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The Volunteer Support Programme aims to increase the number of people playing a leadership role in developing sports and physical activity in their communities. It also aims to support clubs in upskilling new and existing coaches and volunteers to increase participation in sport and physical activity.
This will be done through the delivery of training and education courses to support volunteers in their development as community leaders/coaches of sport and physical activity.
Clubs can receive up to €1000 each towards the training and education costs of their Club Volunteers.
Sports clubs in Westmeath are given the opportunity to set out the training and education courses they propose to implement and outline the benefits this will bring to their club and their volunteers as part of a special funding process.
Sports clubs, and organisations/community groups who provide physical activity in their communities can apply. Priority will be given to those applicants working within disadvantaged areas (Mullingar and Athlone RAPID Area) and or working with people with a disability.
Applications
Westmeath Sports Partnership is calling on Sports Clubs in Westmeath to make applications under our Volunteer Support Programme.
Applications will be accepted from July 19 to August 23.
Grant announcement September 1.
Through a competitive online application process, sports clubs in Westmeath will be given the opportunity to set out the training and education courses they propose to implement and outline the benefits this will bring to their club and their volunteers.
Eligible applicants must:
Be registered to an NGB & based in Westmeath.
Operate as a “not for profit”.
Demonstrate why the additional training and education is required
Demonstrate how additional training and education would lead to continued participation in sport and physical activity.
Ineligible applications include:
Applications from individuals
National/Regional/County Governing Bodies/ Statutory agencies
For profit groups/commercial organisations
Private facility owners
Clubs based outside of County Westmeath
Clubs not affiliated with a National Governing Body
Applications from community organisations/ schools not linked with a club
Courses
Eligible Courses:
Sports specific Coach Education (e.g. Athletics, Basketball, Gaelic, Soccer).
Committee and / or Volunteer education, Administration & management courses.
Child Protection; First Aid;
Accredited courses by Sport Ireland Coaching or a National Governing Body of Sport.
Ineligible Courses:
Courses outside Ireland.
Sport related courses delivered by bodies not recognized under the National Coaching Development Programme or by the National Governing Bodies of Sport.
Generic sports courses delivered by a non-recognized agency.
Day to day running costs (e.g insurance, transport)
Courses not directly related to applicant club/ organization e.g. team building.
Some Sample courses:
Physical Literacy – Sport Ireland Coaching
Coaching Children Workshop – Sport Ireland Coaching
Disability-Inclusion-Training – Active Disability Ireland
Child Protection Workshops – Sport Ireland and Local Sports Partnership
First Aid / AED – Accredited provider
Club Administration / Social Media / Accounts/ Committee skills etc – Accredited provider / 3rd Level College
Note: The costs of course and workshop delivery should be confirmed with each provider.
Responsibility for course and workshop delivery lies with each applicant.
Evaluation
Priority will be given to applications based in RAPID Areas.
Applications with emphasis on participation of WSP target groups will be favoured : Older Adults; Women; Teenage Girls; Disadvantaged Communities; People with Disabilities.
Sustainability and numbers participating.
Ability to generate own funds to support course delivery.
Please note: There is no guarantee of funding of proposals which achieve the minimum eligibility criteria. The fund is limited, and eligible applications will be evaluated on a competitive basis against the criteria being applied. The decision of the grant subcommittee is final.
Terms and Conditions
Successful applicants will be required to submit an expenditure report with supporting receipts within 10 months of receiving their grant. Failure to submit this report in a timely manner will omit the applicant from future funding opportunities.
Clubs/Groups with juvenile members must operate under the basis of best practice for children in sport : a member of the club must have previously attended a Child Welfare & Protection Awareness course (new clubs must commit to attending training where appropriate)
Groups must be affiliated to Westmeath Public Participation Network (WPPN).
A Tax Number or Charity Number is required for all grants.
If successful, it is a requirement of all grant funding that Westmeath Sports Partnership is acknowledged as a source of funding in any publications, leaflets, signage, online etc.
Applications will not be accepted after the closing date.
Due consideration will be given to ensuring an equitable allocation of funds throughout the county.
All questions from the application form are listed below.
1. Name of Sport Club, Community Group or Organization applying
2. Applicant address
3. Contact person
4. Mobile number
5. E-mail
6. Do you work with communities in a disadvantaged area ( Mullingar or Athlone RAPID Areas )
7. Do you work with people with a disability
8. Details of proposed courses/workshops
9. Please proved a full breakdown of costs for the proposed courses/workshops
10. How much of your own Clubs/Groups/Orgs funds are you contributing towards this training
11. Describe how these courses/workshops will increase the number of people of all ages playing a leadership role in developing sports and physical activity in your community
12. How many people will receive this training
13. When do you propose to commence this training
14. Declaration
Link to application form https://forms.office.com/e/za308Pumd6
For more information please contact Westmeath Sports Partnership on 044-9390208 or email info@westmeathsports.ie
You can listen to an interview with our Communications Officer Kevin McGillicuddy with Athlone Community radio about the Volunteer Support Programme here
Interview transciption:
RM: Okay, I’m absolutely delighted to have the Communications Officer for the Westmeath Sports Partnership Programme, Kevin McGillicuddy, on the line. It’s just been announced this past week that Westmeath Sports Partnership will be giving out grants to boost volunteer and education within Westmeath sports clubs around Westmeath and both Athlone and Mullingar. I’m delighted to have Kevin on the line. Kevin, how are you doing?
KM: Hi, Robbie. How are you doing?
RM: Not too bad. Kevin, can you talk to us a little bit about the sports grant? What is the aim of the sports grant and how have you guys decided on the clubs that are to receive the grants?
KM: Yeah, so we’re lucky enough to be able to offer the Volunteer Support Programme again this year, Robbie. So, 20 clubs across County Westmeath can receive up to €1,000 each toward specific initiatives around training and education for their club volunteers. Just over €20,000 was given out to various clubs across County Westmeath last year, and we’re able to provide the money through the Dormant Accounts funding and through Sport Ireland and our various partners in, of course, Westmeath County Council as well. So, we’re very lucky to be able to provide the money for clubs to be able to provide additional coaching support or educational supports to volunteers. And everyone knows, really, if you don’t have volunteers, or if you’re not able to upskill people and keep people trained to the highest standards, then, you know, it’s very important to be able to have that for your club and your organisation.
It’s important that we have the opportunity to be able to provide that. As you mentioned, it opened just last week, just around the middle of July, and it’s open for about a month or so. So, people might be a little bit concerned with holidays for the next week or two in County Westmeath now, but if you’re in a club, you have up to the 23rd of August to be able to apply for the Volunteer Support Programme. And we’re hoping then by early September, we will be able to announce the successful clubs, and then hopefully the money will be passed on just a few weeks after that as well.
In terms of actually how clubs get involved in it, it is a competitive process. It’s an online application form that clubs fill out. There isn’t that many questions, really, just a handful of questions, and I can run through those a little bit later on. But it’s a competitive online process, you’re competing against other clubs, and there is some criteria involved in it, Robbie, in terms of, I suppose, the clubs that would be eligible for it. I can run through those as well. People will be familiar with RAPID areas in Mullingar and Athlone, and we obviously, as a Sports Partnership, have a strong focus on inclusion and helping people with disabilities to get involved in sports activities. If there’s something around that, those are key areas that we’re looking at as well.
RM: Can you maybe explain what the RAPID programme is for any of our listeners who might not be familiar?
KM: Yeah, RAPID effectively is for what would be previously termed disadvantaged areas or areas that would require some investment or would require additional supports in Mullingar and Athlone. And some people in those areas will be familiar with certain community groups operating in terms of maybe youth clubs or social clubs or older persons’ clubs, and engaging with, you know, some gardening programmes or around getting teenagers involved in sport and things like that. So, people in the Mullingar and Athlone RAPID areas—it’s those urban areas. But that’s not to say, Robbie, that people from Kinnegad or Kilbeggan or anywhere else aren’t eligible. It’s not specific to Mullingar and Athlone RAPID areas, it’s for the county. But if those areas apply, their application will be looked at, or they will get a higher score because they’re within those areas. But it is open to other parts of the county, and it’s very important to stress that and people shouldn’t be put off by the fact that Mullingar and Athlone RAPID areas are included as well.
RM: Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned the education in coaching and volunteer administration courses, or management as well. What will go into those courses? Can you maybe bring us through the breakdown of what exactly will go into those courses?
KM: Yeah, well, I suppose it’s quite broad, Robbie. I suppose the first thing I would say is that it’s courses that will be taking place in the future. So, if you did a course last week or last month and you’re looking to recoup the cost, that’s not the business for this. This is for a training course that might be taking place in October or November or December and you’re looking maybe to get somebody upskilled later on in the year. So, it’s not a backdated process.
In terms of looking at some of last year’s successful applications, one of the sports clubs would have applied for money to provide first aid training to around 20 or 22 of their coaches. And they also would have applied for money to provide some defibrillator training, which of course is very, very important as well. In relation to safeguarding, anybody in a sports club will be well aware of safeguarding and the protocols around that. So, some clubs applied for money to be able to carry out safeguarding training specifically for their own club or just for coaches or volunteers and mentors on safeguarding as well. If you are part of an NGB (National Governing Body), whether you’re part of the GAA, a badminton club, or a volleyball club, or whatever it might be, there might be specific coaching courses that your governing body or educational courses that they provide, and you might like to get a hand on those or send two or three people on those. So, official courses from an NGB, whatever sporting organisation you might be tied in with, they’re the type of courses that people are looking at as well. And obviously, in relation to inclusion and disability and getting more maybe children or adults with disabilities involved in sports, people would be familiar with CARA, it’s now Active Disability Ireland. They provide certain level of training courses as well for people. So, it’s about finding the right course, getting people on this, and then filling out the form and being able to say that you have ‘X’ amount of people doing the course, you’re going to have a start date, and you’re looking to spend ‘X’ amount of money on it, and being able to fill out the form that way.
RM: I believe you will be giving first preference to sports organisations such as, I would imagine, the Special Olympics—that kind of an organisation.
KM: Yes, certainly. If you were hoping to upskill some volunteers to, you know, get more children with special needs or additional needs or children with disabilities involved in sports in your local community, then certainly, as I said, they will be marked a little bit higher because we want to get more people, we want to get more coaches in those areas. And if you’re willing to train up more coaches and get more people involved in that, then that is going to be a positive mark for you in relation to it. But again, it doesn’t exclude if you’re just getting somebody on safeguarding courses or, you know, first aid courses or lifesaving courses or whatever like that as well. The marking scheme is well worth it. I mean, there is a lot of money there. It’s 20 clubs where we’re trying to accommodate as many as we can in relation to it. So, it’s important, you know, if people are interested or if they think they have an education or coaching need in their club and they’re looking to fill this, this might be the opportunity for them.
RM: Fantastic. And where can people go to get more information on the grant scheme?
KM: Yes, it’s very simple. We have a page on our website, Robbie. It’s the Westmeath Sports Partnership website, westmeathsports.ie. And in the latest news section, there’s a news article there on the Volunteer Support Programme, or in the Courses and Events section, there is a page dedicated to the Volunteer Support Programme. There is an application form. It’s a Microsoft Forms application form. There’s just 14 questions, that’s very, very simple. You’re looking for the name of the sports club, the applicant address, the contact person, mobile number, email, confirming you work with people with disabilities, and then the details of the proposed courses or workshops, a breakdown of the costs, how much of your own club, group, or organisation will be contributing towards training, and then how will the training impact on your club, how many people will receive the training, when you propose to start it, and then a final declaration. So, there’s not a massive amount of information. It’s all very simple, and anybody in the club that would be well used to filling out these forms. It’s quite simple in terms of following that. And if somebody has any questions or queries, then obviously, if you email us at info@westmeathsports.ie, we would be more than happy to help. But the form is quite simple in relation to that to be able to work their way through it.
RM: Fantastic. Kevin McGillicuddy, Communications Officer for the Westmeath Sports Partnership. Massive thanks for coming on the show, Kevin. Great chat here. Fantastic work that you do in regards to helping out and developing the volunteer network in sports clubs. Maximum, Kevin.
KM: Thanks, Robbie.