Flutter Entertainment : Cash4Clubs +£4 Million #ClubsinCrisis Fund Delivers 6x Social Value

SAVING #CLUBSINCRISIS

Made By Sport is a campaign with the ambition to transform people and communities through the power of sport. We believe not just in what sport is, but what it can do.

SPORT HAS THE POWER TO SHAPE HEALTHIER MINDS, BRIGHTER FUTURES AND STRONGER COMMUNITIES.

We are here to support clubs and organisations across the country who are using sport as a mechanism to tackle some of the biggest issues facing our young people today.

In March 2021 - Cash4Clubs, funded by Flutter Entertainment plc, answered our calls for help with a donation of over £4million in support of the #ClubsInCrisis campaign.

The campaign was in its infancy when the Covid-19 pandemic broke and overnight the future of the clubs it was born to support became uncertain.

Research conducted by Newton for Made by Sport showed us that 25% of clubs across the UK faced closure due the pandemic.

Made by Sport launched the #ClubsInCrisis campaign to help raise vital funds to keep the doors open on the spaces providing life-lines to young people and communities across the UK and called on British businesses to help.

A new fund was set up to provide grants of £2021 aimed at the smallest organisations playing the biggest role in helping people and communities get back on their feet once Covid-19 restrictions allowed grassroot activities to resume.

The donation was the amount benefitted from business rate relief, which was put in place from March 2020 - March 2021 for Flutter's Paddy Power shops across the country.

Peter Jackson, CEO of Flutter Entertainment

"We partnered with Made By Sport through our grassroots fund, Cash4Clubs, to create a fund that would make a real difference for local communities during the pandemic.

WE TRULY BELIEVE THAT ACCESS TO SPORT CAN BE LIFE-CHANGING FOR YOUNG PEOPLE BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY AND CONTRIBUTE TOWARDS BETTER LIFE OUTCOMES.

So, it's been great to see what a real difference these

grants have made in such a short space of time up and

down the country.

A nationwide media campaign helped us reach the smallest of clubs in all corners of the UK, and in partnership with UK Community Foundations, a grant platform was set up that allowed clubs to apply for funding through an easy to navigate application process.

This allowed us to get money out the door quickly and flexibly.

Throughout the year we made changes to the grant programme to meet the changing needs of clubs - re-distributing funding to where it was most needed, increasing the amounts available in larger urban areas and making the application form simpler to remove any barriers to accessing the funding for the smallest clubs with little experience of grant applications.

THE IMPACT

The #ClubsInCrisis campaign was set up to save sports clubs across the UK in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdowns. Whilst the grants did secure the futures for many clubs, it became clear that they were also having an impact on the young people within those clubs, and that how the funding was spent in terms of social outcomes reflected the changing needs of the pandemic.

£4MILLION+ ALLOCATED TO CLUBS NATIONALLY

1,822 INDIVIDUAL GRANTS AWARDED

BY MARCH 2022

OVER 230,000 YOUNG PEOPLE SUPPORTED

63% OF GRANTS GIVEN TO ORGANISATIONS WITH LESS THAN £25,000 TURNOVER

62% OF ORGANISATIONS

40% OF FUNDING HELPED

RUN ENTIRELY BY

DEVELOP LIFE SKILLS

VOLUNTEERS

35% OF FUNDING SPENT ON BUILDING STRONGER

25% WENT TO IMPROVING

MENTAL HEALTH

COMMUNITIES

A NATIONAL GRANT PROGRAMME REACHING LOCAL COMMUNITIES

" This grant significantly helped us to involve socially disadvantaged communities in the project, EMSONI, Northern Ireland

" We have managed to engage 6 young males who have previously not participated in any sports clubs at all. They attended every week and took all their aggression out on the boxing bag. Their behaviour after the sessions was much better than it normally would have been…

Waterbeach and Landbeach Action for Youth, Cambridgeshire.

"

The grant has made a huge difference for the young people of the football team…since the grant has come into place we can confirm that 15 of the young people in the team have now taken on the advice of courses for further development to help their future or part time work

SANAS, Slough

"

The majority of people in the community have negatively been impacted by the pandemic due to isolation etc. The grant enabled our organisation run activities for members of the community to come together

URBOND, Isle of Wight

"

One of our young leaders saw significant difference to her life through this project.

The funds were able to cover the cost of a coaching course for her. Something she couldn't afford to fund herself.

The course itself has made her more confident as an individual and led to part time employment for her within the gym

Splitz Gymnastics Club NI CIC, Northern Ireland.