Sport England’s Movement Fund
Sport England’s Movement Fund provides small grants of between £300 and £15,000 for organisations in England to get more people active, reduce the number of inactive people and tackle inequalities. Sport England has recently announced that community organisations affected by the recent impact of winter storms, including Storms Bert, Conall and Darragh, can apply to its Movement Fund to help facilities recover quickly.
Sport England’s Movement Fund is effectively the replacement programme for its Small Grants scheme. The Fund has a budget of £160 million available for distribution between 2024 and 2028.
Sport England has just announced that community organisations affected by the recent impact of winter storms, including Storms Bert, Conall and Darragh, can apply to the Movement Fund for Emergency Relief and to help with costs during a crisis, like flood damage from extreme weather. Funding will be prioritised to support sports and activities that need to recover quickly, with spring and summer sports, or where activity is not scheduled to take place for several weeks, being a lower priority.
The Movement Fund provides grants of between £300 and £15,000 to get more people active and increase sports participation across England. Priority will be given to projects where there is the most need, especially those that provide opportunities for those facing barriers to activity, such as:
- Disabled people or those with long-term health conditions.
- Girls aged 5-16.
- LGBTQ+ people.
- Older people.
- People from culturally diverse communities.
- People living on a low income.
- People in foster care.
- People who provide care without pay, and/or
- Pregnant women and parents with very young children.
Projects should address Sport England’s 4 ambitions of:
- Encouraging positive experiences of sport and physical activity.
- Involving the community in planning and delivery.
- Prioritising environmental sustainability, and
- A good use of public money.
Grants can be used for activities that encourage people to become more active, such as cycling, dance, fitness activities, sport and walking. There is no matched funding requirement. Grants can be used for such things as (please note that this is not an exclusive list):
- Equipment.
- Project delivery.
- Training, and
- Upgrading or refurbishing facilities.
Please note that the Movement Fund cannot cover general running costs or football-only projects which are eligible for funding from the Football Foundation.
Further information, guidance and an Eligibility Checklist (called a ‘Suitability Checker’) by Sport England) is available on Sport England’s website. The website also has a page dedicated to funding available for facilities damaged by extreme weather.
Applications may be made at any time. Sport England has stated that applicants should usually allow at least 6 weeks for applications to be processed, although applications for storm damaged facilities may be fast-tracked.