Cricket Leinster held a Fundraising Masterclass last Wednesday 22nd of February in the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan. This masterclass was facilitated by 2into3 Consultant Amy Power, a specialist on fundraising strategy development. The event was very well attended, with over 20 representatives from 13 Cricket Leinster clubs present.

The masterclass was opened by Paul O’Sullivan, CEO of Clann Credo, a not-for-profit organisation that provides community loan finance at affordable interest and repayment rates to community groups and sports clubs. Recently, Clann Credo announced a €10 million community sports fund to help community groups access sports grants and funding by providing them with community loan finance. Clann Credo do not require person guarantees for loans, while also not penalising early repayment. You can read more about Clann Credo here.

Participants were then provided with an in-depth look at the private investment landscape, looking at the role of philanthropy and sponsorship in the sport sector. The theory behind best practice was initially explained before clubs were shown what they can do for themselves. This included applying for Section 235 status. Under Section 235, approved sporting bodies can apply for tax relief on donations for approved capital projects. The masterclass also covered ways of building relationship-based fundraising. Participants worked on ways of building a fundraising strategy, setting goals and knowing your member base. Almost every club highlighted youth development, subs collection and the acquisition of new equipment as priorities going forward. Issues around these points included lack of a suitable database, possible donor fatigue and limited finances resulting in short term year-to-year ambitions. Clubs were urged to look consider the following when approaching these issues, use events as a means of networking for new volunteers and potential donors, developing an adequate fundraising mix, using a dedicated database to contact past members and to be ambitious in developing long-term targets for the club.

Feedback of the event has been very positive, and will no doubt help Cricket Leinster clubs prioritise their fundraising strategies in the coming weeks and months.

Furthermore, Leinster Cricket is partnering with 2into3 to assist Clubs secure funding under future sports capital rounds.

If your organisation you would like to learn about how 2into3’s expertise can help in the funding of sport via Fundraising Masterclasses please feel free to contact 2into3 Consultant Amy Power via Amy.power@2into3.com or on 01 234 3165.