MK Ace Tennis has been set up to make tennis affordable and accessible for all in Milton Keynes and Bucks. Our 3 strategic aims are Personal Development, Facilities and Campaigning. Now that we have charitable status this will enable us to access increased amounts of funding and support, that wasn’t available before. MK Ace Tennis consists of a board of 5 trustees and an executive committee who carry out the work, which includes John Cavill as the Chief Executive, Paula Musekiwa as the Head of Office and Katie Monsey as the Events Manager.

The organisation has been operating since 2002 as The Community Tennis Club, a not-for-profit organisation. In September 2009 the organisation rebranded itself as MK Ace Tennis, to improve it’s public image, raise its profile and prepare for the move to Charitable status.

Since 2002, the organisation has successfully accessed numerous small grants to deliver affordable and accessible tennis to all in the community of Milton Keynes. In 2004, the club came 3rd in the Annual Community Awards that were hosted by North Bucks Chamber of Commerce and in 2005 we had the largest summer tennis camps in the UK, with over 1500 children attending.

However, in recent years the club has been struggling with managing growth. The main two areas of concern are staff and beneficiaries. With the need for more staff as the service we provide is in high demand, the club needs to recruit more people to service the public and increase the opportunities on offer.

The key restriction is financial, hence the strategic move to transform MK Ace Tennis into a charity, which will open up numerous opportunities to attract funds and increase our delivery capabilities.

Ultimately we aim to provide our unique services to as wide a part of the Milton Keynes and Bucks community as possible delivering facilities, recreational and coaching opportunities to the less privileged members of our society.

Our charity registration number will be available within the next 15 days and we are working with a Fundraising Consultant to prepare funding bids for future projects. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer and helping people through tennis, then please contact us.

Released: 15 February 2010