Funding explained
Each year we invest more than £250 million of National Lottery and public money to help people play sport and take part in physical activity.
We know that applying to one of our funds for the first time can seem a little daunting, but here we’ll guide you to the appropriate fund and explain exactly what you need to do.
Find the right fund
In addition to our regular funding streams, which have been affected by the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis, we've opened a £16.5m Return to Play Fund.
There were three parts to this fund - Small Grants and the Community Asset Fund, which had been adapted from pre-coronavirus funds, and Active Together crowdfunding, which had been extended - with all three focused on a safe return to play and narrowing the inequalities gap in sport and physical activity.
The Community Asset Fund has now been closed to new applications, but the remaining two parts will continue to focus on these aims by supporting groups and organisations working with Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, people on lower incomes, those disproportionately affected financially as a result of the pandemic, disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, and those experiencing a greater burden of care responsibilities since the pandemic began.
Return to Play: Active Together
Active Together is a crowdfunding initiative that can match fund, up to £10,000, successful Crowdfunder campaigns from a total pot of £1.5m.
With expert advice and guidance to support you, this will help local clubs and organisations to run their own crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising for things such as a loss of income due to the crisis, or any other Covid-19 related needs.
Tackling Inequalities Fund
The Tackling Inequalities Fund has been set up to help to reduce the negative impact of coronavirus and the widening of the inequalities in sport and physical activity.
We’re working with Active Partnerships and selected national partners to connect funding to local community organisations, who are best placed to support our priority audiences through their extensive reach and networks.
Community Leisure Recovery Fund
The Community Leisure Recovery Fund aimed to support community-run leisure facilities with £5m of National Lottery investment to assist the reopening and recovery of their services.
It was an open fund allocated over a single funding round in April and covers the period from 1 April to 30 September 2021.
Please note, this fund is now closed.
Other funding options
Got a Great Idea?
If you could do with a little help but none of our other open funds seem applicable, then you can always just tell us your great idea.
Forget about the application process for now, simply tell us your idea - including ones to help the sport and physical activity sector through the coronavirus crisis - and we'll let you know if it's something we can help you with.
Even if we can't fund you there are other ways we can help, so let's start talking.
Strategic Facilities Fund
Our Strategic Facilities Fund is designed to support the sector to invest strategically so it delivers the outcomes essential to local communities.
This programme is not open via an application process. We work with local authorities and our expert partners to ensure the right major capital projects are in the right places to support our strategic outcomes.
Other ways to generate funding
There are a number of other sources of funding that organisations can apply to and should consider in addition to the programmes we have available.
Find out more about the traditional sources of funding and social sector opportunities out there.
Emergency flood relief funding
If your facilities were damaged by Storms Ciara or Darcy, you could be eligible for emergency flood relief funding.
Please note, this fund will be paused to new applications from 5pm on Friday 30 April.
Evaluation framework
We evaluate our investment programmes to gather learning that improves outcomes for existing and future projects. Evaluation reports show and explain impact and return on investment, increase our insight and support advocacy for further sport investment.
We've designed an Evaluation Framework to help our colleagues and partners to evaluate funding streams and projects effectively, and to get maximum value from measurement and evaluation.
Claim and reconciliation forms
If you've been awarded a revenue grant you'll need to claim your funding and reconcile your expenditure.
