Eligibility criteria

Applications will be assessed using two sets of criteria.

The first will determine whether they are eligible for funding; the second will be used to assess the extent to which they will achieve the outcomes Sport England is seeking.

We anticipate receiving applications for more projects than we are able to fund. The criteria set out below have therefore been designed to enable us to identify those projects which will make the most significant contribution to our outcomes.

Who can apply?

All bona fide and legitimate organisations with a written constitution (such as a Memorandum and Articles of Association) or statutory powers can apply for this funding.

This includes sports clubs, voluntary or community organisations, local authorities, education establishments (such as schools, colleges and universities) and national governing bodies of sport.

Private sector organisations are also eligible to receive funding, provided they can demonstrate that the project is for the public good or a charitable purpose and that neither the company nor its shareholders will receive any financial gain.

If the applicant is an unincorporated body, we will need to see its constitution to ensure that it does not contain unnecessary restrictions on membership and representation.

Applications from an individual, sole trader, or partnership are not eligible for funding.

Please note that in this context “partnership” means an organisation that is legally constituted as a partnership, not an organisation which simply happens to use that term in its name, for example a county sports partnership.

If you are applying for a capital grant, please note that the management of Lottery-aided facilities (unless they are publicly-owned, for example by a local authority) should be in the hands of  the users, with all playing members eligible for election to the managing body.

Projects must also:

• Benefit people living in rural communities as defined in the relevant section below
• Relate to a recognised sporting activity
• Include an element of partnership funding in cash or in kind
• Not yet have started.

Only certain types of cost are eligible for Lottery funding; a comprehensive list of eligible revenue and capital costs can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Definition of rural

We are using the Local Authority Classification, introduced in 2005 by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), to define the areas eligible for this fund.

The new Local Authority Classification gives six urban/rural classifications. These are defined as follows:

1. Major Urban: districts with either 100,000 people or 50 percent of their population in urban areas with a population of more than 750,000
2. Large Urban: districts with either 50,000 people or 50 percent of their population in one of 17 urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 750,000
3. Other Urban: districts with fewer than 37,000 people or less than 26 percent of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns
4. Significant Rural: districts with more than 37,000 people or more than 26 percent of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns
5. Rural-50: districts with at least 50 percent but less than 80 percent of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns
6. Rural-80: districts with at least 80 percent of their population in rural settlements and larger market towns.

Sport England will only consider projects which benefit people who live in areas classified as Significant Rural, Rural-50 or Rural-80 for the Rural Communities Themed Round, numbered 4-6 above.

Please see the DEFRA spreadsheet listing all local authorities. Take a look at the numerical classification column to see how DEFRA classifies the local authorities that are relevant to your project.

Projects must benefit people living in rural communities (as defined above). A project can be located outside a rural area, but the primary beneficiaries must be people who live in a rural community.

Capital and revenue funding

You can apply for either capital or revenue funding or a combination of both.

Capital grants can be used to contribute to the costs of new build, modernisation or major fixed equipment. The purchase of sports equipment is eligible for both capital and revenue funding however costs of non-fixed, non-sports equipment is not covered.

Revenue grants cannot be used to fund the running costs of the applicant’s organisation.

A comprehensive list of what we can and cannot fund is found in the Frequently Asked Questions.