Extracurricular activities, whether sporting or cultural, represent a certain financial cost for parents. To help families in need, there are several financial aids. Leisure assistance, Activ+ coupons, Pass’Sport… Here are the details of the subsidies you may be eligible for.
With the start of the school year, usually comes the resumption of extra-curricular activities. From the month of September, registrations for the various clubs and associations, sports or cultural, are open and inevitably this generates costs for the parents. Between club membership and the purchase of equipment or clothing, this can quickly be a substantial budget for some families. So to help them, the State, the Family Allowance Fund (Caf) and the Mutualité Sociale Agricole (MSA) offer several financial help to partially cover registration for children’s activities, some of which can be combined with each other.
CAF and MSA leisure aid
Some CAFs and MSAs grant families who meet the criteria for recreation aidsalso called “good leisure“, “leisure pass” or “leisure tickets“. This is a subsidy, in the form of checks, to finance your child’s sports, cultural or artistic activities during the school year. There is also thehelp with free time (ATL)which is paid by bank transfer and which makes it possible to finance leisure activities on Wednesdays or during school holidays.
What is the amount of recreation aid?
THE recreation assistance amount is calculated according to family income and the number of dependent children. It can also vary from one CAF to another, the same for MSAs. To give you an idea, the CAF des Yvelines pays, within the limit of the cost of registration, 200 euros of leisure aid for a family daily between 0 and 300 euros or 150 euros for a family quotient between 301 and 600 euros
Recreation assistance form
To apply, families must complete the recreation assistance form provided by CAF or MSA for the 2023-2024 school year (click on the link).
ANCV sports coupons
The National Agency for Holiday Vouchers (ANCV) offers sports coupons, which work like holiday vouchers, to pay for your children’s contributions, membership fees, courses or sports courses. The amount of these vouchers is 10, 15 and 20 euros. They can be used all year round in the partner clubs or associations of the Coupons Sport network, and are valid for 2 years.
These sports coupons are distributed by certain CSEs, COSs, CASs of companies, but also by town halls, general or regional councils as well as the Departmental Directorates of Youth, Sports and Social Cohesion.
Activ+ coupons
THE Activ+ couponspaid by CAF during the month of August, make it possible to pay part of the costs (registration fees, license, participation) of extra-curricular activities of a child aged 6 to 17, whether it is a sporting, cultural or leisure activity, practiced during the school year. These coupons are to be presented within the limit of 80% of the total cost of the activities. They are paid 3 in number, of an identical amount.
This aid is not the same in all CAFs and it is therefore advisable to approach your cash desk to find out both the amount and the procedures for obtaining these vouchers. This aid may also have another name depending on the CAF concerned.
How do I get the Activ+ vouchers?
For get the Activ+ vouchers, families must meet certain criteria, particularly in terms of family quotient. To give you an idea, here is the Activ+ coupon schedule for the 2023-2024 school year of the Caf de l’Aube (click on the link).
State Pass’Sport assistance
Set up in September 2021, the Sports pass is a back-to-school sports allowance, designed by the government for young people aged 6 to 30, from the most modest families who already receive certain allowances (the back-to-school allowance, the education allowance for disabled children or the disabled adult allowance). The Pass’Sport is also intended for students up to the age of 28. Paid during the summer, its objective is to finance registration in a sports club from the start of the school year. It can also be combined with other aid that may be paid by CAF or local authorities. For the 2023-2024 season, the Ministry of Sports announced last June that the Pass’Sport will be extended.
In addition to the ANCV sports coupons, there are other support for extracurricular activities, offered by communities and businesses. Not all companies offer it, but some offer their employees assistance in financing children’s extracurricular activities. The amount varies from company to company and you should therefore contact your works council or the staff association if you work in the civil service.
Some town halls, departments or regions also grant aid to low-income families to finance part of the sporting or cultural activity of their children. Again, this is aid on a case-by-case basis depending on the towns or regions. To find out about the possibilities, you must contact the general and regional councils closest to your home.