RFU Winter Survival Fund

Application process is now open
Following our communication on Wednesday 10 February, applications are now open for the Rugby Union Winter Survival Fund.

What is the Rugby Union Winter Survival Fund?

Made possible by Government's Sport Winter Survival Package, the Rugby Union Winter Survival Fund is a fund that aims to support community clubs at Levels 3 and below that have been severely impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.

The funding offered will respond to each club's financial need to survive the coming months but won’t replace all lost revenue or profits over the last 12 months. The objective is to ensure rugby union clubs survive the winter period and minimise the long-term damage to participation.

The first stage of support for the Community Game sees grant funding.

Please remember there are no guarantees that you will receive funding - clubs will be required to clearly demonstrate their financial need for funding to ensure survival – the funding will only be available on this basis and subject to due process.
 
 
 
Information on Criteria & how to apply
Will my club qualify?
• Funding for clubs must be allocated on a financial needs-led basis and will largely be small-scale funding commitments specifically for the winter period 1 October 2020 to 31 March 2021 that can be clearly evidenced by invoices or receipts.
• The specific criteria that clubs will need to fulfil as part of the assessment can be found below.

How do clubs apply?
• Information about the process and terms and conditions can be found here.
• The online application form can be found below.
Criteria
Application Form
 
 
 
Deadline
• Application deadline is 5pm, Thursday 25 February 2021 - this is a hard cut-off point.
• Clubs have 13 days to complete their applications.
• We appreciate timelines are incredibly tight between the process opening and closing. These timelines are outside of our control, so we need to pull together and mobilise quickly to ensure clubs who need this financial support to survive complete their applications in time.
 
 
Further information
Where can clubs find further information?
• FAQs are located below.
• If clubs are unable to find an answer to their query, please contact ClubSupport@RFU.com We will respond as quickly as possible.
FAQs
 
 

Potential Loans Programme
In addition to the allocation of up to £23m in grants, the Independent Board of the Sport Winter Survival Package have approved the mobilisation of a loans programme to support urgent infrastructure requirements of Rugby clubs at Levels 3 and below. This will also be needs-based, to support essential infrastructure for survival and sustainability.

We aim to provide further information on this next week to gauge the levels of interest in the loan scheme. Again, timeframes for initial (non-binding) response will be tight and the deadline for an initial indication of interest will also be Thursday 25 February.