All the boxing activities that go on in your club are supported by a strong club structure which ensures everything takes place in a safe secure environment.

On this page, you will find guidance about four different areas of club development: governance; finances and funding; marketing and social media, and facilities.

In this section, learn why governance of your club is important and five key principles of good club governance to help you put it into place.

Governance refers to the way an organisation or club is run and makes decisions including:

• the systems, processes and policies they have in place
• how the people that lead the club are held to account about the direction they set and the decisions they make.

Why should a club put good governance in place?

There are lots of benefits of having good governance, including:

• Creating a welcoming and inclusive offer that meets people’s needs.
• Meeting your legal responsibilities by putting robust and reliable processes and policies in place.
• Making confident, timely, good decisions and effectively putting them into action.
• Improving the confidence of your people and investors.
• Meeting funding requirements. ‘A Code for Sports Governance’, from Sport England and UK Sport, provides guidance for organisations of all sizes and is a condition of funding for any organisation in receipt of funding from Sport England or UK Sport.

Therefore, it is worth looking at Sport England’s Code for Sports Governance in a bit more detail.

It uses a framework of five Principles of good governance. They are:

• Structure.
• People.
• Communication.
• Standards and conduct.
• Policies and processes.

This video from Club Matters introduces each of the five principles:

Click into the tab below to examine the Principles in more detail.

It's important to maintain a delicate balance between activities that generate additional income and the delivery of the core functions of a boxing club. Read on to learn more about managing your club’s finances, applying for funding and sponsorship.

Managing your finances

How does your club manage its finances?

If you need support managing your finances or with other club financial matters, you might want to consider getting involved with the England Boxing club support programme.

The subscription conundrum

How much to charge your boxers and how to collect their money are questions you have no doubt pondered over many times.

How much to charge?

It’s a tricky one, as you don’t want to turn anyone away if they can’t afford it, but, at the same time, the club needs the income to pay the bills.

In this video, Wayne Bloy from Fusion BC discusses their pricing structure.

How do you collect subscription/fees?

Many clubs these days use a subscription/membership model. This means members pay a monthly or yearly membership fee that covers all or part of their fees.

There are many different ways of doing this to allow flexibility but can have many advantages:

• Guaranteed income that you can keep track of easier.
• Less handling cash, ensuring you know where it all is and reducing admin work.
• Bank transfers or direct debits can help this process even more.
• Easier record keeping of who has and hasn’t paid.

Online banking can also provide you and all appropriate people in your club with instant access to your account and reduce the need for visiting the bank in person.

This helps avoid administration errors and potential fraud. It also allows you to keep track of all income and expenditure instantly and put in place security processes.

It can also help your club members as you can offer discounts for monthly or annual payments. You can also apply rules and exemptions easier.

In this video, Dave Rimmer from Wimborne ABC discusses their business and pricing model, including how to work out prices to charge and the benefits of a monthly subscription.

Funding

Are you thinking of applying for funding for your club in the future?

Often boxing clubs are in a good position to apply for grant funding, due to the location of the club and the great work they do in and for the community.

However, applying for funding can be a daunting process, especially if you haven’t done it before. Below, we outline a few tips about how to get started with a funding bid.

1) Start with a development plan

Taking the time to think about what you want the club to achieve in the long-term is a great starting point. Any funding projects can then be aligned with this development plan. This will put you in a stronger position when applying for funding, as you can show the project has been thought through fully.

In this video, Wayne Bloy from Fusion BC discusses their 4-phase development plan.

2) Do your research!

Find funding opportunities that are currently available (funding is often short-term and changes often). Search locally as well as nationally, for example your local Police & Crime Commissioner has funding that you might be able to apply for.

Here are some examples of successful funding applications from boxing clubs:

• Power to Change.
• UK Youth.
• Police Crime Commission.
• Awards For All.
• Sport England Return to Play.
• Queen's Platinum Jubilee Fund.
• Fight For Peace.
• Sported.

It's also a good idea to check out your eligibility to apply or receive funding. For example, you might need to be a club of a certain size or have a certain amount of members.

3) Plan the project and finances

Working out how much money you need to deliver the project is vital. Be realistic! The funder wants the project to succeed, so make sure your budget will cover the costs.

4) Write your application…and get some support!

You’re now ready to apply. Why not join the In your Corner club support programme to help you get started?

Sponsorship

Sometimes, the answer is right on your doorstep!

Building relationships with local businesses can benefit both sides. You raise revenue with relatively little effort (in comparison to say, funding applications), while the business raises their profile and hopefully sales or opportunities.

Additionally, people within your club can benefit from, for example, discounted rates or introductory offers at the sponsor’s business.

In this video, Alex discusses making the most of sponsorship.

Top tips for attracting sponsorship

Have a plan

Take time to put together a plan for potential sponsors. Offer a range of sponsorship opportunities to cater for different amounts of money, as well as different offers.

Could you get any of the examples below sponsored?

• Kit (such as shorts, training kit, or gloves).
• Equipment (such as pads or a bag).
• Facilities (such as a ring or banners).
• Events (such as fights or social events).
• Activities (such as a new initiative like female boxing).
• Travel (such as a minibus).
• Website adverts.

Think about who to target

Think about which businesses fit best with your club, your values and your role in the community. Target local businesses who might benefit from raising their profile in your club or the boxing community, and think about which business in a particular sector would be the best fit.

Build a relationship

A straight financial support is the obvious and most straightforward deal, but it could be that, with a little more thought, you can benefit in other ways.

This could include:

• Providing club kit or equipment: a kit supplier could provide at a discounted rate for their logo on the kit.
• Discounts: for supplies, events or services.
• Providing facilities or services: such as for a social event or competition.

Keep the relationship sweet: don't just take the money and run!

Follow up with a newsletter or thank-you email, or invite people to a club event showing club success and how their sponsorship has benefitted you. Remember to mention sponsors in any press releases or social posts, too.

All this can help yo seal an ongoing relationship that can be renewed.

Take a look at how you can use the power of marketing and social media to bring more people into your club, expand the range of sessions on offer and raise your profile.

Marketing your club can have many benefits. It can help attract new participants and members and volunteers or staff; keep good communication with your current club members and raise the profile of the club locally and nationally.

All of this can lead to:

• growing the club
• increasing participation
• raising money or sponsors
• possibly increasing the chance of funding applications or facilities.

In the modern world, digital marketing and social media is a big part of life, but sometimes, a poster, leaflet or advert can be the best form of marketing – it depends on lots of factors.

Once you have thought about this, it is worth considering the best medium to use to get your message out. If this is through social media, try to find out which sites are the most popular amongst your members of people you are trying to reach.

It is also worth thinking about what the different sites offer, for example closed groups on Facebook.

In this video, Dave Rimmer from Wimborne BC discusses how they use social media, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

Top tips

In this video, Nick Griffin from Heart of England BC gives some top tips for using Facebook and social media.

Social media safety

Unfortunately, there are risks with social media, such as:

• cyberbullying
• causing offence to other people or organisations
• exposure to inappropriate content.

Developing a social media policy and appointing a social media officer are good first steps to safeguarding your members online.

For more information, guidance and tips around using social media, check out the CIMSPA digital marketing hub.

A boxing club is more than a facility, but the facility needs to be there, safe and accessible for members to gain benefits from the club. Read on to learn more about how you can protect, improve and develop your club’s facilities.

As the quote above suggests, in a boxing club, a welcoming environment is more important than the quality of the facility. The location of the club in the heart of the community is more important to creating this warm and welcoming environment than appearance of the venue.

The club is on the doorstep so there is no need to travel far and club coaches are well known with members and members parents, It is always worth keeping this in mind when making decisions about facilities. However, having the right facilities is a key part of running a successful club.

Leasing a facility

If you currently hire a facility and you want more regular use, you might want to investigate leasing a facility. A boxing club can often lease a facility from a local authority or commercial business. Try to obtain a lease for a long period, to protect the club as much as you can.

If you are interested in obtaining a lease on your facility, it would be advisable to seek further support, such as through the In Your Corner club development support programme.

Asset transfer

Do you think your facility is a valuable asset to your community?

Did you know you can help protect your facility from developers by listing sports facilities as Assets of Community Value. This then means the local community has the right to bid for them.

Community Asset Transfers mean local authorities can transfer the management and operation of facilities to local community groups in the Voluntary and Community sector or statutory bodies, often at a vastly discounted price if there is a benefit to the local community.

Taking control of your assets in this way can:

• help your club grow
• develop new opportunities
• secure their future
• help you be more engaged with local people and organisations.

In this video, Wayne Bloy from Fusion BC talks about how they secured the club facility by asset transfer.

Keen to investigate this further?

This Sport England Toolkit provides a step by step guide.

Additionally, this legal transfer map provides the legal process behind Community Asset Transfers.

Owning your own facility

If you're at the point where you would like to own your own facility, you probably need to look into securing funding in order to build or develop existing facilities.

Check out Sport England’s resources on facilities and planning to help you get started.