Funding

There are a wide range of grants available to help your school, organisation or club afford Bowls Buddies bowls and equipment. We have produced a detailed funding guide to assist clubs and other organisations to identify suitable funding sources and successfully apply for funding. A free PDF copy of this guide is available below (which can be downloaded) and we hope that you find this useful.

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Bowls Buddies ‘A Guide to Successful Grant Funding’Download

Below we provide some very basic assistance for you in making your application, for more detail be sure to read our Funding Guide. 

General Advice on Applying for Funding

Applying for funding can seem like a difficult business but if you follow a few key principles then you have a greater chance of success.

  • Check all the different grants available and then go for the one that is easiest and simplest for what you want and where you meet the eligibility criteria. If you only need up to £1,000 then look first at smaller grant schemes as they will often be simpler to apply for.
  • Try to understand what the grant provider is looking for and make sure your bid fits around that. For example, if the grant provider is looking to reduce inequality, does your bid ensure that it will help women into bowls, help people from an economically disadvantaged area, target ethnic minorities that are under-represented or help those that suffer with disabilities?
  • Consider adding in things to your bid that may help with the above point. For example, if you are applying for bowls equipment why not also add in an amount to purchase disability aids to help those in your club who suffer with problems in bending or stepping on to the green. Information on such aids can be found on the Disability Bowls England website. If you are buying Bowls Buddies equipment you may want to commit to working with a certain number of schools or hold a certain number of sessions at your club. Your volunteer time can often be costed as a matching contribution at, for example, £10/hour.
  • If you are a school, to be successful in bidding, for example, for Awards for All Lottery funding, you could show that not only will Bowls Buddies assist children who do not engage in other sports, but you could introduce Bowls Buddies to After School Clubs (helping to keep children off the streets and active and healthy) and also use them for inter-generational activities in your school or at another venue. Similarly for Clubs, Bowls Buddies could be used to get children active and engaged in sport and also used by all ages. Again, health outcomes will be important.