Peter Harrison Foundation - Active Lives Grant Programme
/Grants are available to UK charities to support grassroots sports projects which provide opportunities for self-development for people living in the most disadvantaged areas in the UK who encounter physical, mental, social, or economic barriers.
The Peter Harrison Foundation supports projects working with children, young people and adults who are disadvantaged or with disabilities. It offer small and major grants to charities and community amateur sports clubs in the UK and south east of England under the following two grant programmes:
Active Lives – opportunities through sport and physical activity.
Positive Futures – opportunities for children and young people. (Covered in a separate scheme)
Grants of £5,001 to £30,000 are available (applications from organisations with a turnover of under £5 million are prioritised).
Applications are accepted from UK organisations that:
Are 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.
Priority will be given to organisations with a turnover of under £5 million.
February 2025 Announcement:
To help the Foundation manage the significant rise in applications it is prioritising applicants whose work most closely aligns to its mission. Unless applicants meet all the following criteria for Active Lives applications they are unlikely to be successful:
Work with people living with disabilities in the top 10% of areas of deprivation (Indices of Multiple Deprivation decile 1) AND
Are from organisations with a track record of working with this population AND
Have a robust plan for wider impact of the project through dissemination, training etc.
All applications to Active Lives must fulfil at least one of the following criteria:
Offer high-impact, life-enhancing opportunities for those who live in the top 40% of areas of deprivation (IMD deciles 1–4).
Remove barriers to participation for people with disabilities, especially those living in the most deprived areas (as defined by IMD).
Work in the top 10% most deprived areas (IMD decile 1) is the highest priority.
Projects 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 involvement across the organisation from beneficiaries and those with lived experience.
To be eligible projects/activities 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.
Due to an unprecedented surge in demand for funding, the Peter Harrison Foundation has announced it will close to new funding applications until further notice from 2 April 2025. Applications received by the end of the day on 1 April 2025 will still be considered.
