Essex Sports Clubs and Community Organisations Offered Financial Lifeline

OVER 120 sports clubs and community organisations in Essex participated in three live webinars delivered by Active Essex and Sport England, to hear about what emergency financial support is available to them in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each webinar focused on the Sport England Community Emergency Fund, a £20m support package aimed to help community sport and physical activity organisations experiencing short term financial hardship or the ceasing of operations due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Clubs can request a grant up to £10,000 to provide emergency funding until the end of July. The webinars provided useful tips on how to apply, who was eligible and what costs the fund could cover.

Cllr Ray Gooding said: “Supporting the sport and physical activity sector to get through this difficult period is a priority for Essex. The Active Essex webinars were just one way we are doing this. We are dedicated to ensure that as a sector, we emerge from this challenge in a strong position and can hit the ground running when restrictions are lifted.

“Sports clubs, community groups and their volunteers are typically excellent fundraisers, but those without large reserves are already feeling the pinch of losing vital revenue which could affect their long term sustainability.”

Active Essex has created a new one-stop-shop webpage to support the sport and physical activity sector which is full of important information and ideas from both Active Essex and partner organisations. Information includes funding opportunities, E-learning and business continuity resources. You can contact Lee Monk from Active Essex on [email protected] or call 07917651667 if you require 1-2-1 support.