Club Resilience Fund now open

POSTED:

Update 7/8/20

Club Resilience Fund Now Open

Athletics Ireland are pleased to now open the application process for the Club resilience fund and welcomes clubs to begin compiling their application for submission before the deadline on Sunday 6th September.

The club resilience scheme has been designed by Sport Ireland to assist clubs in their sporting activities only and is specifically targeted at clubs in threat of becoming insolvent due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Athletics Ireland will operate the Club Resilience Grant Scheme directly from funds secured from Sport Ireland for all affiliated athletics clubs and bodies. This document details how the application will be managed and includes key details required for the application.

Club Resilience Fund Application can be found HERE.

 

PROCESS & TIMELINE

  • The closing date for applications to Athletics Ireland will be Midnight Sunday 6th of September 2020.
  • Application are to be submitted HERE.
  • Late applications cannot be accepted.
  • Final decisions will need to consider the level of demand across the scheme and the award granted to Athletics Ireland from Sport Ireland.
  • Depending on the level of submissions, the outcome of those deliberations will be communicated to affiliated Clubs/bodies in late October.
  • Subject to Board approval, the process of payment will begin thereafter.

 

Submissions should include the following details below and a written narrative as per the Athletics Ireland Club Resilience Grant Application spreadsheet circulated with this document.  

  • Actual reductions on income Jan - Jun 2020 as a result of COVID 19 with supporting evidence (E.g. Accounts approved at AGM for last 3 years)
  • Estimated reductions of income from July - Dec 2020 based on the phased return to sport
  • Details of COVID 19 related increases in current liabilities
  • Specific details on the staff & payroll implications of COVID 19
  • List of immediate short-term cash flow or financial commitments
  • Value of immediate short-term cash flow or financial commitments
  • Details on any projects or programmes/Events (T+F, XC, Road Race) that will have to be deferred, postponed, or cancelled.
  • Details on any Athletics Ireland Programmes the Club delivers? (E.G Fit4Life, Athletics Ireland Summer Camp)
  • Details on other Programmes the club deliver (Non-Athletics Ireland) (E.g. Yoga or Circuit classes)
  • Details of any loan repayments or rental payments for club facilities.
  • Value of immediate restart costs/overheads
  • Value of additional costs arising in facilities from the provision and installation of COVID 19 precautions
  • Costs arising for adjustment of club facilities to cater for socially distanced sport programming
  • Value of income reduction arising from reduced numbers arising from restricted programmes operation
  • Details on the increases or potential increases of any bad debts
  • Value of cost savings on expenditure (current or capital) due to scaled back operations from Jan-June & projected for Jul -Dec
  • List of horizontal Government supports utilized by the Club
  • Value of horizontal Government supports utilized by the Club
  • Value of Current Reserves of Club
  • An estimation of how long core operations could continue under the current circumstances if reserves were used for this purpose and no grant support was forthcoming
  • Reserves used to date to support operations
  • List of additional financing utilised due to COVID 19
  • Value of additional financing utilised due to COVID 19
  • Details of any increases in income such as from new and increased memberships

Note - The board of Athletics Ireland must approve any application award for clubs under this scheme and there is no appeal mechanism.

 

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

When assessing applications, Athletics Ireland will review a number of areas including: A. Technical Merits of the Application (i.e. verifiable evidence of need)

B. Quality of parallel interventions (i.e. business plan to support an application)

C. Likelihood of meeting the primary objective of the scheme (i.e. avoiding insolvency and maintaining operations)

D. Likelihood of meeting the secondary objective of the scheme (i.e. contributing to public health)

E. Existing Governance and Funding Model

F. Strategic significance of the Club (e.g. numbers, area, sport, facility sharing, diversity of activity & membership)

 

For specific questions please contact your Regional Development Officer. 

Notice 31/7/20

A Resilience Fund of up to €15 million will be made available from the Government to support Sports Clubs who find themselves in need of assistance to avoid closing.

The grant scheme is designed to support sporting activity only. These funds are not aimed to replace lost income from ancillary activities such as hospitality, sub-letting facilities or other non-sporting commercial activity.

Athletics Ireland will be administering this scheme on behalf of our Clubs and Affiliated Bodies and we will share details of the application in the coming days.

We note that this fund is open to all Athletics Ireland affiliated Clubs and Bodies who are in severe financial distress due to the impact of Covid 19 and may have to consider closing. We also note that a rigorous application process will be circulated in the coming days for any Clubs needing to apply for these funds.

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