Boston Wheelers Go-Ride Cycling Club is just one of the clubs that has been successful in applying for Sport England Small Grants funding, securing £5,090 to develop its Go-Ride section.

The Small Grants scheme uses Lottery funding to make awards between £300 and £10,000, to help more people play sport.

Following the club's successful application, we caught up with Club Coach, Ken Syrett, to find out a bit more about the process involved in applying and the impact the funding has had on the club.

How much did you apply for?

We applied for £5,090 and were successful in securing all of the funding. It funded the set-up of our Go-Ride club from scratch, including paying for coaching qualifications, equipment, facility hire and promotion of the project, amongst other things.

How easy was the process of applying?

It was as we expected really – it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that difficult either. We were well supported by Anthony Gill, British Cycling’s Regional Development Manager and Steve Crosland, the Go-Ride Coach for our area, who were both incredibly helpful. The process also helped us to concentrate on how to run the club most effectively.

How long did the process take from start to finish?

We started the application in October 2012 and submitted it before Christmas the same year. We were contacted around January with a request for some additional information around our application. We found out we had been successful in April 2013 and received the funding in our club bank account within six weeks.

What impact has the funding had on the club?

The impact has been incredible; it has turned the club around. We went from having 30 members to over 100 members after setting up the Go-Ride section of the club. We also used the opportunity to gain Clubmark status at the same time, as we had to compile lots of evidence about the club for the funding bid anyway, it made sense to use it for completing our Clubmark accreditation as well.

Do you have any advice for other clubs thinking of applying?

Have a clear plan on how the money will be used to benefit the club and think about how you will be able to measure the outcome. So, for example, how many members you wish to attract. Be sure to include everything you want money for as it is better to ask for more. You will be surprised what you can include, for example hire of facilities, coaches expenses and even buying tape!

For more information about applying for funding via Sport England’s Small Grants scheme, please contact your Regional Development Manager or visit the funding section of Sport England's website.

Further funding opportunities - British Cycling’s Coaching Bursaries

British Cycling is continuing with its coaching bursary scheme, which will help club volunteers to apply for a financial contribution to attend either a Level 1 or Level 2 Coaching course.

Funding is available to Go-Ride Clubs to help keep the costs of the course to a minimum - £120 for Level 1 and £150 for Level 2 courses.

Go-Ride Clubs can gain two Level 1 bursaries and one Level 2 bursary per year

Applications are prioritised with young people enlisted on the Cycling Award for Young Volunteers programme being given first priority and club volunteers next in line.

Andrew Pink, a Young Volunteer from Charlotteville Rascals Go-Ride Club, has recently benefitted from a coaching bursary to help him gain his Level 2 Certificate in Coaching Cycling. Andrew said: “The bursary has helped me so much; I simply wouldn’t have been able to complete the course without it.”

For more information about the coaching bursary scheme, please contact the Go-Ride team on 0161 274 2070 or go-ride@britishcycling.org.uk.