About Us
Our Focus
Better Outcomes
Through quality community engagement, we get the right partners on board to maximise the outcomes of your project – social as well as sports development. We collaborate with community partners, ensuring they understand their role within the project and the benefits that can be delivered. This allows us to produce clear and cohesive development plans that demonstrate significant outcomes and added value.
Maximising Usage
Funders consider the amount of use sports facilities will get, and who will be using them, when judging the value of a project and potential for return on investment. We make sure you maximise use, maximise income and that you engage your target groups.
Business Planning
We provide sensible and reliable financial modelling. We can advise on the operational management of the site and give you the tools to ensure that, when you get funding and your facility is built, you know exactly how to run it effectively.
Our Experience
Ben Dunning
Ben established Optimum Pitch Ltd to help Schools, Local Authorities and Sports Clubs to secure large-scale funding for building sports facilities. With more than 20 years in sport and grant funding, Ben brings experience from roles including Economic Policy Manager for Sport at a Regional Development Agency, Programme Manager at Sport England and Investment Programme Manager at The Football Foundation.
Most of his career has been spent developing projects to be assessed by grants panels so he has unparalleled expertise and knowledge in preparing and presenting funding applications. When not shaping new projects, he was monitoring and evaluating operational sites so can also provide expert advice on how they should be run.
He is also a mentor for the FA’s Facility Mentoring Programme.
Angela Dunning
Angela provides research, community consultation and project support at Optimum Pitch. She has worked in Education for 16 years and as a qualified teacher for the past 14 years. She still does ad hoc supply for local schools. Prior to that she worked as a Research and Analysis Officer for Sheffield LEA. She has been a Local Councillor and is a School Governor.
Angela is an active member of any community she’s part of with a passion for inclusion and commitment to accessibility. She has led on numerous initiatives including choirs, playgroups, afterschool activities, gardening club, sports and arts programmes and has delivered projects and fundraising campaigns for local charities and community groups.