Club Improvement Fund reopens for applications
The Club Improvement Fund has reopened for applications, offering vital support to clubs across the country.
Applications will be open from 19 March until the end of April, and the panel who will approve funding will meet in May, with applicant clubs to be contacted afterwards.
Click here to apply for the Club Improvement FundLast year, we gave grants worth £60,000 to 127 affiliated clubs through the Club Improvement Fund.
There are a range of different ways that clubs can use the funding to improve their club, whether that be supporting with the transition to new age group categories on 1 April, the recruitment and training of new club volunteers, or increasing retention of junior athletes.
Some of the support we provided through our Club Improvement Fund included:
- 61 affiliated clubs receiving a grant for coach education courses, which aim to increase coaching workforce, provide high quality sessions to members, increase capacity in clubs, therefore growing the club.
- 56 affiliated clubs receiving a grant for a specific project, which included club website development, social media campaigns, marketing assets, new equipment (for example for Sportshall, funetics, and new age group changes specification equipment), facility enhancements, volunteer recruitment events, volunteer rewards and recognition, volunteer training, activities to recruit new members, and disability athletics training days.
- 10 clubs receiving grants for both coach education and projects.
About the fund
The Club Improvement Fund will provide grants of up to £500 to support clubs with projects that aim to reduce some of the barriers they are facing. We want to fund projects that will help clubs to provide a safe, sustainable and welcoming environment for their athletes and runners.
We are particularly interested in funding projects that cover one or more of the following areas:
- Recruitment and training of new volunteers to add capacity or enhance member experience.
- Supporting members to reach their potential through the development of existing volunteers or provision of new club experiences.
- Increasing retention of junior athletes through the modernisation of the club and competition experience.
- Enhancing how clubs recruit and engage with new members.
- Supporting clubs with the transition to the new age group categories.
Criteria
The Club Improvement Fund is open to all England Athletics affiliated clubs, with priority given to clubs who have not received funding in the past 12 months.
Additional criteria:
- Clubs who received Club Improvement Funding for coach education last year will not be eligible to apply for coach education grants this time but can apply for other projects.
- Clubs must be compliant with all 7 Club Standards and proactively embedding each Standard into the day-to-day running of your club.
- Clubs who received Club Improvement Funding in September-December 2025 will not be eligible to apply for further funding this round.
If you would like to speak to someone about Club Standards prior to putting in your application, please contact the Club Support Manager for your region.
Click here to apply for the Club Improvement FundHelping clubs around the country
South West
Cheltenham & County Harriers successfully applied for an England Athletics Club Improvement Grant ahead of the 2025 season to overhaul their ageing club website.
With support from two knowledgeable volunteers, the club moved to a new hosting platform and refreshed the entire site. The updated website now features improved imagery with greater photo and video capacity, simpler and more intuitive navigation, and stronger two-way links with the club’s social media channels.
Members also benefit from an interactive club calendar and an enhanced database of club records. The club reports excellent feedback from members and prospective members, alongside a significant increase in engagement from athletes, parents, and guardians.
Crispian Webb, Chairman at Cheltenham & County Harriers, said:
"The new website has been well received by our club members. The site is far easier to maintain and there are fewer barriers to keeping things live which improves everyone’s user experience with the website. We are excited about future plans to develop the website even further with the addition of a log in Members area, 'How to’ videos and other content. Thank you to England Athletics for the Club Improvement Fund grant."
North West
West Cheshire AC are another club who benefitted from the Club Improvement Fund last year, helping them buy equipment to host the Sportshall Athletics county finals.
"West Cheshire AC are really grateful for the funding received to purchase a standing long jump mat which has enabled club members to practice for the club’s involvement in the North West Sportshall League, as well as being an integral piece of equipment for the Cheshire Primary and Secondary Schools Sportshall Athletics Finals which took place at Ellesmere Port Sports Village and attracted 20 schools."
Yorkshire & Humber
Bedale and Aiskew Runners were also successful in securing funding from the Club Improvement Fund. They are a small but growing club with membership of just on 100. The funding has been used to fund the development of a new Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF) to support the ongoing growth of the club's coached sessions and the development of their runners. In addition, they used the funding to purchase a timing clock display and some small hurdles allowing the coaches to build new and varied training sessions. Club Chair, Mark Temple said:
Click here to apply for the Club Improvement Fund"With the funding being used so proactively, we have seen the coached sessions grow hugely in the last 12 months which is great to see and more impressively is the growth of our runners which is absolutely amazing. Thanks so much for your support.”
South East
Crowborough Runners are based in East Sussex and received £500 in the 2024/25 round of funding to help streamline their membership process and improve their digital ecosystem.
At the time they were using a paper-based system which required manual completion of a membership form, which then had to be scanned and uploaded to be sent to two club committee members to approve. Club Secretary Bob Archer remembers:
"Processing was slow and inefficient and didn't reflect the modern image that the club wanted to portray."
The club applied to the Club Improvement Fund to upgrade their membership process and reduce the hours spent by volunteers at the club on paperwork, with additional ambitions to develop their social media, marketing and website over the next 3 years.
The benefit of this funding allowed the club to recruit and retain new members, the success of which has been reflected in their membership numbers jumping from 167 in 2024 to 209 currently.
"With the digital system we now have in place, membership confirmation can be communicated within 24 hours of the application being made and usually after attendance for a 'taster' session at one of our weekly track sessions. A win-win for the club and prospective members."
East Midlands
Erewash Valley RC received £500 funding towards their project to develop provision for existing athletes and attract new members to join.
The club utilised funding to qualify a new Run Leader, through completing the Leadership in Running Fitness (LiRF) course, which will help the club develop their Couch to 5k programme and attract new members.
Alongside developing opportunities for new runners, the club also used funding to subsidise a series of coached track sessions for members, in order to support athletes and develop their running.
West Midlands
Kids Run Redditch received £225 of funding to support the club's development of their volunteer workforce, with funding being used to support new volunteers to complete the Leading Athletics course as well as help qualify new Welfare Officers. Club Chair, Jason Furness, said:
"The Club Improvement Funding has been really valuable for Kids Run Redditch. The funding allowed several of our volunteers to complete courses, which has helped strengthen the knowledge and confidence within our volunteer team.
"As a community-led junior running club, we rely heavily on volunteers, so being able to invest in their development has made a real difference. It means we can continue to provide a safe, well-organised and enjoyable environment for local children to take part in running and physical activity each week.
"We regularly see close to 100 children attend our sessions, so having trained volunteers in place helps us maintain quality delivery while supporting the club’s continued growth."