been met. If these two conditions are met, Sport England will pledge up to 50% of the target (unless your target is over £20,000), which means in most cases the campaign will then be at 75%. You must then raise the remaining 25% from your crowd, to achieve 100% of your funding target and receive the Sport England funds.

If the project fails to reach 100% of the target the Sport England pledge will be cancelled. The club will be encouraged to review what went wrong and, if appropriate, to attempt to crowdfund again.

Note – Sport England reserve the right to vary these pledge criteria and projects will be notified if their pledge criteria will vary from the stated terms.

Should you have any further questions, please get in touch:

Email:   AIFadmin@anglingtrust.net

Or call direct:

Mark Wilton (National Angling Improvement Fund & Club Support Manager)
07495 433626 (Mon-Wed)

Chloe Guy (Fund Administrator): 0115 822 4561 (Wed-Fri)