The increasing size of the older population requires us to think differently about ageing the implications will affect every part of our lives, across generations. UnLtd s Solutions for an Ageing Society programme, run in partnership with The Coutts Foundation, backed 21 social entrepreneurs to create sustainable solutions to help people age well. INFORMATION FOR CLUBS WHY DOES GAME CHANGERS EXIST? ABOUT GAME CHANGERS England Athletics have a mission - to grow opportunities for everyone to experience athletics and running, to enable them to reach their full potential. In 2017 England Athletics partnered with Spirit of 2012 to invest in volunteering in athletics & running as part of the London 2017 Inspiration Programme. Game Changers is a project to create new opportunities for young people aged between 14-25 years old to get involved in the England Athletics family of organisations, to develop their skills and to give them a high-quality volunteering experience along the way. In this programme, England Athletics are inviting England Athletics clubs and groups (and organisations working with England Athletics clubs and groups) to apply for funding and support to train and offer opportunities to at least 10 new young volunteers each. Specifically, this project aims to recruit new volunteers to athletics and running and increase the number of volunteers from underrepresented groups in athletics and running such as young, disabled andthose from a BAME background. SCHEME SPECIFICS Name of Scheme: Game Changers One Off, Multiple Phase or Rolling Programme: Multiple Phases of Funding Phase 1: March 2017 Phase 2: January 2018 Phase 3: September 2018 Phase 4: January 2019 Dates of Current Application Process: 24th Jan 2018 5th March 2018 with decisions likely to be confirmed on 30th March 2018
TIMETABLE Announcement of Programme: 15 th January 2018 Applications Open: 24 th January 2018 Applications Close: 5 th March 2018 Panel Assessments and Approval: 15 th March 2018 Decision Letters Sent Out: 30 th March (Grant applicants will have 2 weeks for acceptance letters and terms of conditions to be signed and returned) Deadline For Acceptance Letters: Two weeks from the date of the decision letter Project Commencement: Projects must begin within two months of decision letters Phase 1 Completion: The first phase or part of your project (which is recruitment of potential volunteers) should ordinarily be completed within 6 months. Any change to these requires approval from Grant Scheme Manager. FINANCIALS Size and Number of Grants Total At least 40 grants to be made of up to 4000 per grant over 3 years. Clubs can apply multiple times but not have more than 1 grant live per phase. Size and Number of Grants this Phase Each grant is a package of up to 4000 in support including: Not more than 3200 for training and qualifications Payment of Grants Grants will be awarded through voucher codes for specific courses. Before grants are awarded, clubs need to have: Signed and returned grant acceptance form Sent names of young people attending the course Completed the first England Athletics provided questionnaire
OUTCOMES AN IMPACT Wider Purpose of Scheme: Any Delivery Deadlines: To raise the quality of the volunteering experience in Athletics and Running for existing volunteers, share the benefits with new, more diverse volunteers and embed a new volunteer journey and support network. Recruit and train 800 young people across England to access a volunteering opportunity local to them. They will have increased wellbeing and increased skills as a result of this experience. Purpose of Grant: To raise the number and diversity of volunteers in the recipient club and to raise the quality of the volunteering experience in the recipient club, sharing the benefits with new, more diverse volunteers and developing understanding of the volunteer journey in the club. Required Outcomes & Outputs: Output: Recruit, Train and Deploy 10 or more young volunteers including achieving a qualification. Outcomes: Volunteers involved report improved wellbeing, feeling more to connected to their community, acquiring transferable skills and a sense of enjoyment from being involved. Club reports increased volunteers, increased diversity in volunteers and improved volunteer satisfaction Club can define volunteer journey and what a quality volunteering experience entails. WHO CAN APPLY? Organisation type England Athletics affiliated clubs and groups Locations England wide opportunity Organisation Requirements Be an England Athletics affiliated club/group Organisation to have a welfare officer in place and aware of project commitments and signed up to engaging. Organisation to have support from the committee or management group. Organisation are committed to share case studies and complete all Monitoring and Evaluation as required. Team Leader at each of the clubs to have a valid DBS Organisation to meet Tier 1 requirements of Sport England Governance Code https://www. sportengland.org/about-us/governance/a-code-forsports-governance/ Clubs are committed to start the project within 2 months of application approval. Clubs are committed to have recruited all volunteers within 6 months of application approval. Beneficiaries: Volunteers must be age 14-25. Applications which include provision to recruit under-represented groups will score additional points in assessment. e.g. disabled young people and young people from a minority background (e.g. BAME, Refugee, underrepresented faith groups). Monitoring and Evaluation Requirements: Administrate 3 surveys to volunteers and 2 surveys to Team Leaders. It is essential these are completed by all volunteers. Provide ongoing content (such as social media posts).
DECIDING TO APPLY Are you a club that Is or has the potential to be a wonderful place for young people to volunteer? Recognises the importance of making volunteering the best experience it can possibly be by really taking time to support people who get involved? Wants to increase the number of younger people supporting you through volunteering and would like some help to make that happen? If you ve answered yes to the above, then this is the funding opportunity you ve been waiting for! As you know, volunteering is a life-changing experience, particularly for young people starting to think about their future. England Athletics are excited to announce the funding for Game Changers Youth Volunteering Programme, with the aim of better supporting our clubs and groups to involve more young people aged 14-25 to volunteer. Together with our funding partners Spirit of 2012, we want to help you to engage a new generation of Game Changers. We are inviting you to apply for funding to identify a minimum of 10 young volunteers who ll join you as Game Changers. These young people may be athletes or runners at your club, or you may be looking to develop a partnership with a youth organisation, such as a College or University, to engage with young people from outside the club. You d use the funding to get them trained, resourced and supported to volunteer with you at the club and at your events. What s important is that you re taking the time to support these young people, giving them the best experience possible. This programme is a win-win for everyone involved; your club gets an injection of fresh thinking, new skillsets and help through volunteering and you provide the volunteers with boosted confidence and an opportunity to improve their employability for the future. There are some simple reasons you may want to apply to Game Changers on behalf of your organisation: Young volunteers can bring a new and dynamic approach to the club, and get involved in areas where you perhaps might be struggling to convince others to take the lead. Areas such as event and competition management, digital and media can often provide great roles and support in addition to coaching and officiating. ᵒᵒ For example, why not consider having a media team that could take images, manage website match reports, send press stories to the local news and manage medal ceremonies. ᵒᵒ Or you might want a team of event support volunteers who can be involved at events to manage registration, refreshments, officials sign in and out or act as runners. ᵒᵒ Or maybe you need more marshals or trained officials at your competitions this summer? The best way to decide if you want to submit an application on behalf of your organisation is to consider the questions on the next page, ideally with your committee or fellow club volunteers and see if the time is right. You may not have all the answers to the question below (not many clubs do) but we want you to think about these questions with your fellow members/volunteers as they will help you decide if Game Changers is right for you. Please do talk to your Club Support Manager if you aren t sure about applying. We know that no club will likely answer yes to all these points right now but if you have ambitions in these directions and some willing volunteers, England Athletics may be able to support elsewhere.
DO YOU WANT TO APPLY? DISCUSSION POINTS YOUR COMMENTS 1) Approach to Volunteering Does your organisation recognise the importance of making volunteering the best experience it can possibly be by really taking time to support people who get involved? 2) Young People-Centred Does your club have the potential to be a wonderful place for young people to volunteer? Does your organisation have individuals that have great people-skills especially where young people are concerned? If not do you know any local organisations who could help you in supporting the development and involvement of young people so they feel supported, trusted needed and respected. 3) Demand for Volunteers Does your organisation have a clear understanding of what roles are available, what the minimum commitment a prospective volunteer would need to make and what training and skills those roles require. Does it want to increase the number of younger people volunteering and would like some help to make that happen? 4) Demand from Potential Volunteers Do you know where you would find your new volunteers and get them ready for training? Have you spoken to existing members and athletes or your occasional volunteers who may be looking to do more? Have you spoken to local youth clubs, schools, colleges or other running and athletics clubs locally? 5) Capacity Do you have someone (maybe you!) who has the time and motivation to pull the project together and keep it moving forward? Ideally you would have a few other willing experienced volunteers who might want to lend a hand in certain areas WHAT YOU CAN APPLY FOR AND SUPPORT You can apply for a grant from us to support the development of young volunteers at your club (to a maximum value of 4000) This will need to cover, training, expenses, resources, reward and recognition initiatives and mentoring support. If your application is successful we will also provide you with an information pack which includes posters to promote the programme, information on engaging with and supporting young volunteers, and a framework to shape an induction for the Game Changers. The training on offer is focused in the following areas: Assistant & Level 1 Official, Coaching Assistant, Leading in Athletics and Leadership in Running and Fitness (LiRF). Alternatively, if you know an organisation who delivers training in another area which would benefit your club, for example media and events, please include full details of this on your application. At this stage, we d ask you to indicate on the form what training you d like to offer. We recommend wherever possible that each volunteer only does one qualification in their first year, though that may be supported by other soft skills training like teamwork, communicating effectively or similar. Good volunteering schemes incur costs in all sorts of areas and we encourage organisations to apply appropriately so they can give a brilliant volunteers experience. Sometimes that might mean paying for other services we have not thought of. If your project has a clear plan we will consider applications for other types of spend up to the limit of 4000. For example, you may like supporting existing volunteers with expenses.
HOW TO APPLY Please complete the application form by Monday 5th March 2018 and email to gamechangers@englandathletics.org. We ll review your application to confirm whether you have been successful and next steps. CONTACT US Questions about application process For any questions relating to our grant programmes please contact, Nikki English at gamechangers@englandathletics.org Advice and application support Got a question? Why not speak to your local Clubs Support Manager? YOUR LOCAL CONTACTS Your Club Support Managers are: Emma Davenport: Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, West Yorkshire Heidi Bradley: Humber, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Emma Hurst: North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire Nick Settle: North East, Cumbria, Cheshire Steph Cameron: Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Birmingham, The Black Country, Warwickshire. Amy Frith: Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire Sarah Gardiner: Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Hampshire, Sussex Tania Spurling: Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire John Harris: Hertfordshire, Essex, North London Natalie Kavanagh-Clarke: Kent, Surrey, South London Richard Ayling: Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire For contact details please visit: www.englandathletics.org/your-area APPEALS: For any appeal to decisions made by the panel email gamechangers@englandathletics.org SPIRIT OF 2012 I NVESTING IN HAPPINESS