Coronavirus: help, advice and contacts for club leaders

Monday 30th March 2020

scottishathletics are very keen to support our member clubs at this difficult time.

This initial update is primarily focused on finance and hopefully will provide useful information for our club leaders.

Financial planning

Many of you will already have started to review your financial forecasts following the social distancing measures that have been implemented in Scotland.

As well as reviewing your expected income and expenditure for the coming months we would like to remind you to consider the impact on your budget of any non-recoverable financial commitments already made and a potential reduction in income from membership fees and reduced member retention.

Hopefully your club already has in place a reserves policy which has helped strengthen your current financial position, however if you do not already have one in place please access the resource section of ClubServe or contact your National Club Manager for a template policy.

If you would like support in planning your finances for the year ahead, please do not hesitate to contact your National Club Manager.

The finance review in the ‘club reviews’ section of ClubServe is also worth revisiting if you haven’t already done so.

Financial support

scottishathletics is currently liaising with sportscotland and the Scottish Government to understand what financial support may be available to sports clubs and charities (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations) in response to coronavirus.

Any information that becomes available will be communicated to member clubs as soon as we have it.

Whilst some clubs will be able to offset the loss of income with a reduction in expected expenditure (e.g. facility hire and bus hire) we appreciate that for other clubs the impact may be more significant.

If you are concerned about the immediate viability of your club, please contact your National Club Manager at the earliest opportunity.

Gift Aid

For clubs with charitable status you can claim gift aid on donations, potentially including your membership fees.

The information sheet from our partners at BDO provides further information for you to review.

If your club has charitable status and is not yet claiming gift aid, please call BDO free of charge for an initial review of your position.

As part of our partnership, BDO offer scottishathletics member clubs a significantly reduced fee to help them set up for claiming gift aid. Their expertise can be crucial in understanding how your club can maximise their return from gift aid.

Clubs already claiming gift aid can also call BDO to discuss whether they may be able to increase their return.

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Tru Wealth

In addition to their sponsorship of the Tru Wealth Road Race Series and individual athletes, Tru Wealth have launched their new Cash4Clubs initiative for scottishathletics member clubs.

Cash4Clubs is a funding scheme giving athletes, their friends and family the chance to earn cash back for their clubs to improve facilities, purchase new equipment, gain coaching qualifications, and invest in the sustainability of their club.

The objective is to work with scottishathletics member clubs to spread the word about the modern, accessible and professional financial services provided by the forward-thinking team at Tru Wealth.

As a reward for any business successfully referred to Tru Wealth, they’ll make a payment of £100 to your club on completion of the transaction.

So, share this information with your athletes, coaches, officials, parents and supporters to encourage them to view Tru Wealth’s services. Make sure they tell Tru Wealth that they have been referred by your club!

The type of services provided by Tru Wealth include Financial Planning, Mortgage Advice, Life Insurance, Income Protection, Critical Illness Cover and Private Medical Insurance in association with Vitality UK.

Follow the below link or review the attached welcome pack for more information.

If you do decide to speak to Tru Wealth, please let them know which club you are part of the Cash4Clubs project

Case Study

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scottishathletics Contacts

All scottishathletics staff are now working remotely until further notice.

The administration staff at scottishathletics will be available on the following numbers:

Carol Robison (Membership) – 07391 845 783

Allan Hamilton (Performance) – 07379 770 788

Caitlin Watt (Events) – 07718 526 373

Angie Sutherland (Coaching) – 07393 674 262

Lena Zulawnik (Finance) – 07340 996 631