Growth & Participation Fund
Scottish Rugby has now launched a £1M funding package to stimulate Growth and Participation in the club and schools’ game. The funding stream has been established from the £6.5M Scottish Government funding announced in April 2021.
The Growth and Participation fund will see £5M injected directly into the domestic game over the next five years to support sustainable improvements in player numbers.
A £1M package will be available each year, and is split into two distinct strands; Major Capital Investment (£500K)* and Growing the Game (£500K).
The funding is linked directly to Scottish Rugby’s Strategy and will embrace our strategic priorities Wellbeing, Winning and Women and the following drivers:
Rugby Performance – Achieving sustainable and ever improving progress on the field.
Financial Performance – Ensure a solid and sustainable foundation, a focus on commercial and financial performance.
Transformation – Acting with a mindset of transformation in our leadership, engagement, communication, and approach to a post pandemic future.
People – Creating a working and playing environment that encourages all our people to perform at their best.
If your club is successful, you will receive a grant agreement, stating the purpose of the grant which will contain our terms and conditions, along with monitoring and evaluation requirements.
Your grant is intended specifically for what you’ve applied for, and any proposed changes should be discussed with us in advance, with any invoices/receipts kept as evidence of expenditure.
This fund is supported by Scottish Government, therefore all payments will be subject to Scottish Government review and monitoring processes including freedom of information requests.
*Please note the Major Capital Investment strand is now aligned to the Club Sustainability Fund.
Growing the Game
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Introduction
Aligning itself with Scottish Rugby’s strategic priorities, ‘Women, Wellbeing and Winning’, the Growing the Game strand forms three sub-categories of funding with the aim of supporting sustained growth and development of the community game, with a focus on inclusion and diversity.
There are three distinct categories in the Growing the Game strand of this financial package: Women and Girls’ rugby, Development Environments and State School rugby.
Clubs and schools were able to apply for funding – up to £5,000 and £10,000 – to run a project during the 2024/25 season aligned to one of the sub-categories.
Please note that clubs may only apply to ONE of the three funds.
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Women and Girls’ Rugby Fund: Criteria and Guidance Notes
This fund will support the development of the Women & Girls’ game. Projects considered for this fund should support the development of female volunteers, coaches and match officials as well as those coaches, match officials and volunteers involved in the delivery of the female game. Clubs can apply for up to £5,000 for a project from this fund.
Applications have now closed for season 23/24 however the Criteria and Guidance Notes can still be found below:
Women and Girls’ Rugby Fund: Criteria and Guidance Notes
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Development Environments Fund: Criteria and Guidance notes
This fund will support clubs to improve development environments for players, coaches, volunteers, staff and match officials. The aim of this fund is to create and develop world class environments for clubs to grow and sustain players, harness a workforce and develop volunteers. Clubs can apply for up to £5,000 for a project to improve development environments.
Applications have now closed for season 23/24 however the Criteria and Guidance Notes can still be found below:
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State School Rugby Fund: Criteria and Guidance Notes
This fund will help create more opportunities for boys and girls within state schools to participate in rugby by developing accessible models of support with targeted investment within our regions. Clubs and schools can apply in partnership for either £5,000, £7,500 or £10,000 for a project to increase opportunities for boys and girls within state schools.
Applications have now closed for season 23/24 however the Criteria and Guidance Notes can still be found below:
If you require any further support with your application, please contact your Regional Manager or email [email protected]