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The aim of the Courage-Dyer Recreational Trust, a charity administered by ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ Borough Council, is to assist in the funding of projects which will create and encourage recreational opportunities for residents of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ and the Parish of Rusper.

The Trust dates from the early 1920s when Mr Courage and Mr Dyer left land at County Oak for the benefit of local residents. For years the land remained a recreational area, with playing fields and swings until the County Oak retail development was established in the mid-1980s. The land was sold and the recreation facilities were replaced in Langley Green. The proceeds of the land sale now provide an investment income which is used to assist local groups.

The Trust's main aim is to help local groups to expand their facilities or update their equipment. Various types of financial assistance are available from the Trust, including grants towards capital and other projects and loans with or without interest.

Applications for financial assistance can only be considered for projects which satisfy the objects of the Trust. In broad terms these are to provide recreation or leisure facilities for local residents. Projects can be for new or improved facilities or major work to keep existing facilities in good repair. Land, buildings, vehicles or equipment are all eligible for assistance and every age group is catered for, with priority being given to projects which help children. Grants will not be given to profit-making organisations.

Trustees will give particularly favourable consideration to projects that:

• seek to increase participation in sport and other leisure activities
• involve younger age groups, ethnic groups and disability groups
• create healthier lifestyles
• operate in areas of deprivation

The area of benefit is ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ and Rusper. The following principles are used by the Trustees in selecting projects for assistance:

1. Applications will be assessed on their individual merit but each project should ensure benefits are available for long periods:
   1. land and buildings should be freehold or on long lease
   2. equipment and vehicles should preferably have a life of seven years or more
   3. Running expenses such as the cost of coaching facilities or the hire of facilities will not normally be eligible for grant aid, but this may be considered appropriate in the case of new groups needing a start-up grant
   4. The Trustees will also consider joint funding schemes with the Council (in cases where the organisation has responsibility for operating and maintaining a Council owned facility) to create improvement to facilities that would not otherwise occur and that create a benefit to the type of club/user that the Trust is trying to support
2. A grant for the full cost of a scheme will not normally be provided. Applicants are encouraged to seek other sources of funding wherever possible. The maximum grant awarded will normally be no more than £5,000.
3. Applicants will need to demonstrate that their organisation does not inappropriately discriminate against people on the grounds of gender, race, creed, disability, sexual orientation or age
4. Repetition of grants for any one organisation will not normally be approved more frequently than once in three years
5. Projects should be commenced within 12 months of promise of a grant, failing which the offer of a grant will lapse unless formally renewed by the Trustees. The submission of your application should be timed accordingly
6. If the Trustees decide to make you a grant, it will not normally be released until you have raised the total funding required and are ready to start the project
7. Consideration will not be given retrospectively to projects which have already been completed. Please note that the incurring of expenditure by your organisation in preparing an application or providing any information required by the Trustees does not guarantee that a grant will be made
8. All applications will need to be supported with details of the cost of the project (3 quotes) and copies of the accounts over the last two years
9. The Trustees normally meet three times a year. Depending on when you submit your application there is likely to be a waiting period before it is considered
10. The Trustees or their representative reserve the right to inspect projects during their progress or at completion
11. Where some permission, or licence, or further promises of funding need to be obtained, the Trust reserves the right to make the grant conditional
     

A grant application form can be obtained from the Clerk to the Trustees, The Courage-Dyer Recreational Trust, 
c/o Democratic Services, Town Hall, The Boulevard, ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾, West Sussex, RH10 1UZ OR Email democratic.services@crawley.gov.uk