Grant funding
Find your Active Chelmsford can fund projects that engage inactive Chelmsford residents or help local sports clubs increase participation with members who are struggling with the cost of living.
Find out about the grants we can offer, and how we can signpost you to other funding opportunities.
You can apply for grant of up to £500 to lessen the effect of the cost of living crisis.
Who can access this fund
Voluntary clubs and organisations.
What this fund is for
This fund aims to assist people on a low income, who live in Chelmsford and the surrounding area, to continue to access physical activity opportunities.
What to use the fund on
Local sports clubs and organisations can apply to support their members who are struggling or unable to participate because of the cost of living crisis.
Find your Active Chelmsford will award successful clubs a non-repayable grant. The clubs must show how they will use the money to support members/participants who need financial help.
This will help those members continue physical activities that they couldn't do otherwise, due to their financial situation.
How to apply
You can apply to the Hardship Fund online now.
You can apply for a grant of up to £750 from Active Chelmsford, for projects or work aimed at engaging inactive residents of the Chelmsford district.
What the funding is for
- facilitating a return to activity after lockdown
- tackling inactivity
- increasing female participation in sport and physical activity
- encouraging residents to take part in sport and physical activity in
outdoor spaces - using sport for social change, including targeting specific audiences such as young people, difficult to reach audiences and those not in education employment or training (NEETS)
- supporting active aging
- using sport to improve mental health
What to use the grant on
These small grants could be used to encourage more people to be more active by:
- facilitating a return to physical activity after the lockdown
- introducing new physical activity projects
- running training courses to upskill your volunteers or workforce
- buying new equipment
- creating new sporting opportunities
- developing new sports club sections or teams, such as a new junior section
What we will not fund
We will not grant funding for:
- projects are based or predominately benefit residents outside of the Chelmsford area
- items that will only benefit an individual (such as bursaries, or kits and equipment that is not shared.) We may fund playing kits for new teams or for teams that have not had a kit. We are unlikely to fund kit for training or coaches and other items of clothing
- salaries (We may fund coaching costs, or fixed-term positions needed to meet a specific project requirement, but funding of coaches must be clearly additional to usual club/organisation expenditure and they must be appropriately qualified.)
- used road vehicles
- activities that the government has a legal obligation to fund. This may include sports sessions that take place in school during curriculum time. We also cannot fund any previously state-funded activity or replace state funding where it is due to end.
- projects that take place or incur costs before the date of the offer letter. This includes any form of deposits and costs associated with applying.
- contingency costs and VAT you can recover.
- projects involving travel to another country. We won’t fund travel to another country where a similar sporting benefit can be gained in England
- sponsorship, endowments or loan repayments
How to apply
You can apply to the Small Grant Fund online now.
If the Small grants and Hardship Grants are not suitable for you, we may still be able to help.
If you give us details about who you are and what you want to do, we can direct you to the most appropriate funding opportunity for you.
All you need to do is submit our enquiry form, telling us more about your funding needs.
Other grant schemes
You can also visit Sport England for guidance about applying for a host of other grant schemes.