Crowdfunder extend their fee free offer for sports with an additional £1.5 million of funding from Sport England

Crowdfunder has been helping sports clubs, teams, venues and more, fight back against the impact of coronavirus. To support their efforts to help communities and clubs, Sport England has committed to an additional £1.5million in match funding for crowdfunding campaigns on the platform, bringing their total match funding pot to an incredible £2.5million. 

The Crowdfunder platform went completely fee free in response to the pandemic in an effort to remove any fundraising barriers and clear a path for people to raise money. Since March £4 million has been raised for sports on Crowdfunder from 37,000 supporters. Crowdfunding works through individuals donating to projects in return for a ‘Reward’ with an offer of match funding for eligible projects. Unlike applying for a loan, there’s nothing to pay back at the end. 

British Cycling also offers up to £15,000 in match funding as part of their Places to Ride campaign. Plus, there’s over 50 regional and national opportunities to secure further match funding. 

Not only is the platform free, all projects are helped to understand how to crowdfund and receive coaching from the team, as well as a programme of online support and events including a 24/7 available help centre, guides, learning portals and more. Projects that have a crowdfunding target of over £5k, or any club affiliated to a ‘Partner League’ will receive dedicated sports coaching from the expert team.

Meet some of the projects

• Wigan Athletic has raised £672,000 from 5401 supporters and they’re continuing to raise funds for the club.
• Hitchin Town Football Club has raised over £61,300 from over 340 supporters! You can still donate to their campaign.
• Benefitting from £4,000 in Sport England match funding, Newquay AFC has raised £7,000 of their £8,000 target.
• Stockport Rugby Club successfully raised £58,146 with 390 supporters in 42 days! The club received £10,000 of Sport England funding.

On the Sport England funding, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “Local clubs offer so much to their communities and it’s hugely important that we support them to keep people fit and healthy as we head into winter. This welcome funding will enable people across the country to enjoy sport safely, boosting their mental and physical health in the months ahead.”

Crowdfunder CEO Rob Love says “When the lockdown hit, that one bit of exercise a day felt like a lifeline to so many. We know that sport plays a hugely important role in people’s lives and in communities,  and to see their sport suffering can be detrimental not only to physical health, but to mental health as well. We’re proud to partner with organisations that can offer additional funding and that we have a platform that can support, help and promote the importance of sport.”

Want to crowdfund for your sport? Crowdfunder is still fee free with in person and online support. Find out more and sign up here.