More than £18 million has been raised for grassroots sport across the UK since 2018, thanks to a trailblazing partnership between Crowdfunder and Sport England — a milestone celebrated last week at a special event in the House of Commons.
The event brought together MPs, funding partners, sports bodies, and community leaders, who gathered to reflect on the success of the matched crowdfunding model and to discuss how it can become a cornerstone of future sports funding in Britain.
Through the collaboration, over 1,000 community-led campaigns have successfully received funding — with Sport England’s +Extra Funding programme matching local fundraising efforts to double the impact. The result has been a wave of investment into sports clubs and grassroots initiatives that might otherwise have struggled to survive.
“This event is a real celebration of two things: the power of sport and the power of community to transform lives,” said Dawn Bebe, Co-CEO of Crowdfunder. “What we’ve built with Sport England is proof that when the two come together, real change is possible.”
Tim Hollingsworth, CEO of Sport England, emphasised the urgency of finding sustainable, innovative models of community funding as traditional sources like the National Lottery become increasingly constrained.
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