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Active Lives funding

Through Active Lives we make grants totalling about £700,000 per year. Due to an extremely high volume of applications we were only able to provide a contribution towards 10% of the applications received in the last funding round. Therefore, the Trustees have decided to focus our limited resources on those who live in the top 40% of areas of deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation deciles 1-4). More information on this can be found below. Work in the top 10% most deprived areas (IMD decile 1) is our highest priority. To avoid wasting your time, please ensure you meet our revised eligibility and funding criteria before starting an application.

Type of funding: We will consider applications for capital, project or core funding.

Location of project: Anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Grant amount: We accept applications for £5,001 – £30,000

 

Funding criteria

All applications to Active Lives MUST:

  • Offer high-impact, life-enhancing opportunities for those who live in the top 40% of areas of deprivation (IMD deciles 1-4)*

and / or

  • Remove barriers to participation for people with disabilities, especially those living in the most deprived areas (as defined by IMD)*

 

*Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD):

  • We use IMD rankings to help us assess levels of deprivation.
  • Work in the top 10% most deprived areas (IMD decile 1) is our highest priority.
  • Applications for work in deciles 5 -10 are NOT ELIGIBLE to receive funding unless they are disability focussed. Disability projects in deciles 5 – 10 are eligible but a lower priority for funding.
  • Regional / nationwide projects MUST demonstrate their current effectiveness in supporting people in areas of high deprivation

You can check the IMD for the areas in which you are working using:

 

Applications MUST also:

  • Focus on grassroots involvement rather than elite participation in physical activity
  • Focus on skills development and confidence building for individuals
  • Incorporate effective strategies for wider impact, perhaps through training, partnerships and/or dissemination activities
  • Demonstrate a high degree of beneficiary involvement across the organisation and those with lived experience 

Funding priorities

Applications which evidence that they meet the funding priorities below will have the best chance of being successful.

Meet income level priorities 

  • In your last set of accounts, your organisation’s annual income was under £5,000,000

Focus on deprivation 

  • Provide high-impact, life-enhancing opportunities for those who live in the top 10% of areas of deprivation 

Are experienced 

  • Have significant experience using physical activity to engage disabled individuals and/or living in the most deprived areas

Provide high impact opportunities 

  • Focus on using physical activity to provide opportunities for individuals to build their personal skills and self confidence 
  • Are committed to removing barriers to participation in these life enhancing opportunities for disabled individuals and/or those living in the most deprived areas

Prioritise grassroots and community engagement 

  • Prioritise grassroots involvement rather than elite participation in physical activity 
  • Have Trustees, staff and beneficiaries who include people with personal and lived experience of the challenges your community faces 
  • Understand your community’s needs   

Demand excellence 

  • Support, implement and disseminate best practice
  • Seek to have a wider impact, perhaps through training, partnerships and/or dissemination activities
  • Have a strong leadership and can show us the difference your charity has made in your community
  • Have good governance in place including signed Safeguarding and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies, and efficient financial processes. 
  • Are best placed to deliver the solution 

Have an entrepreneurial mind set 

  • Operate with ambition, inspiration and determination 
  • Have a vision for your charity’s future 
  • Seek to find ways to maximise the impact of your work, including the sharing of information with others 

Work with integrity  

  • Act responsibly, respectfully, reflectively and transparently  
  • Know your strengths and challenges 

Strive for sustainability 

  • Seek to deliver significant outcomes that leave a legacy 
  • Have plans for financial and environmental sustainability for the initiative and organisation 

Eligibility criteria

Your project / activity must:
  • take place in the UK
  • provide opportunities for personal or skills development through participation in physical activity
  • meet the needs of people who are living with disabilities and / or living in the most deprived areas
Your organisation must:
  • be either a registered charity or a registered CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club) 
  • have been registered with the charity regulator for two years or more (charity applicants) 
  • have been registered as a CASC for two years or more (CASC applicants) 
  • have produced independently examined or audited accounts for at least one full year of operation 
Previous grants and applications:
  • If you have received a grant from PHF before, it must be at least two years since you submitted your final grant report. 
  • If you have applied to PHF before, it must be at least 1 year since you were notified your last application was unsuccessful. 

We do not fund

  • Organisations who already have an active grant with PHF
  • Individuals 
  • Community Interest Companies (CICs) 
  • Exempt charities
  • Requests for retrospective funding
  • Activities that are primarily the responsibility of central or local government
  • Overseas projects
  • Adventure challenges or expeditions in the UK or abroad
  • Projects that are solely for the promotion of religion
  • Capital works solely to fulfil building regulations regarding accessibility, without strong evidence of existing engagement with target audiences
  • Work in IMD deciles 5 -10 unless it is disability focussed. Disability projects in deciles 5 -10 are eligible but a lower priority for funding.

When to apply

Our Trustees meet quarterly to consider grant applications. The timescales for assessment and decisions are: 

Application deadline Decision
1 January 30 April
1 April 31 July
1 July 31 October
1 October 31 January

 

Find out more

Eligibility checker

Before you start an application, it's important that you use our eligibility checker to ensure you are eligible to apply to our grant programmes.

FAQs

Find answers to some of the most common questions we receive.

Case studies

Read a selection of case studies that showcase some of the amazing work the Foundation has supported over the last 25 years