How to Fundraise for Floodlights and Clubhouse Improvements: A UK Guide

Facilities are the biggest fundraising target most grassroots clubs ever take on, and almost nobody funds them from one source. Clubs that get floodlights up or a clubhouse refurbished nearly always combine four things: a grant, local sponsorship, a one-off community appeal, and a steady monthly income stream that runs for the whole length of the project. That last one is the piece most clubs skip, and it's the easiest to start — an online 50/50 draw or club lottery gives you predictable income and proves to funders you can raise money yourselves. Setting one up with Play Fund Win needs nothing up front, takes about ten minutes, and your club keeps its share of every ticket sold.

Start with a number you can defend

Before you ask anyone for a penny, work out what the project really costs. Grant panels can tell when a figure has been guessed.

• Get more than one written quote, and check how long each stays valid.
• Include everything — groundworks, the electrical supply and connection, fencing, drainage, VAT and professional fees, not just the headline kit price.
• Check the planning position early. Floodlighting usually needs planning permission, and councils look closely at light spill and hours of use.
• Budget the running costs. Funders will ask how you'll pay to light and heat it once it's built. A club with a monthly draw already running has a very good answer.

One more thing catches clubs out: security of tenure. Most capital funders want to see you own the site or hold a long enough lease. If yours is short, sorting that out is job one.

Grants: the biggest single lever

Capital grants are where the largest chunks of facility money come from. Depending on your sport and location, investigate the Football Foundation for football facilities, Sport England, The National Lottery Community Fund, your national governing body, your local authority's community funds, parish councils and local charitable trusts.

Two realities to plan around. Criteria and funding rounds change constantly, so check current guidance directly with each funder. And most expect partnership funding — they'll put in a share, not the lot, and want to see the club has raised a meaningful amount itself. Your own fundraising isn't a side project alongside the grant application; it's what makes the application credible.

Build the regular income stream first

Facility projects run over months or years. Bake sales and one-off events don't survive that timescale — volunteers burn out and the total stalls. A recurring draw does, because people who join keep playing.

A 50/50 draw is the simplest version: supporters buy tickets, and one winner and the club share the pot, 50/50 after the platform fee. No prize to buy and no stock to shift — the prize scales with sales, so you never pay out more than you take. A monthly club lottery works on the same principle with fixed prizes. Either way, run it online rather than on paper cloakroom tickets: people join from a link on your socials, and you can show a funder a clean twelve-month income history.

Run a visible capital appeal

A specific, tangible ask beats a general plea every time. Break the project into pieces people can buy: a metre of fencing, a floodlight column, a seat in the clubhouse. Publish the target, update progress publicly and give it a deadline — open-ended appeals drift. Don't forget former players and their families, who often have real affection for the place and no current way to give, or employer matched giving, which many larger UK employers offer.

Sponsorship that suits a build

Facility projects offer sponsorship a shirt can't. Name a room, a stand or a training area for an agreed term, or offer a board on the new fence. And ask local trades for help in kind — an electrician or groundworks firm donating labour can be worth more than a cheque, and it's an easier yes for a small business. Put what you agree in writing, and check the VAT position with your treasurer: sponsorship is usually treated differently from a donation.

Keep the draws compliant

Prize draws in Great Britain are regulated under the Gambling Act 2005, and the rules turn on how you run it:

• A raffle sold and drawn at the same event is generally an incidental lottery — no registration needed, but there are limits on what you can spend on prizes and expenses, and no rolling over.
• A recurring draw or club lottery with tickets sold in advance or online almost always needs registering as a small society lottery with your local licensing authority (usually the council), with annual returns and a minimum share of proceeds going to the club's purposes. Check current thresholds before you launch.
• There are minimum age rules, and online sales require age verification — your ticketing has to handle that properly.
• Describe where the money goes honestly, and never imply the draw is a donation.

None of this is a reason to avoid draws — it's a reason to run them on a platform built for it, so age checks, records and payouts are handled properly.

The mistakes that cost clubs the project

• Pinning everything on one grant. If it's declined, the project dies. Fundraise in parallel from day one.
• Ignoring running costs until the electricity bill arrives.
• One big push, then silence. Momentum matters more than any single event.
• No named owner. These projects need one person accountable for the plan.

If you want the reliable monthly income that makes a facility project fundable, start there. You can set up a compliant 50/50 draw or club lottery at playfundwin.com — nothing up front, live in about ten minutes, and your club keeps its share of every ticket sold.