Ambitious grassroots sport organisation reveals expansion plans

Tyneside-based grassroots sport organisation GiveToLocal continues to pivot in the face of the COVID-19 crisis following the announcement that it intends to create a further 80 jobs nationwide.

The innovative service provider is working with almost 40,000 teams across the UK as it continues to roll out its sustainable income model to 10 sports.

And GiveToLocal has appointed David Broom as its new Corporate Relationship Manager as the organisation focuses on surpassing its new target of creating £10m in additional annual funding for community sports.

“The intention has always been to bring about positive change in terms of how community sports clubs are supported,” said GiveToLocal’s co-founder and CEO Neil Gardiner.

“We can achieve that by working alongside governing bodies, local individuals, SMEs, regional businesses or national and international organisations, with the focus always being on bringing value to the proposition for all parties involved.

“We already have nearly 40,000 teams signed up nationally, which means our service is rolling out to hundreds of thousands of individuals – players, parents, coaches and volunteers – and tens of thousands of SMEs.

“The plan is for more than 1,000 corporate partners to come on board over the next 12 months and that is why we have chosen to appoint David to head up a key role within the organisation.

“The opportunities presented by such a wide user-base mean that GiveToLocal can be a great way for people – individuals or businesses -to support their local community and feel the benefit themselves. Their focus could be B2B, B2C or a mix of both.”

GiveToLocal’s recruitment drive will gather pace once the government further relaxes restrictions put in place as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

The organisation anticipates adding 10 employees to its North East operation and expanding its network of regional representatives across the UK with a further 70 new appointments.

Roles will be split between club engagement, partner engagement and corporate engagement.

And David, who joins GiveToLocal from Moy Materials, where he manages a team of 16 as Director of UK Sales for the Irish building materials firm, said: “I’m so excited to get started with Neil and the team.

“I coach a grassroots football team and I have four kids who would be sat around the house playing on their iPads all day if it wasn’t for the opportunity to play sport within the community.

“I’ve always played grassroots sport and when I first became aware of GiveToLocal and their sustainable funding model I was immediately struck by what a positive difference it can make.

“I’m here to encourage corporate partners across the UK to align themselves with something that’s capable of making a real difference to those communities hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis.

“It’s a role that I’m incredibly proud to fulfil. I see the challenges faced by community sport on a daily basis and I’m convinced GiveToLocal can support grassroots teams when and where they need it most.”

GiveToLocal was founded in 2019 to support grassroots football and expanded its service to include nine additional sports earlier this year in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“David will be a real asset as we look to build our corporate partnership team,” added Neil.

“Our approach has always been to align ourselves to other community-focused organisations and focus on building a model that brings value to those organisations.

“At the same time, we are looking at how we can expand our network, facilitate introductions around a shared purpose and leverage our media and sports contacts for the benefit of our growing corporate community.

“Creating 80 new roles within GiveToLocal will help us to achieve these aims and continue to impact positively on grassroots sport and local businesses.”

To find out more about GiveToLocal visit www.givetolocal.com