Press release and graphic by BaseballSoftballUK.
BaseballSoftballUK is delighted to announce the first five recipients of the Facilities Fund, with £12,050 being directly invested in grassroots facility development projects this year. As part of BaseballSoftballUK’s (BSUK) Two Sports, One Ambition Strategy launched in August 2020, BSUK reaffirmed its commitment to help grassroots baseball and softball organisations across the UK to become stronger, safer and more sustainable. A key part of the commitment was creating the Facilities Fund to support Chartered clubs and leagues to develop and improve their facilities, with BSUK committing £50,000 over the next five years allowing for clubs and leagues to use the investment not only to support facility developments, but also act as a lever to attract further match funding.
The Facilities Fund attracted a great deal of interest, generating a significant number of high-quality submissions. Working through their BSUK relationship manager, clubs and leagues were supported as they worked through their applications ahead of the February deadline for submission. With the Fund oversubscribed for applications, the role of the independent assessment panel was crucial in helping investment decisions.
As Luis Arrevillagas, BSUK Development Manager explained, “We wanted to have a range of assessors reviewing the applications. The panel included Facility Managers, Commissioning Officers and Funding & Partnership Managers from various partner organisations across the UK, all with significant experience in this area.”
Successful applicants
We’re particularly keen to congratulate the work of the club administrators and volunteers who spent considerable time developing their submissions.
BaseballSoftballUK is delighted to announce the following awards:
- Birmingham Baseball Club – £2,000
- Bracknell Baseball & Softball Club – £2,000
- Bristol Baseball Club – £3,800
- Guildford Baseball & Softball Club – £3,000
- Wolverhampton Baseball Club – £1,250
As a result of the direct investment of £12,050 by BSUK, the five recipients will collectively benefit from an additional £30,000+ of investment from partnership activity. All five of this year’s projects will focus on grassroots baseball development.
Funding will be made available to the clubs from today, 1 April 2021. BSUK’s Development Team will continue to work closely with these clubs to support their facilities development and monitor the investment awarded to them. However, BSUK is also committed to work with unsuccessful applicants to seek other funding investment for their facilities and to support them in submitting applications during future Facilities Fund application windows.
Chris Rawlings, Head of Development at BaseballSoftballUK, was thrilled with the Fund’s first cycle, saying, “It was great to see the high number of high-quality applications submitted to the new Facilities Fund. I know these awards will make a significant difference to the clubs involved and the playing experience for their members. Congratulations to all five successful clubs; I know they all worked tirelessly to achieve the match-funding required to be eligible. The assessment panel did a great job of providing clear and independent advice on the applications submitted. We are committed to this Fund for at least the next four years and will be working hard to support chartered clubs and leagues on future applications.”
Applications for Year 2 of the Facilities Fund will open in October 2021 and clubs are advised to work closely with their BSUK relationship managers from now to get their club ready for it.
For more information on the Facilities Fund, get in touch with your chartered relationship manager or email facilitiesfund@bsuk.com.
Read more about the Facilities Fund here.