Building the Outdoors
Outdoor activities provide young people with opportunities to connect with nature, build resilience, and develop crucial intra and inter-personal, social and physical skills. However, ensuring that these activities are inclusive, accessible, and environmentally sustainable requires more than enthusiasm—it demands thoughtful planning and sustainable funding.
For outdoor sports organisations working with young people, securing the necessary resources is often a significant challenge.
In this section, we’ll explore:
- International and National Funding Opportunities: A list of grants, sponsorship programmes, and partnerships to support youth-oriented outdoor sports initiatives.
- Eco-Friendly Tools for Outdoor Sports Organisations and Activities: A collection of practical tools designed to promote sustainability in sports and outdoor activities.
- Impact Measurement: Techniques for evaluating the success of your activities/programmes.
Unlocking Funding Opportunities: Tips, Tools and Resources
Accessing funding opportunities is crucial for outdoor sports organisations, enabling them to expand their impact, enhance sustainability, and reach more communities. Below, you will find a range of tools, tips, and resources to help navigate both national and international funding streams.
Funding opportunities in the European Union
Numerous funding streams are available within the European Union to support initiatives promoting outdoor activities, environmental sustainability, and social inclusion. From grants and sponsorships to public-private partnerships, these opportunities can provide the financial backbone needed to expand and enhance your programmes.
National funding opportunities
Tips and Tricks for Fundraising
We gathered a collection of practical tools designed to promote sustainability in sports and outdoor activities. These resources offer guidance on organising eco-friendly events, fostering nature connectedness, and integrating environmental education into youth programmes.
- SEE- TOOLKIT
The SEE toolkit, is based on a six-stage process, which can be used as a guideline, that will structure and plan environmental training in Outdoor Sports. (Learn more about the project here) Access the toolkit here - Good Practice Toolkit by Outdoor Event Planning (2019)
This toolkit, developed in Northern Ireland, provides templates, checklists, and questionnaires, among other resources, to improve the sustainability of outdoor events. It adheres to the Leave No Trace ethos, aiming to minimize the negative impacts of human activities on ecosystems. Access the toolkit here - Erasmus+ “Eco-friendly Sports” Project (2021)
This resource is designed for trainers, sport experts, and youth workers. It includes practical recommendations on organizing eco-friendly sports events and offers tools to enhance engagement within sports activities using sustainable methods and concepts. Access the toolkit here - Carbon Measurement Tool
The Carbon Measurement Tool was developed as part of the Beyond Horizons project to encourage youth organizations to adopt sustainable travel standards within Erasmus+ mobility programs and to learn how to reduce and offset travel emissions.
The collection of impact data from Erasmus+ mobility participants allows to compare with different alternatives and to offer sustainable travel solutions (avoiding flights, using night trains, mutualising transport). Furthermore, once the level of emissions is measured, different scenarios can be considered and the amount of carbon to be offset can be quantified according to an economic value.
More resources will be available on this section. Stay tuned!
Beyond Horizons Impact Measurement System (IMS)
The Beyond Horizons’ IMS represents a comprehensive mechanism to measure the impact of a project in terms of mental health and well-being, social interaction, environmental engagement and connectivity within the young people involved.
The importance of having a tool that allows us to monitor and evaluate activities is multiple. On the one hand, the evaluation system allows us to constantly readapt the activities to make them more effective and improve their positive impact. It also allows us to identify the exercises or activities that are most successful against the identified barriers. On the other hand, getting feedback on the results of the activities on the target groups allows us to reinforce the objectives and to create a narrative that allows us to use the tools of inclusion and participation in a positive way.
Resources and more information will be available soon. Stay tuned.