Sports grants in West Dorset

West Dorset District Council's Sports Development Unit offers advice and support to developing sports organisations. It has four grant schemes to support sports projects and events. The grant schemes are open to not-for-profit organisations based in, or working in, West Dorset.

The schemes are:

Small grants for sports

£50 - £250 is available to support existing or new clubs.

Leisure Development Fund

You can apply at three times of the year (1 April, 1 August, 1 December) for grants of up to £5,000. Awards are based on 20 per cent of the total project cost.

Section 106 Grant Fund

Organisations can apply for a share of money secured from developers from various planning permissions via what is known as 'Section 106 agreements'. In order to distribute this money the district council applies the Leisure Development Fund criteria.

Rate relief

Sports clubs are now required to apply though the Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASC) scheme, administered by HM Revenue and Customs to provide clubs with a range of tax benefits as well as being able to benefit from 80% mandatory rate relief.

Clubs are, therefore, required to firstly apply to HM Revenue and Customs to register as a CASC in order to receive rate relief (address below). An additional discretionary amount can then be awarded from the district council of between 0% and 20% in certain circumstances.

If you are unsuccessful with your application to the HM Revenue and Customs, you can still be considered for discretionary rate relief by the district council, but we will need to be satisfied that you have made every possible effort to comply with the CASC requirements before we will consider your application. We will also conduct an annual review to check that your circumstances have not changed.

Funding advice

Staff from the district council can provide advice on possible sources of partnership funding for projects and events. A sports funding guide has been produced with up-to-date information on sources of funding available at local and national levels. For a copy of the guide call the number below.