Austerity measures have not only forced the government to cut NHS funding and review the benefits system, it has also halted playground funding. This has resulted in local authorities closing playgrounds or abandoning new projects because of their restricted budgets. We all know that children benefit greatly; socially, emotionally and physically from having regular access to a well maintained playground.
Voluntary committees and community groups are increasingly becoming responsible for providing and maintaining playgrounds. Knowing where to apply for playground funding is essential for the survival of local playgrounds.
Often playground upgrades are inspired by new parents who spend lots of time in their local playground with their toddlers. They have the opportunity to scrutinise existing equipment and consider improvements that can be made. If enough parents decide they want to make a difference they can either join an existing committee or in the case of a brand new play area a new committee can be set up.
Enthusiasm and ideas can only be put into to place if playground funding can be secured. Money can be raised through sponsored events, table top sales and fun days but they are time consuming and take a long time to accumulate the necessary funds. Playground funding needs to be supported by the acquisition of grants as they provide a large injection of cash.
Structuring your playground funding campaign is a lot easier than it sounds because playground equipment manufacturers generally provide playground funding packs that give you all of the information you need. Playground funding grants are readily available as long as you know who to get in touch with.
Playground funding packs include a comprehensive list of companies and organisations who will issue grants as long as your paperwork is completed correctly and fulfils their criteria. Without a doubt the process of securing playground funding involves hard work and dedication, but by following the instructions in your playground funding pack, the journey can be a little easier.
The Playdale playground funding pack includes the following pieces of information:
Request a playground funding guide.
There are a number of ways to start playground funding including grants, donations and innovative fundraising events. PTAs, playground committees and whole communities raise money to establish, maintain and update their playgrounds. Securing playground funding ensures schools and public play areas are available for children to exciting equipment to play on.
Organising events to raise money for your playground is a great way to bring the community together. Recruiting a good fundraising team from the local community brings a wealth of experience and ideas. Here are some exciting and fun ideas to help with playground funding.
Choose a theme such as pirates, superheroes, fairy tales, children’s stories, Christmas or Halloween. Decorate the venue to match the theme, enlist the services of a children’s entertainer and choose lots of tasty food. Ask local businesses to either donate or lend items such as a bouncy castle, plates, prizes and goody bags. Charge an entrance fee for each child and have a jolly good time.
Programmes such as The Great British Bake Off has made baking extremely popular for everybody. There is nothing more exciting than watching people create delicious and beautiful cakes. There are two ways to do this type of event the first way is for the cakes to be baked at home and brought in for judging.
Secondly, arrange for three local chefs to compete against each other making a dish of their choice in front of an audience. The audience tastes the food and votes for the best one. People really enjoy watching professionals in action so this type of event will raise a lot of money and generate publicity.
Organising a popup carwash is a brilliant way to have fun and provide a valuable service at the same time. All you have to do is find an accessible location with a clean water supply. Stock up on sponges, buckets and washig liquid. Make sure you have a large number of volunteers to take shifts throughout the day. Publicise on local sale sites, newspapers and display a large banner directing prospective customers to the carwash.
Music festivals are extremely popular especially if they are family friendly. They involve a lot of hard work and require lots of support from volunteers. Local bands an businesses are keen to offer their services free of charge in exchange for free publicity. They can be held indoors or outside depending on how much work you are willing to put in. Combining an outdoor music event with a family fun day increases the footfall and provides activities for the children who are going to benefit from the playground fundraising.
