Introduction

Jack Cooper and his son-in-law Paul Richardson both died in 2022. This fund was set up by their family to honour Jack and Paul and the generous nature that they shared. They also shared a love of sport.

Jack was a talented footballer and badminton player. Paul was a competitive swimmer and water polo player.

As well as sports, the fund will also focus on the arts, especially music, which brought joy to Paul.

The fund will continue Jack’s lifelong connection with his home of Dundonald, and an interest in local history, which he passed on to his daughter Karolyn.

The Community Foundation is delighted to manage this fund on behalf of the Cooper and Richardson Families.

Size of Grant:

Applicants can apply for a grant ranging from £1,000 to £2,000.

Fund Criteria:

The first round of funding will initially support constituted organisations with funding for capital equipment that enables sporting activity.

The Fund for this round has four main aims:

To improve access to sport and physical activity, with a particular focus on supporting facilities in areas of economic need and for those most isolated in communities
To improve the health and well-being of people in Northern Ireland
To provide funding for resources, including equipment for small organisations, who may have limited access to funding opportunities
To remove barriers for getting things done in communities

*Applicants must outline how their application meets at least one of the above aims, however, in the event of a high level of demand we will prioritise projects that meet more than one of these aims.

What can the fund support?

In the interests of being a flexible and responsive funder, the fund will focus on providing support for capital equipment that enables sporting activity and reduces isolation of people.

General sporting equipment – to enable and encourage physical activity, with a particular focus on those most isolated of any age, including older people.
Additional equipment – to enable the expansion of activity or a safer environment for delivery of the activity providing that the equipment will enable the delivery of sport and physical activity.
Minor facility amendments – to enable better accessibility to facilities for delivery of sport and physical activities – *any statutory permissions, if appropriate, will need to be in place and evidenced at the time of application.

Applications should explain why there’s a need for the project and how end users have been involved in developing the project.

Applications should consider how the project adds value to services currently available in your local community, and work collaboratively with other groups to maximise the impact of the project, where possible.

Projects must have their funding spent within 12 months from the date of a letter of offer.

Who can apply?

Constituted organisations, including sports clubs with charitable purposes with income levels of £30,000 or below.
Applicants must be based in Northern Ireland and applying to support projects and beneficiaries from Northern Ireland only.

We will prioritise small, locally based organisations, that find it difficult to access funding from other sources.

We are particularly interested in funding across the whole of Northern Ireland, and so in the event of a high demand for this funding, we will prioritise allocating funding across all Local Authority areas in Northern Ireland.

Closing date is 18th June at1pm. To apply please visit The Cooper Richardson Fund - Community Foundation Northern Ireland (communityfoundationni.org)