For years, the provincial arm of sport governance, like many governments, distributed micro-grants to sport organizations with the best of intentions but without clear expectations or structured support. The result? Money flowed, but meaningful change didn’t always follow.
Too often, funds landed in the hands of organizations that lacked the capacity or expertise to turn dollars into development. Without oversight or a framework for success, the investment felt more like a well-intentioned hope than a catalyst for progress.
When this specific province approached us for advice on doing things differently, we outlined a bold new approach—one built on strategy, structure, and leadership.
- Stop the “Spray and Pray” Approach. Instead of distributing money with little oversight and no follow-up, we recommended a more intentional strategy: targeted funding with clear accountability measures. Every dollar had to drive measurable improvement, not just check a box.
- Pull, Don’t Push. Rather than pushing money out indiscriminately, we advised structuring the funding as an opportunity that organizations had to qualify for:
- A fixed pool of funding designed to provide tangible support rather than just financial relief.
- A limited number of spots, available only to organizations that met specific readiness criteria.
- A transparent application process, ensuring alignment with the program’s goals and maximizing impact.
- Invest in Leadership. Money alone doesn’t solve problems—leadership does. The missing piece in most funding models is expert guidance. We proposed embedding an experienced leader into the process, ensuring recipient organizations received more than just funds—they got the mentorship and support needed to succeed.
The response was overwhelming. The available micro-grants were over subscribed with sport organizations eager to be part of a structured, supportive, and outcome-driven model.
This shift highlights a fundamental truth in sport development: throwing money at problems doesn’t fix them—strategy, structure, and leadership do.
This provinces’ new funding model didn’t just allocate dollars—it built a pathway for success. And that’s a playbook worth following.
The Systems Thinker Applied to Sport
The Problem:
A sport organization notices troubling symptoms: declining participant retention, coach development, parent dissatisfaction, or stagnant attract – retain – growth metrics.
The Quick Fix (Symptomatic Solution):
To address the symptoms, the organization might:
- Run flashy clinics or camps to boost short-term engagement
- Replace staff or shuffle leadership roles
- Launch a new marketing campaign
- Push out more rules, policies, or communication materials
These responses may relieve pressure temporarily and give the impression that action is being taken. But they don’t address the core issues driving dissatisfaction, burnout, or poor development.
The Real Fix (Fundamental Solution):
The root cause often lies deeper:
- Misalignment between values and operations
- Poor coach development and support
- Inadequate communication with families
- Lack of a long-term player development model
- Organizational governance that rewards status quo over change
Solving these problems takes time, honest reflection, and structural change—but leads to meaningful and lasting improvement.
The Trap:
Because the quick fix appears to work in the short term, it becomes the default response. Over time:
- The organization becomes reliant on superficial solutions
- Real problems are ignored or postponed
- Morale declines, trust erodes, and participation continues to drop
- Side effects—like disengaged volunteers, frustrated parents, or high staff turnover—accumulate
The Big Picture:
When sport organizations consistently prioritize short-term relief over long-term solutions, they unintentionally reinforce the very problems they’re trying to escape. The longer the real work is delayed, the harder it becomes to rebuild.
Check out this case study for further information: