Sported

Sported is a charity registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales (charity number 1123313).

Sported exists to make sure no-one is left on the sidelines, so that everyone and every community has the opportunity to thrive through sport. It turns grassroots sport into a tool for preventing social challenges by equipping community groups with funding, expertise and volunteer support. Across six programmes it distributed a total of £1.57m in grants to 1,233 community groups. Its Cash4Clubs grant programme provides £2,000 to help adults stay or get active.

Priority Areas

Sported funds grassroots sports clubs and community organisations across the UK, particularly groups that are overlooked by traditional funding and those in deprived or underserved communities. It supports sport and physical activity as a means of helping people and communities thrive, with grants broadly unrestricted and focused on outcomes so organisations can decide how best to use the funding. It places applicants at the centre of grant-making, aims to reduce barriers through simplified applications and proportionate due diligence, and supports groups that have little funding experience. Its grantmaking is accompanied by capacity-building, practical expertise, training and volunteer support to help community groups become more sustainable, inclusive and effective.

Themes

• Grassroots sport

Geographic Focus

The UK; England; Scotland; Wales; Republic of Ireland.

Organisations can apply to the Community Grants Programme and Cash4Clubs, alongside other programme-specific opportunities. For the Community Grants Programme, check which Trust area applies, prepare answers using the guidance and submit the live application form with required documents; only one application is allowed per round. Cash4Clubs applicants submit an application and due-diligence information, including a governing document or registration number, recent organisation bank statement, and safeguarding, health-and-safety and insurance declarations.

Deadlines: Funding round dates vary according to where an organisation is based.

Application windows:

• Barclays Community Sport Fund – Female coaches for girls grant: Open until 5pm on Wednesday 4th November
• Cash4Clubs: Launching on 1st October

Who can apply:

• Network membership
  • Based and constituted in the UK.
  • Delivering or supporting sport, physical activity or movement to people of any age.
  • A non-profit group/organisation/club.
  • Profit making, but intending to use any profit for public good not for personal or shareholder gain.

What to send:

• Postcode Lottery Community Grants Programme
  • A governing document in the name of your organisation.
  • Your organisational accounts.
  • A bank statement dated within the last 3 months.
  • Safeguarding information.
  • If applying for funding for capital developments, evidence of ownership or long term lease on the facility.

Applying again: Postcode Lottery Community Grants Programme: Organisations funded through Postcode Lottery programmes within the last 12 months. 12 months must have passed from your last payment date.

What the charity says:

• Sported targets organisations that do not traditionally receive funding and minimises barriers through simplified applications and proportionate due diligence.
• It supports organisations that may struggle to complete applications and have little experience applying for funding.
• For the Community Grants Programme, the organisation’s mission and impact in its community are the primary decision factors.
• For the Community Grants Programme, Sported prioritises organisations focused on supporting underrepresented groups.
• For the Community Grants Programme, Sported gives priority to organisations that have not received its funding before.