Funding Community Sport Conference 4Th September 2019, University of Hertfordshire
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Funding community sport Conference 4th September 2019, University of Hertfordshire How to develop a sustainable business model for providers of sport and physical activity How can governing bodies, enterprises, charities and other providers of community sport and physical activity generate the income required to deliver their work In Partnership with The funding landscape for community sport and physical activity is changing... The world of sport is no different from the world of technology or commerce where the rate of change is increasing all the time. Governing bodies, social enterprises, charities must not only have the appetite for change but must also implement these changes and adaptations or they will struggle to exist. At the same time, there is an increasing focus on how sport and physical activity can help change people's lives and create sport for social good, which is probably all well and good, but While budgets are frequently threatened, these changes will probably also raise opportunities and challenges for providers when it comes to attracting funding. Opportunities in terms of the possibility of engaging with non-sport funders from health, justice/crime prevention, education and social inclusion. Challenges in terms of learning how to engage with partners and funders for whom sport is just a means to an end. We are also experiencing a number of innovative enterprises who have developed sustainable business models running mass-participation events, developing community gyms, helping communities to prosper through sport and are getting inactive people active, all delivered in financially sustainable ways But, it has to be said, that far too many providers and bodies within sport and physical activity do regard income and funding as an afterthought and therefore stagger from crisis to crisis when it comes to generating income to fund their good work. And it seems that the community sport and physical activity sector can learn from the third sector and professional sport when it comes to generating income to help support and fund their work. In those sectors terms such as 'digital fundraising', 'diversifying income streams' and 'donor engagement programme' are commonplace - maybe community sport and physical activity bodies could learn from that. So, we need to develop a new mindset and skill set - which is not always an easy thing; especially if your organisation has sunk into a state of what we call 'grant-addiction'. This conference will feature real stories and successes to be told, lessons to be learnt, ideas and experiences to be shared . Presentations from: 8.45 - 9.30 Registration and Tea/Coffee 9.30 - Welcome and introduction, Chair, Svend Elkjaer Svend Elkjaer is founder and director of the Sports Marketing Network, a leading consultancy and information provider with community sport and physical activity. Being described as 'a positive disruptor' Svend has worked across the UK and Denmark with all types of providers and funders helping them to become vibrant, visible and viable. 9.40 How providers of community sport and physical activity can develop a balanced income model Svend Elkjaer, Founder/Director, Sports Marketing Network Too many organisations in this sector are over-reliant on top-down grant funding and therefore have to deliver on objectives set by funders, good or bad. Only but the largest sports bodies have got the resources to employ dedicated commercial staff so how do the rest of us develop a model and initiatives which can help generate the income required to deliver our work in the community. So how do we develop a more enterprising culture and skillset across community sport and physical activity? How do we combine day-to-day operational aspects of generating income with our overall mission? This presentation will provide delegates with specific advice and tools, supported by practical case-studies on how providers from across the sector can become financially sustainable. 10.10 – 10.40 How to secure new public-sector funding Melanie Antao, Specialist Advisor for Funding, London Sport It is vital for providers of community sport and physical activity to develop robust project proposals to secure new public- sector funding and provide evidence base to support project roll-out opportunities. They must also develop insight models to identify project roll-out opportunities aligned to funder priorities. This presentation will use real case-studies where London Sport have worked with providers and brokered meetings between project leads and key funder decision makers and facilitated engagement between project leads and Local Government stakeholders to secure local buy-in. This has helped various providers raise hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding. Melanie Antao supports the physical activity and sport infrastructure and networks across London to access existing funding resources, bring in new resources and make the whole process of securing funds simpler. She leads on major funding opportunities for London Sport, either as lead applicant or partner with other stakeholders. 10.40 – 11.10 Generating a surplus through innovation and transformation Ken Masser, Chief Executive, Rossendale Leisure Trust In 2015 Haslingden Sports Centre (built in 1972) was a standard community leisure centre in the small Lancashire district of Rossendale. Now rebranded, ‘Adrenaline’, with a range of adventure activities sitting alongside a more traditional fitness and sports offer, the centre is a regional family attraction. This story is not only one of innovative facility development and community based marketing initiatives, but also the essential organisational and cultural changes that have made success possible. Formerly a restructuring consultant at accountancy firm KPMG, Ken Masser was appointed Chief Executive of Rossendale Leisure Trust (a social enterprise managing sports facilities and programmes in the Lancashire borough) in 2015. He is also Executive Board member of Community Leisure UK, the trade association for Leisure Trusts in the UK, and programme advisor to the Pennine Lancashire Sport England Local Delivery Pilot. 11.10 – 11.40 Tea/Coffee 11.40 – 12.10 From 100 members to vibrant and visible community sports enterprise with more than 2500 members Melissa Anderson, Managing Director, Valleys Gymnastics Academy Established as a Limited Company, with social and community aims underpinning the ethos and operating culture of the club, VGA has become a vibrant and visible community hub across South Wales. The club has grown significantly in the past 5 years and is now the largest club in Wales by some distance - with a membership exceeding 2500. The club has won several awards over the past 4 years, including Welsh Gymnastics Club of the Year and the Business Wales Social Enterprise of the Year (Consumer Facing) and is regarded as a true market leader. This presentation will provide insight into the ideas and practices which have helped develop Valleys Gymnastics into such a thriving social enterprise. Melissa Anderson is Managing Director of VGA Ltd. She has led the organisation to be the single largest gymnastics club in Wales and one of the largest in the UK. Melissa is also currently working with Us Girls Wales and Welsh Gymnastics. Prior to taking on her role as MD she was a Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. 12.10 – 12.40 How can alternative forms of finance be used to develop trading activity in community and social enterprises within the sports and physical activity Matt Smith, Chief Executive, Key Fund As grants become increasingly competitive to obtain, how can alternative forms of finance be used to develop trading activity in community and social enterprises within the sports and physical activity, to enable these organisations to become more sustainable in impact and financial terms? Matt Smith originally joined the Key Fund in 2002 as an Investment Officer, but went on to hold a number of roles within the team, until he was appointed as Fund Manager in 2007; a position he filled for 6 years. In 2013 he was seconded to the Big Lottery Fund to work in their social investment team on the development of a number of new activities. He returned to Key Fund in 2015 and was appointed CEO in early 2016. 12.40 – 13.10 Organic fundraising for sports clubs - The Power of Adult Panto Simon Plumb, Marketing Consultant - The SPA Group Ltd The rugby club is on its uppers – membership is falling rapidly, the club is loss-making, open to theft, poorly administered and morale is on the floor. Sound familiar? Desperate times need desperate measures so a small group of players and partners, to keep the creditors at bay, created a show to bring members back, attract non-members in and generate much-needed income. What started as a modest, one-night laugh grew to become an eight-night, £50k income-generating monster and, arguably, secured the future of the rugby club. The Lymm Panto, from small beginnings, became a world-famous institution and is now in its 32nd consecutive year. The scripts are sold worldwide and the Adult Panto template, when adopted by other clubs, works time and again, helping sports clubs create a thriving, vibrant atmosphere and build year-on-year success. Furthermore, this fun-filled activity brings disparate groups together, creating cohesive teams, working for each other and the community. Simon Plumb is a marketing and PR consultant based in Lymm, Cheshire. He has written and produced the Lymm Panto for over 30 years and has a wealth of experience in helping sports clubs become more than the sum of their parts. Ross McLaren started off as a volunteer coach with Morton Community in early 2014, whilst studying Sports Development at University. He progressed through the coaching pathway before joining full time in summer 2017 as Employability Project Worker. 13.10 -14.00 Lunch 14.00 – 14.30 How to sustain challenging and innovative work Navjeet Sira, Director of Design and Impact, Change Foundation The Change Foundation was founded in 1981 following the Brixton riots in south London, using cricket as a tool to promote community cohesion and peace during the conflict in the heart of the local community.