Empowering our Communities

Good governance, effective planning and financial stability are all key to future-proofing your organisation and its offer. 

Here are some tools to help you identify areas for improvement, understand your people’s needs and plan your development.

Get Grants opportunities: 

• Application Review Service

• Diagnostics Meeting

• Evaluation Report Service

• Project Development Service

• Prospect Report

• One-to-One Support & Mentoring

Provided by Sport England, Buddle offers information, workshops and more:

• Develop and grow

• Getting help from people

• Safety, welfare and wellbeing

• Being inclusive

• Facilities and spaces

• Getting organised - Governance, Legal structures, Policies and Procedures, Leadership and people

• Money Matters

• Environmental sustainability

Buddle webinars and workshops:

Take a look at courses and book your place.

The rising cost of living, driven by factors like Covid's financial legacy, global supply chain issues, and inflation, is affecting sport and physical activity across the UK. Sport England reports that two-thirds of adults have changed their physical activity behaviour, and these challenges are expected to have a larger impact than previous recessions.

Health and Activity Concerns

This crisis may lead to serious public health issues, including:

• Increased cardiovascular and respiratory problems due to colder homes.

• Poorer nutrition as food budgets shrink.

• Worsening mental health from financial stress.

People from low-income backgrounds, those with disabilities, and older individuals are most affected, with many reducing or stopping physical activity altogether.

Volunteering Decline

Rising costs are also affecting volunteering, with many reducing their involvement to focus on paid work. Organisations struggling with their own rising costs may be unable to reimburse volunteers, particularly in rural areas, leading to reduced participation and diversity.

Local Impact

Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin are identified as high-risk areas, with challenges including poor insulation, reliance on cars, and a low-wage economy.

Support and Resources

Sport England offers guidance to help organisations reduce energy costs. Local councils provide resources for residents and groups:

• Shropshire Council

• Telford & Wrekin Council

Warm Welcomes

Find warm spaces for activities and socialising in Shropshire and Telford:

• Shropshire Warm Welcomes

• Telford Warm & Welcoming Spaces

We are helping the voluntary, community, and sport sector engage with those most in need, where physical activity can have a big impact. 

Our target audiences are...

• People on lower incomes

• People with long term health conditions

• People with disabilities

• People from ethnically diverse communities

Let's work together

We understand how Covid-19 and the Cost of Living Crisis may have affected your organisation and the people you support. Share your ideas on promoting physical activity, and let’s work together to make a difference.

Effective communication can really help the management of your club, community group or organisation. Regular and relevant communications play a vital role in engaging and retaining your participants and volunteers.

It is important to consider your current approach to communicating with your participants and volunteers, the key messages your participants and volunteers might benefit from hearing and how you can quickly plan and deliver improvements to the way you communicate.

Visit Buddle's Marketing and Communications section to learn more. 

Organisations need to understand and communicate with their communities, to determine what they need. This may mean developing a family offer, considering the roles of parents and carers, offering hardship funds, or making facilities more accessible.  

Buddle's guidance explores how to engage women and girls, disabled people, older adults, the LGBTQ+ community, ethnically diverse groups, children and young people, and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. 

Here is some recommended training by subject and provider.

Funding, Sustainability & Resilience:

• Raising Money to Sustain your Organisation - Webinar

• Dealing with Increasing Costs - Share and Learn Session 

• Future planning workshop

• Online Bid Writing in Sports & Physical Activity Workshop

• Financial Planning Webinar

• Exploring legal structures - webinar

• Leadership and governance - webinar

Safeguarding: 

• Visit our Safeguarding page

Providers:

• UK Coaching

• Buddle

• Sported 

• Get Grants

• Ann Craft Trust

• Shropshire Infrastructure Partnership Team

• Future Learn - UK Health Security Agency