Sports Development Foundation Scotland
The Sports Development Foundation Scotland (SDFS) is a registered charity[1] established in late 2007 to allow individuals and corporations in Scotland and internationally that are interested in helping finance the development of Scottish sports facilities and increasing the competitiveness of Scottish sportsmen and women through the improvement of sports facilities.
The charity is a registered, non-share holding company No: SC312077[2] and helps sports clubs, universities, sporting bodies, local and national government identify funders from the private and public sectors and individual donors, These donors will help finance the development of sports facilities in the public and private sectors that will benefit the whole community. Donors can choose the project(s) to which they wish to donate.
To date, there has been limited finance available for the development of facilities for local sports organisations and for the sporting requirements of the greater communities. SDFS was formed to address that funding gap.
There has been a notable problem in the financing of new sports facilities as various grant providers will not provide funding in the early development stages that would include professional fees to develop the projects such as architectural, surveying, business planning etc. This funding gap limits their opportunity to develop and then pursue other sources of funding to develop the project. SDFS allows donations to be used to pay for these professional fees.
Each approved project can endeavour to raise as much capital as will be required to complete the facility and there are no limits on the number of times a club can use SDFS to finance projects in the future.[3]
SDFS will help projects identify sources of finance from other organisations and sources and will look to develop strategies with other grant providers and SportScotland to maximise the effectiveness of new developments.
Historical development
Better Stadia Developments Scotland (Charity) Limited was incorporation date: 16 November 2006 at Companies House,[4]
founded in the Hunter Centre at Strathclyde University, Scotland with advice from the Scottish Institute of Enterprise.[5]
On 10 December 2007, the Better Stadia Developments Scotland (Charity) Limited changed its name to the Sports Development Foundation Scotland with the charity being based in Glasgow, Scotland.
SDFS launched its first fundraising campaign in December 2008 and started to develop strategic partners with Scotland’s sporting bodies.
Inaugural project
SDFS is currently developing its first initial project and will shortly start to target further clubs for support.
Declaration in the Scottish Parliament
The motion on 23 January 2008 was announced to the Scottish parliament with regards to the Sports Development Foundation Scotland formation by Michael McMahon MSP.
S3M-1360 Michael McMahon: The Sports Development Foundation Scotland-That the Parliament welcomes the creation of the Sports Development Foundation Scotland (SDF), a new charity based in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland which has been formed with the aim of increasing funding for local sports facilities by allowing individuals and companies to donate directly to a specific sports project either by location or type of sport that they enjoy; notes that the sports projects will then be showcased on the SDF website; recognises that this is a cost-effective way of providing capital for grassroots sports facilities which will be available to all local sports clubs throughout Scotland, and believes that the charity should be considered by the Scottish Executive for any future sports projects where an alternative method of financing could be appropriate. [6]
Raising Finance For Scottish Sports Facilities
The ability of SDFS to allow on-line donations from anywhere in the world maximises the funding opportunity for each sporting project.
SDFS accept donations on behalf of relevant approved sporting organisations and has been founded to display proposed projects on the charity’s website.
The charity will also help synchronise local donations from corporations and/or individuals that wish to assist the development of grassroots sports that benefit the local community.
SDFS will also help clubs identify other sources of funding that may be available and will work with other organisations to increase funds available.
The charity will also be able to accept donations in the form of wills, regular financial contributions and other methods of donation.
Fund raising will not be restricted to Scotland and individuals can raise money from anywhere in the entire world.
Volunteers
SDFS will look for volunteers to not only help them raise money but get involved in the administration and operation of the charity. Some individuals can raise money by doing sports related fund raising such as the London Marathon. SDFS is also going to register on www.justgiving.com to allow people to generate donations online. The charity will also look to establish a network of regional fundraisers throughout Scotland.