Crowdfunding - Rise North East

What is crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a way for sports clubs and organisations to raise funds by asking a large number of people to donate smaller amounts of money towards an overall campaign target.

Usually, a sports club or organisation seeking funds will set up a profile about their business, project, or venture on a crowdfunding website. They will then spread awareness of the campaign using social media and other networks including friends, family and community groups.

There are many benefits to running a crowdfunding campaign, including:

A sustainable way of generating significant investment for your club/organisation
Raising the profile of your club/organisation in the wider community
Creating new relationships with local businesses
Developing new/existing skills of your volunteers/employees
Quicker method of fundraising, in comparison to grant based funding
An excellent way of demonstrating engagement for future projects or funding bids

Sport England – The Movement Fund

The Movement Fund offers grants, crowdfunding pledges and other resources to improve physical activity opportunities for the people and communities who need it the most.

It aims to help close the ‘significant activity gap’ between people based on where they live, how affluent they are, their sex, ethnic background or whether they have a disability or long-term health condition.

There is particular interest in projects providing opportunities for groups facing barriers to activity, such as:

People living on low incomes
Disabled people or those with long-term health conditions
Older people
People from culturally diverse communities
Pregnant women and parents with very young children
Girls aged 5-16
LGBTQ+ people
People who are in foster care
People who provide care without pay

If your project aligns with the objectives and priorities of Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy, then you could be eligible for an investment from Sport England of up to £15,000 per campaign.

Find out more about The Movement Fund (opens in new tab)

There are a variety of ways in which you can make your crowdfunding campaign enticing to as many people as possible, see below for a few suggestions:

Offer a wide variety of rewards – On Crowdfunder, campaigns have the ability to offer a reward in return for a campaign donation. Rewards could be internal, such as a discount on club branded merchandise, or external, such as a discounted restaurant voucher.

Include a campaign video – Crowdfunder have found that campaigns with a video, are 86% more likely to be successful in comparison to those without. A video allows campaigns to demonstrate their passion and personality in a much stronger way than in comparison to text alone.

Include images – Good quality, relevant images, especially of local people and places, and/or campaign beneficiaries can help to create a personal connection towards your campaign.

Use Campaign Updates – On Crowdfunder, you have the ability to send campaign updates throughout the duration of your campaign. Sending regular updates shows potential supporters that you are active and engaged with your campaign, while encouraging those who’ve already supported your campaign to help spread the word further.

We’ve supported a number of sports clubs & organisations who went on to run a successful crowdfunding campaign. You can view their campaign pages via the links below: