Sports Club Grants 

Throughout the year, eligible groups have the opportunity to apply for grant funding from York SU. Grants can help an amazing project come to fruition; enable you to put on a brilliant event; or just support you as you continue to provide great opportunities for your members. Grants are not available all year round, but only at specific times of year, and they are extremely competitive, so a good application can make all the difference. This page will explain everything you need to know about how grants work, what the eligibility criteria are, what they can be used for, and how to apply.

A successful grant application will grant you money for a set time period. Grant money must be spent by the 30th June each year. Any unspent money will be reclaimed from your account after this date and reinvested. There is no opportunity to claim it back after this deadline.

When you apply for a grant, you must state what you wish to spend it on. Any grant money you receive can only be spent on what it was requested for, except in exceptional circumstances. If you wish to spend your grant on anything other than that for which you applied, contact Harriet on sportsadmin@yorksu.org to discuss your situation. 

Please note: Grant funding from York SU should never be relied upon to entirely support your club, as it is never guaranteed and there is only limited funding available for all projects.

Grant Types

There are 2 grant opportunities available to you as a Sports Club at York SU, these are:

Annual Sports Club Grant

• You apply for this in Summer Term for the upcoming academic year, outlining your long-term activities and development plans, and the essential and desirable funding you need in order to run your club.

Contingency Grant

• Available year-round to cover unexpected costs. Applications can be made via the Google Form below. If you have questions as to whether this grant funding is available to you, please contact sportsadmin@yorksu.org

Sport Development Hub

• Available year-round to help Clubs with costs associated with coaching qualifications and referee qualifications. 

• The support may be full or partial so please email sportsadmin@yorksu.org to discuss your proposal.

Eligibility

The Annual Grant is provided to support club activity as well as aid the club achieve its development goals, as set out within each clubs Club Development Plan.

In order to apply for a grant you must:

1. Be a fully ratified student group,  having submitted all ratification documents for the 24/25 academic year.

2. Have completed a Club Financial Forecast 24/25 Google Sheet and submitted within this form.

3. Have ensured that your entire club committee has an active 24/25 club membership. 

4. Have a predicted membership for 24/25 that is a minimum of 15 members.

5. Signatories must have completed the compulsory training modules found above.

Grant money CAN be used for the following purposes:

• Publicity and Marketing (NOTE: we will fund up to £30 for this purpose).

• Transport costs

• Training and Teaching

• Equipment 

• Events (e.g. Regular and annual events, trips, excursions, festivals, theatre trips etc, so long as the purpose of the event is within the aims and objectives of the project)

• Speakers/travelling visitors and conferences

Grant money CAN’T be used for the following purposes:

• Food or drink

• Group merchandise

• Purely social functions

Allocations

Grant applications are reviewed and judged by a special panel consisting of the York Sport Union Committee, the Sports Officer and York SU staff who will make a decision on how much money each project will be allocated.

The criteria that is considered while deciding allocations are:

• How the grant will help fulfil the aims and objectives of your group as agreed by your committee and as stated within your constitution

• How the group will contribute towards the empowerment of students within your community

• How the group will actively create connections between members of the group, sharing experiences and developing together

• The groups current financial status

•  Explain how the grant money contributes to the advancement of personal or professional development for students within your club.

• Explain how your club contributes to wider communities outside of your group.

• The extent to which measures have been taken to seek other sources of funding i.e. memberships, sponsorship.

In addition to the points above, the panel will also take into account the amount of money that is available, the number of projects, and the money requested in total. It is possible to not receive all the money requested even if the project meets all the criteria. 

Funding is limited and all grant decisions made are final.