Wigton ABC

Project Title: Wigton ABC - Organisational Support 

Funding Received: £5564

Project Outline: Wigton Amateur Boxing Club has seen reduced numbers accessing the provision in comparison to pre-covid times which has had detrimental effects to the financial situation with the club operating on a pay as you train basis. This has left the organisation with a significant monthly deficit, which if it had not been addressed quickly would have caused the club to shut down, losing a much-needed community hub and service.

The Summer months are traditionally quieter within the club in comparison to other times of the year but attendances to classes have been significantly lower this year.

Wigton ABC is a local community asset that has not been getting the engagement needed to be sustainable. It has been significantly impacted through Covid-19 and needs support financially, and operationally to get back onto its feet. This project has involved direct engagement with Cumbria CVS, Cumbria Local Enterprise partnership and further partner organisations beyond this to ensure that the operating model is assessed and amended, ultimately leading to longer term sustainability.

The club needs support in creating a new working model and a plan to ensure that numbers of regular engagement increase. Although currently underutilised, this club has the potential to support the community in many different ways and is open to doing so with the correct advice and support. The initial importance was to ensure that they have the finances through this fund to survive the coming months to allow for time to be invested to support the infrastructure and implement a plan moving forward.

This project will cover all club monthly outgoings for 6 months along with covering an outstanding utility bill to give the club opportunity to start to build up some reserves and access other potential funding opportunities, and sources of advice and support to make them more resilient and sustainable moving forward. 

Alongside this project there has been lots of work with Wigton ABC to assess the current situation, looking at possible future funding avenues, marketing plans and engagement with service users. There are also plans to link in directly with local volunteer services and the local enterprise partnership to look at everything in more detail from a ‘business’ (sustainable model) point of view/perspective.