The Fund

What is the ChangeMakers Fund?
As an athlete you can play a vital role in using your unique platform to have an impact on social causes that are authentic and genuine to you, but we understand that funding can be a challenge.
Thanks to The National Lottery’s new operator Allwyn, we are pleased to announce The ChangeMakers Fund.
This new fund will provide you, regardless of your experience in this space, with the opportunity to make a difference.
There are two types of funding available:
1. The Try It fund – to support athletes who have a social impact idea and want to test its viability and impact.
There are 20 grants of up to £500 available.
2. The Scale It fund – to support athletes who have a pre-existing social impact initiative and/or organisation that requires a larger amount of funding to scale the delivery and impact.
There are four grants of up to £10,000 and ten grants of up to £5,000 available.

Our impact areas
We believe that high performance sport has a credible and authentic opportunity to have a social impact in three identified areas, which in turn are complementary to Allwyn’s social value framework.
While your projects must be meaningful and authentic to your own lived experience and passions, and we will consider all applications, we are particularly interested in receiving applications that align to the following impact areas:
1. Improving health and wellbeing
Inclusive of themes such as mental and physical wellbeing/health and holiday hunger.
2. Equality, diversity, and inclusion
Inclusive of themes such as gender equality, LGBTQIA+, racial equality, disability inclusion.
3. Driving environmental sustainability
Inclusive of themes such as biodiversity, clean water and sanitation, climate action and responsible production and consumption.

Who can apply
You are eligible to apply if you are over 18 years old and are one of the following by 31 October 2024:
1. Receiving a UK Sport Athlete Performance Award (APA) at any level.
2. A member of the World Class Programme but don’t receive an APA, due to being means tested out.
3. Supported by your National Governing Body who receive Progression or National Squad funding from UK Sport.
4. Have transitioned away from sport and/or APA funding since 31 October 2023, in line with the support announced in Leaving Well Week.
If you are suspended by your NGB you are ineligible to apply and receiving the Fund is conditional upon complying with the UK Sport Eligibility Policy and the Athlete Performance Award Terms and Conditions.
For the purposes of the Fund, an Eligible Organisation is defined as follows:
a. A not-for-profit organisation, defined as either a private company limited by guarantee, a registered charity, a community interest company or a charitable incorporated organisation; and
b. A for-profit organisation, defined as either a private limited company, a public limited company, a limited liability partnership, a sole trader, a partnership or social enterprise, provided that the award will be used exclusively for non-profit making activities;
c. An organisation with a verifiable and direct association to an Eligible Athlete, for example where the Eligible Athlete is the founder, co-founder or CEO. For the avoidance of doubt, this will not include an athlete who has an association with the organisation such as an ambassador role.
Applicants will be required to evidence this criteria in their application. The final decision on fulfilment of this criteria is at the discretion of UK Sport.
How to apply
We’ve got a limited pot of funding to award, so before applying please read our Guidance and FAQs.
Complete either the Try It or Scale It application form and return it to athlete.support@uksport.gov.uk by 5pm on 31 October 2024.
What to expect
November 2024
Your application will be reviewed by the Grants Panel against the criteria detailed in the Guidance and FAQs and where needed they may request additional information.
December 2024
Depending on the number of applications received, we will try to respond to you via email by 20 December 2024.
If successful, a grant funding agreement will be sent to you and payment will be released once the grant funding agreement is completed.
If the Fund application is successful, you will be automatically bound by the terms of The ChangeMakers Policy.
January to December 2025
The Fund activity will take place between January and December 2025.
UK Sport reserves the right to amend these timescales and will notify the applicants as appropriate.
If you have questions, have personal challenges meeting the deadline or require accessibility support to submit your application in an alternative way, then please contact athlete.support@uksport.gov.uk