How To Kickstart Your Playground Funding Project

Securing funding for your playground project can be a difficult, tiresome process and you may not always know where to start, but remember, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just the first step. Playdale have put together a host of information, ideas and resources to help kick-start your playground funding project and help you on your way to a successful funding application.

Playground Funding Grants

The Association of Play Industries (API) advises committees to be as inventive as possible when it comes to playground fundraising. There are many organisations that provide grants to improve play areas across the UK, and here at Playdale, we want you to make the most of them.

Some of the most successful play projects have used different sources of funding – from Viridor Credits to council match-funding and smaller local fundraising events. Please click here to find an example of how a small community in Cornwall kick-started their playground funding through a number of grant providers as well as local fundraising events.

Smaller local fundraising event such as coffee mornings, parties, sponsored events etc are a good way to raise awareness of your play project. Many new and creative ideas can be found on websites such as Pinterest, where you can search for, and create project boards linking to your fundraising event. These boards can then be shared with committee members or other Pinterest user to spark an interest in your event.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is a fast way of kick-starting your funds by asking a large number of people for online donations towards your project. You can quickly set up a playground funding page and share to your family, friends and the wider community via social media and beyond, helping to get everyone involved and achieve a common funding goal. If you hit your target the money is paid into your account (minus a small charge) If you don’t hit your target, no one is charged.

Playdale Funding Guide

Applying for funding grants is not as difficult as it sounds, and there are many sources of information which can help. Playdale offers a Funding Guide which includes useful advice on how to apply for grants, including funding sources (National and Regional funders) and general advice about the steps you might take when applying for funding.

The most difficult part of applying for a playground grant is writing the proposal. You just need to make sure you demonstrate clearly the needs of the project, including information and evidence showing how the project will benefit the community.

Completing application forms for playground funding grants becomes easier the more you get accustomed to them. If you would like some tips, hints and information about kick-starting your funding project including how to structure your application form, request a Funding Guide here.

As well as our Funding Guide, extra resources and further advice on the playground funding grants can be found on the API website by here.