These sessions will empower our members to navigate the funding landscape with greater assurance by equipping them with strategies and tactics to build stronger resilience and succession planning across their fundraising portfolio.
Grant bidding is increasingly competitive and complex with the number of bidders rising by an estimated 9% per year. Further to this, funding pots and fixed multi-year grants are not aligned to inflation, meaning they are worth less in real terms than forecast.
This means that making sure your funding bid is comprehensive, professional, and high-quality has never been more important.
Fit For Your Funding Future
Our members have shared that present conditions are creating more uncertainty for bidding organisations, with resources diverted to revenue generation, as opposed to delivering their primary mission.
This is why the Alliance has teamed up with Mark Walker – founder of Oaks Consulting – to provide a workshop to support your organisation to be best positioned to capture crucial future funding.
In-person training with sector peers is available for an exclusive member rate of just £50 per person, a 50% discount on the usual price for this session.
The training will take place at the Sport and Recreation Alliance offices in Central London on Thursday 6 July. The morning event is aimed at organisations working with a smaller budget, while the afternoon event is tailored to those who operate with a larger scale budget.
Due to expected demand, the session is limited to 40 spaces and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.
The workshop will be aimed at introducing and outlining the organisational strategies and tactics available to help meet present challenges. Critically, we will focus on ‘controlling the controllables’ such as the internal structures, governance architecture, planning and preparation any organisation can put in place to help navigate the existing funding landscape.
This training will involve knowledge sharing and two-way conversations about the current and future funding landscape. Our aim is for these sessions to be the first in a series, co-created and shaped by attendees to support your long-term financial sustainability.
About Mark Walker
Mark Walker owned and managed Oaks Consultancy from 2007 – 2019 and is an experienced voice in providing funding, strategy and business planning support to clients in the not-for-profit sports sector.
During his time at Oaks, they delivered many millions of pounds of funding support to clients to support their transitioning from core funding settlements alone so they could maintain their current size, and in many instances helping them to grow and diversify.
Now independently consulting on specifically targeted projects and commissions, Mark focuses his support to help businesses, often reliant on dwindling funding settlements, to explore and develop sustainable income streams and strategies, independent of their core funding.
“Mark’s significant background across commercial, charity and sport position him with huge credibility in advising charities in the sports sector around business and operational planning.
“We asked Mark to deliver a project for our Charity Network (a broad range of charities from small in size to large) on fundraising and the importance of diversification of income.
“Mark did a great job from start to finish and, we received excellent feedback from participants. We would have no hesitation in considering using his services again.” - Tom Gibbins, Head of Education and Community Tennis at the LTA & LTA Foundation
As 2024 concludes and as we look ahead to 2025, the Alliance has published a message to members and partners.
Read more
Are you looking for an opportunity to work in the UK sport and physical activity sector and play a leading role in supporting and promoting a network of impactful and inspirational members?
Read more
Sport and Recreation Alliance responds to Active Lives Children and Young People report.
Read more
Joining the Sport and Recreation Alliance is pretty simple, but worthwhile!
Register now
