The much anticipated Sports Capital and Equipment Programme announced the equipment grant allocations on Friday 6^th August and there was an unprecedented level of investment in grass roots sports clubs of all descriptions. The announcements came in 3 different tranches:

1. Local – individual sports clubs & voluntary organisations
2. Regional – a provincial/ county based organisation
3. NGB – national sporting organisations

Speaking at the announcement of the grants Minister Martin stated that “Priority was given to projects that will increase participation, that are located in areas with higher levels of socio-economic disadvantage and to organisations that did not receive significant funding under the Programme previously”.

Local Club Allocations

There were a total of 692 successful club applications, an increase of 275 on the previous funding round, with 76% of all local club applications successful in attracting funds of €13,029,177, an increase of over €4.5million on the 2018 allocations.

As we focus on the local applications, the top 10 sports local allocations has changed to represent the emergence of new outdoor sports in the country, in particular water sports, which has achieved international success in the Olympics.

The importance of multi-sport centres remains vital to participation levels of all abilities and in all areas. Minister Martin states, “funding is being allocated to the clubs, schools and organisations which are striving to serve all of the community and especially those groups where there are traditionally lower participation levels”.

Analysing these amounts via county shows a different spread than in 2018 allocations, as Dublin comes top with almost a threefold investment in local clubs. The overall allocation has increased for other major cities, such as Cork and Galway. In addition, the makeup of the top 5 has one new contender, with Meath being successful in attracting almost €550k. Whereas comparatively, in 2018, they were the 25^th in allocations and received €52,617.

Furthermore, it is also important to look at per capita amount allocated, to ascertain which county has increased or decreased their share of funds. As you can see from the diagram below, Kerry and Westmeath have increased whereas Donegal, Galway and Waterford have decreased.

National and Regional Allocations

In previous allocations, the distinction was local or regional. However, in this round, the regional is divided further between regional organisations, such as local authorities, education bodies or NGBs who are the sport’s national governing bodies.

The National Governing Bodies continue to invest in equipment for their sports clubs with a total €2,167,961 allocated to 44 NGBs, which represents 78% of what they applied for. There is a new player in the Top 10 list of allocations, The ROI Snooker and Billiards Association were 100% successful in attracting funds to equip their new National HQ Training Academy in Co Laois.

There is a €1.4 million allocation for projects which have regional significance across 22 counties and the top 5 counties are Kildare, Dublin, Roscommon, Cork and Kerry.

The regional allocations by sport also show a different picture than the club allocations, which looks at more traditional sporting activities across Ireland.

In conclusion, the 2021 Equipment Allocations show a sustained investment programme in the sporting landscape across Ireland for all abilities and interests. Whether it’s training for Olympic success or aiming to improve club members sporting activity, this investment will boost these sporting ambitions. It also shows support for sporting volunteers at the grass roots level, with additional equipment to help participants reach their goals.

If you would like to discuss these findings further, contact Patricia Keenan on (+44) 28 9592 1558, or by mobile on (+353) 86 065 7935. For more information on our Sports Capital Grant Applications, click here.

Thanks to everyone who attended our webinar -‘How effective was your Fundraising Performance in Q4 2020? Insights from Irish Giving Index Q4 2020 report’ on Wednesday this week. At the webinar we announced all Charities Institute Ireland (CII) members can now avail of a 10% discount on subscription to this service. 

The Irish Giving Index is the only Irish nonprofit sector tool which tracks and analyses the fundraising landscape. This enables organisations to benchmark fundraising performance against relevant subsectors. 

Rebecca Droop, from 2into3, explained the increase in fundraised income and the insights within each subsector- including health, social services and international. Furthermore, Rebecca outlined the predicted outcome of fundraised income in 2020 and how it exceeded initial predictions. ‘Selling something’ was the only method of fundraising that decreased from 2019 to 2020. 

Charlie Lamson, Head of Fundraising at Irish Red Cross, joined the webinar to explain how he uses insights from the Irish Giving Index for nonprofit fundraising. Charlie noted how the index can be particularly useful when making fundraising decisions at the base level, to pass onto the management team. 

Charlie added, “We use the index within the team on a regular basis. Sometimes, we can get caught up on everyday tasks, but these numbers are extremely useful to see how we are doing in respect to other nonprofits.” 

Scott Kelly, Chief Operating Officer at Charities Institute Ireland (CII) also joined the webinar. Similarly, he also noted the use the index to improve knowledge within the sector and the benefits the Index can bring to the fundraising decision-making process. 

If you would like to find out more about the Irish Giving Index, or if you would like to subscribe, contact Dennis O’Connor directly. 

Thank you to our 180 attendees at our ‘Strategic Planning: Learn the Basics’ webinar last Friday. During the webinar held in conjugation with The Wheel, our consultant, Niamh Carruthers, explained the benefits of having a strategic plan. The attendees engaged consistently in our polls and Q&A box, which were answered in detail by our consultants. 

Niamh explained how a strategic plan is as much about the process as the end result itself. It allows everyone in the organisation to engage with the company’s mission, vision and values to outline the organisation’s goals. It is important that your strategic plan is aspirational, but that it is also based on fixed values within the company. This also allows your organisation to grow in a focused way, remaining on-track and unified.  

Niamh discussed how Teach Tearmainn used 2into3’s strategic planning services. They outlined their ‘Mission, Vision & Values’, with 2into3’s consultants guiding them through the strategic plan process. This allowed Teach Termainn to evaluate where they currently are, and where they want to grow in the future, without deviating from their original values.  

During the webinar, there were detailed steps on how to make your strategic plan work for you. It is important to take an all-company approach to your strategic plan. This ensures consistent communication, which will unify your company and can connect your organisation towards achievable goals. 

If you would like to develop a strategic plan for your organisation, contact Niamh.carruthers@2into3.com today. Or, read more information on strategic planning.