Laureus Sport For Good Foundation

Charity Number: 1111364

Annual Expenditure: £3.6M

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Quick Stats

  • Registered Charity: 1111364
  • Annual Income: £5,495,227 (2024)
  • Charitable Expenditure: £3,580,000 (2024)
  • Programmes Supported: 300+ programmes in 40+ countries
  • Geographic Focus: Global with UK presence
  • Application Process: Primarily invitation-only/strategic partnerships
  • Total Impact: €150m+ raised over 20 years, 6 million children reached

Contact Details

Website: www.laureus.com

Email: foundation@laureus.com

General Contact: www.laureus.com/contact-us

Registered Address: 15 Hill Street, London W1J 5QT

Overview

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation (UK Charity 1111364) was established as a charitable company limited by guarantee (Company No. 05083331), founded by Richemont and Daimler with the Laureus World Sports Academy. Over two decades, the foundation has raised more than €150 million for sport-for-development initiatives, supporting 300+ programmes globally that use sport to transform the lives of young people facing violence, discrimination, and disadvantage. In 2024, the foundation reached over 258,000 participants. The foundation operates through a model that provides not just funding but comprehensive support including training, capacity-building, and impact measurement tools. Their strategic approach involves multi-year partnerships with corporate funders and public sector bodies, rather than open grant applications. The foundation focuses on six UN Sustainable Development Goal areas and operates through strategic city-based initiatives, including the flagship Model City London programme launched in 2018.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

Model City London (Partnership with Nike and Mayor of London)

  • Over £400,000 invested across 25 project grants since 2018
  • Operates in Barking, Haringey, and Hounslow
  • Reached 5,200+ people
  • Employs community coordinators and local coalitions
  • Multi-year strategic partnership approach

Foot Locker Foundation Community Empowerment Program

  • $20,000 - $100,000 per organization
  • Annual cohort model
  • Recent UK recipients include Rio Ferdinand Foundation, ML Community Enterprise, Sports Key, Rising Stars Support, Gloves Not Gunz, Reaching Higher, Besty's Inspirational Guidance, Mentivity, and Community Education Foundation & Lyncx

Core Programme Grants

  • Supporting 300+ programmes globally
  • Multi-year funding relationships
  • Includes capacity-building and technical support beyond funding
  • Average programme support extends beyond financial grants to include training in financial controls, child protection policies, and impact measurement

Priority Areas

The foundation funds programmes aligned with six UN Sustainable Development Goal areas:

  1. Health & Wellbeing - Sport-based interventions promoting physical and mental health
  2. Education - Using sport to improve school attendance, engagement, and retention
  3. Gender Equity - Programmes advancing opportunities for girls and women through sport
  4. Employability - Developing life skills, social skills, and vocational training through sport
  5. Inclusive Society - Combating discrimination and promoting social cohesion
  6. Peaceful Society - Using sport to reduce violence and conflict

Key Requirements:

  • Must use sport as a tool or intervention (not elite athletic development)
  • Target children and young people in disadvantaged communities
  • Address violence, discrimination, or disadvantage
  • Demonstrate capacity for impact measurement
  • Align with foundation's social change objectives

What They Don't Fund

  • Elite athletic training or pay-to-play sports leagues
  • Other foundations or intermediaries without direct programming
  • Government agencies (including schools, parks, or scholastic sports leagues)
  • Projects focused solely on athletic achievement without social development objectives
  • Organizations outside their strategic geographic focus areas
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Governance and Leadership

Trustees

Nawal El Moutawakel - First female Muslim Olympic Champion from Africa (400m hurdles, 1984), IOC member, former Secretary of State for Youth and Sport in Morocco

Sean Fitzpatrick - New Zealand rugby legend, Chair of Laureus World Sports Academy, holds world record for 63 consecutive Test matches, leadership consultant

Guy Sanan - Richemont Group executive since 1998, Laureus World Sports Awards Director, Trustee since 2005

Melissa (Missy) Franklin Johnson - Five-time Olympic gold medal swimmer, maintained amateur status during college career

Nicholas Garside - Company Secretary

Ken Hitchner - Trustee

Governance Structure

The Board comprises members of the Laureus World Sports Academy (who must always be in the majority) and representatives of founding patrons. Day-to-day operations are managed by a Chief Executive, Director of Strategy and Operations, and Director of Programmes and Grants. Trustees meet quarterly to review financial and non-financial KPIs, with strategic targets agreed on a multi-year basis. The foundation's approach explicitly considers the sustainability of funding from principal donors and commercial business revenue streams when planning grant programmes.

Application Process and Timeline

How to Apply

This funder does not have a public open application process. The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation operates primarily through:

  1. Strategic Partnerships - Multi-year collaborations with corporate funders (e.g., Nike, Foot Locker Foundation) and public sector bodies (e.g., Mayor of London, Sport England)
  1. Invitation-Only Funding - Programmes are typically selected through strategic identification rather than open calls. As stated on their US affiliate website: “The grant application process is invite only in strategic locations.”
  1. Geographic City Initiatives - The foundation establishes multi-year programmes in selected cities through partnership models (e.g., Model City London, Sport for Good Cities)
  1. Existing Network - The foundation works with organizations already identified within their network, with selection based on “in-depth needs assessments and consultations”

Organizations interested in funding can sign up for updates at www.laureus.com/sport-for-good/get-involved or contact foundation@laureus.com to express interest, but should understand that funding opportunities are primarily strategic rather than competitive application-based.

Decision Timeline

Multi-year strategic planning cycle. Specific programmes like the Community Empowerment Program operate on annual cohorts announced in December/January for the following year. Model City London operates on rolling basis within established coalitions.

Application Success Factors

Strategic Alignment

The foundation explicitly states they support organizations that “use sport as a tool or intervention to combat violence, discrimination and disadvantage faced by young people.” Recent funded UK programmes demonstrate this focus:

  • Fight for Peace - Community-based boxing/martial arts in London combining sport with education and support programmes
  • Sport and Thought - After-school football with psycho-therapeutic sessions at Newman Catholic College in Brent to combat school exclusion (ROI: £6.58 per £1 spent)
  • Street League - Multi-sport employability programmes
  • The Golf Trust - Health and inclusion through golf

Foundation's Documented Preferences

Sustainable Partnership Approach: The foundation states “sustainable funding is about more than writing a cheque” - they seek organizations capable of engaging in multi-year relationships with capacity-building support.

Local Community Focus: Model City London selection demonstrates preference for “hyper-local focus, with populations of 50,000 – 100,000 facilitating greater impact (depth over breadth).”

Measurable Impact: The foundation emphasizes helping organizations “develop tools to measure the impact of what they are doing” - capacity for evidence-based evaluation is valued.

Cross-Sector Collaboration: The foundation's approach involves “building partnerships with different cross-sector funders to support both short-term needs and long-term ambitions.”

Programme Requirements

Organizations in the Laureus network demonstrate:

  • Organizational maturity - Sustainable organizational structure and governance
  • DEI commitment - Intentional prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Financial capability - Appropriate financial controls and reporting systems
  • Safeguarding - Strong child protection policies and practices
  • Sector engagement - Connection to broader sport-for-development community

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process exists - this is a strategic partnership funder operating through invitation, corporate partnerships, and geographic initiatives rather than open grant competitions
  • Multi-year relationships are the norm - the foundation explicitly designs for sustainability through ongoing partnerships, not one-off project grants
  • Get into their ecosystem - being funded often requires being part of strategic initiatives (city programmes, corporate partnerships) or their existing network of 300+ programmes
  • Geographic focus matters - UK presence is strong but concentrated in strategic locations like London's Model City initiative; new geographic expansion happens through deliberate strategic planning
  • Demonstrate ROI and impact measurement - the foundation highlights return on investment (e.g., £6.58 per £1 for Sport and Thought) and requires evidence-based evaluation capacity
  • Strategic partnerships are the pathway - funding often flows through collaborations with corporates (Nike, Foot Locker Foundation) or public bodies (Mayor of London, Sport England) rather than directly from the foundation
  • Stay informed through their network - sign up for updates, attend Sport for Good summits, and engage with the broader Laureus ecosystem to understand when strategic opportunities emerge

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References