Apply for a UK Grant

Step 2 of 3:  UK Programmes 


Sport for Change

  1. 1. Background

    • Over recent years there has been a growth in the number of agencies thinking about the positive role sport can play in our lives.
    • As well as the more obvious health and participation benefits, there has been growing awareness of the broader social, emotional and cohesion opportunities that sport can bring. Comic Relief is interested in these benefits from sport, rather than any health or participatory benefits.
    • The 2012 Olympics have also helped put ‘sport for good’ onto the public agenda.

    Since 2002, we have funded a range of sports-based projects exploring how sport can be used to bring about positive change. Work has included looking at how sport can help to tackle conflict in communities, as well as bringing improvements to the lives of people who are isolated or excluded. While sport alone will never be the solution to poverty, it can work in conjunction with broader community programmes to bring about changes such as increased engagement and a reduction in isolation.

    We have developed this new programme to support a range of innovative projects that are using sport as a tool for making a real difference in the communities in which they are based.

  2. 2. Aim of the Programme

    The aim of this programme is to understand more about how sport can play a part in delivering positive change within the lives of individuals and communities, and to meet one or more of the outcomes listed below.

    We also want to understand:

    • how sport can be used as part of a broader programme to achieve a measurable social change
    • how basing the work in community development principles can increase the impact of the work
    • the different monitoring and evaluation systems being used to track change

    Examples of social issues or community concerns could include substance use, crime related problems, integration, exclusion of older people, community cohesion, gangs or knife crime, mental health, and young people at risk. These are examples only and we welcome applications for work tackling any social issue so long as the need for the work is clearly explained.

  3. 3. Outcomes

    The organisations we fund will need to show how their work will help deliver one or more of the following outcomes

    • Increased sense of inclusion and well-being by marginalised and disadvantaged people
    • Greater community involvement
    • An increased understanding of how sport can help bring about positive changes in the lives of individuals and communities
    • Greater knowledge across the community and sports sectors about effective work which uses sport as a tool for social change

    4. Who will we fund?

    We welcome applications from community groups and organisations using sport as part of a broader programme of work to bring about change at an individual and /or community level. We particularly want to fund organisations working to support people from BME communities, older people and women/girls. We also want to receive applications from all parts of the UK – from Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. We will fund across all age ranges and within a broad range of communities.

    We are happy to receive applications from consortia of agencies as long as there is a lead community-based organisation.

    5. Other Important Information

    This programme aims to fund projects that are using sport as a tool for social change. We are therefore especially interested in seeing a clear programme of work that supports the sporting activities, and thus we cannot fund:

    • Projects which aim only to increase participation in sport
    • Projects aiming to develop sporting excellence
    • Individual athletes or sports teams
    • One-off sporting events

    The maximum grant size in this programme is £100,000 in total.

    If you would like to talk to us about whether your work meets our criteria please ring us for a chat. (Contact us)

    How to Apply: Our next grant making cycle is now open. You will now be able to access the expression of interest form so that you can begin your application. Please do not send electronic or hard copies as these cannot be accepted. The deadline for submitting your expression of interest on-line is 3 September 2010.

    Full Proposal: If your application is chosen for further consideration you will be invited to submit a full proposal, again on-line. We are usually able to let you know the outcome of your expression of interest within 3-4 weeks of the cycle deadline. You will then have 3-4 weeks to submit your second stage application.