Young People Physical Activity & Sport Hardship Fund 2024/25

***Please note the fund is currently closed for applications and will reopen in early 2025***

Active Together is looking to support young people from Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, in the greatest financial need, to access physical activity and sport. The Young People Physical Activity & Sport Hardship Fund is aimed at helping young people overcome financial constraints affecting their continued involvement in physical activity and sport as a participant, official, coach, volunteer or talented sportsperson:

1. Participant – for young people who are not able to access sport or physical activity due to the cost of membership fees/subs or who may need support with the purchase of kit or equipment required to participate.
2. Coach/Official – for young people who have a passion for coaching or officiating in sport but are unable to access coaching or officiating courses/qualifications due to the cost of training.
3. Volunteer – for committed young people who would like to give their time to volunteer in sport or physical activity, however they may face barriers such as the cost of transport to access the activity.
4. Talented sportsperson – for young people who compete at a Regional, National or International level however cost is a barrier to travelling to competitions, purchasing equipment etc.

Eligibility Criteria and Guidance

• Young people should be aged 21 years or under on 31 March 2025, or up to the age of 25 for young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND).
• Young people must live in Leicestershire, Leicester or Rutland (i.e. pay council tax here).
• Priority will be given to:

1. A young person's financial need, including (but not limited to) household income, free school meal eligibility, nature and cost of the sport or activity.
2. Applications from young people from low socio-economic backgrounds, ethnically diverse communities and those with a disability or long-term health condition.
3. Young people who have not received funding from other organisations.

• For young people under the age of 18, applications must be completed by a parent or guardian on their behalf.
• Grants are awarded at the discretion of Active Together. The amount of grant awarded will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and may not be for the full amount requested.
• The funds are limited so there is no guarantee that an application will be successful. We may not be able to fund all applications even if they meet the eligibility criteria.
• Successful recipients of funding will be asked to give an update on how the money has been spent (including evidence of expenditure) and the impact the funding has had on the young person.
• Active Together reserve the right to reclaim any funding that is deemed not to have been used against costs and / or expenses identified in the application.

Eligible Funding

Examples of what we will fund (or part fund):

• Kit or equipment necessary to take part/compete
• Club membership fees
• Cost of sessions
• Coaching or officiating courses
• Development courses
• Travel costs
• Competition fees

We won't fund:

• Clubs/groups/organisations - this fund is aimed at individuals.
• Retrospective costs.
• Individuals outside of Leicestershire, Leicester & Rutland (LLR), including students who are studying in LLR but do not pay their council tax here.

Funding Amounts

• There are no minimum or maximum funding amounts for this fund.
• Funding is limited so please only apply for the amount of funding that you really need so that we can support as many young people as possible.

Timescales

There will be two windows to apply for funding:

• Round 1: Deadline - Sunday 6^th October 2024. THIS ROUND HAS CLOSED.
  
• Round 2: Deadline - Sunday 2^nd March 2025 (applicants will be notified of the outcome in April)

If your application is unsuccessful in the first round, you will not be eligible to resubmit an application for the second round.

How to submit an application:

Applications have closed for round 1. Applications for Round 2 will be open later in the year.

Further Information

For further information on the fund, please contact Lizzi Hall, Development Officer, l.hall@active-together.org. Please note I work part time so I may not be able to respond immediately.

This fund is kindly being supported by Surveyors to Education (S2e), a specialist MAT and academy surveying, funding and estates planning consultancy.