Sport England

Sport England is responsible for developing and growing grassroots sport in England. As an arm’s length public body, they work with national and local partners to tackle inactivity, develop sport for people of all ages, and promote inclusivity and accessibility.

(Photo Credit – Sport England)

The Brief

ISport England (SE) is the lead governmental organisation that provides funding for grassroots sport and recreation in England. It serves the needs of over 100 sports governing bodies, many of whom have become strategically reliant the income they are granted by SE.

We have been engaged since 2018 to help organisations become more diversified in their sources of income, and especially through the sourcing of philanthropic support from trusts and foundations, companies and HNWIs.

Our Response

We initially scoped the sporting sector and compared it to Arts & Heritage, for example. This research revealed that sport was lagging behind despite having a compelling agenda for support. In 2019/20 we were engaged to deliver a programme of fundraising training to the community of sports governing bodies so that individual staff were given the knowledge, skills and confidence to begin fundraising, or at least put the building blocks in place. This ten-module programme was initially delivered in person, with the majority of sessions then made available online during the pandemic. This has helped refine our digital training offering using specialist webinar software.

Impact

“From submission of the tender and formal interview to the delivery of the brief, Philanthropy Company were outstanding throughout – a pleasure to work with.”

  Adam Freeman-Pask, Head of Partner Support, Sport England