Guidance and FAQS

The Fund Guidance

What’s not included in the Fund

The ChangeMakers Fund will not fund:

Any work that has previously taken place, or for any costs incurred, before the date a decision has been communicated
Costs that would contribute as a salary or contribution to the named athlete applicant
Fundraising activities
Activity located outside of the United Kingdom
Profit making activity
Try It fund – projects that are unable to start and conclude within 12 months of the grant award
Scale It fund – projects that are unable to start within the 12 months of the grant award
Scale It fund – organisations that cannot be tangibly linked to an Eligible Athlete as defined in the ChangeMakers Policy document
Scale It fund – general running costs or existing costs to your organisation i.e. utility bills or existing staff costs.

How have we allocated the number of grants available for the ‘Try It’ and ‘Scale It’ funding tiers?

When designing The ChangeMakers Fund, it was important for us to provide equal access and opportunity to the Fund, regardless of an athlete’s pre-existing experience in this space.

While there is some fantastic athlete-led work taking place already, we believe there is significant potential for this to increase, hence the volume of grants available in the ‘Try It’ tier.

We also recognise the personal and professional development skills that can be gained from engaging in The ChangeMakers Fund and we feel strongly about ensuring the Fund benefits as many athletes as possible.

We reserve the right to change the volumes of grants available under each tier, dependent on the uptake and volume of applications we receive before 31 October 2024.

How does it work for athlete’s applying for ChangeMakers funding through an organisation they’ve founded?

To note, this is only applicable to the ‘Scale It’ tier of the ChangeMakers fund.

Athlete’s applying through an organisation must be able to demonstrate a verifiable and direct link to the association as confirmed at the discretion of UK Sport.

Does my application need to be co-signed by my NGB?

No, but we strongly encourage you to proactively engage with the available support structures within your sport before applying, demonstrating this as part of the application process.

To confirm, we reserve the right to inform your NGB that you have made an application to the Fund.

Can I apply for both the ‘Try It’ and ‘Scale It’ grants?

No, you can only apply for one grant from The ChangeMakers Fund in this round of funding.

I’m seeking grant funding of over £10,000; can I receive this through The ChangeMakers Fund?

Thanks to The National Lottery players more than £30 million is raised each week for good causes across the UK. This money is awarded by 12 specialist distributors across a range of areas, community, arts, sport and heritage. You can read more about what funding is available here: https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/funding .

In many cases the first step for applying for funding is to get in touch with the funding distributors and talk to them about your idea.

How will funding decisions be made?

Representatives from UK Sport, Allwyn, Team GB and ParalympicsGB will form a grant funding panel. Investment decisions will be made at their discretion and are final. There is no appeals process.

What happens if I’m successful in being awarded funding?

All applicants will be notified via email with an outcome to their grant application by December 20 2024.

If successful, you will receive a grant funding agreement which sets out the terms and conditions upon which the award is made by UK Sport in line with the Purpose as set out within the ChangeMakers Policy document. We will release the funding on receipt of signature of this agreement.

Does receiving ChangeMakers funding impact on the means testing for an Athlete Performance Award (APA)?

Your APA will not be affected by applying for, or receiving, ChangeMakers funding. Any award amount will not be counted towards the means testing calculations of the APA.

Expectations of grantees

Once you submit the application, you will automatically be bound by the terms of the UK Sport ChangeMakers Fund Policy (as amended from time to time). If successful with your grant application, you will be required to comply with the obligations and requirements of the grant funding agreement provided to you, which will include, among others, the following:

Ensure the correct financial management of your grant award.
Liaise with the Athlete Support Team on an ongoing basis to share progress updates and developments.
Participate in peer support network meetings alongside other athletes who have been successful in receiving ChangeMakers funding.
On completion of your proposed activity, to fulfil the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) requirements and submit these back to the Athlete Support Team.*
To engage in PR opportunities as identified by Allwyn and UK Sport to support the showcasing of The ChangeMakers Fund.
To engage in opportunities as identified by UK Sport to demonstrate the personal and professional development this opportunity has provided.

*Further information regarding the MEL requirements and format will be provided to successful applicants at the start of the 2025 calendar year.

We take the offence of fraud (including theft, corruption, and bribery) seriously. Any Athlete who receives an award from us should ensure the appropriate measures are in place to manage the award appropriately. Where any instance of fraud, misrepresentation, false statement, or an attempt to defraud, occurs we will take action, including bringing a case against the Athlete to the UK Sport Eligibility Panel or reporting to the police.

What happens if I was awarded funding and then become unable to deliver my proposal?

Understandably individual circumstances may change during the delivery window of the ChangeMakers Fund. If successful in receiving funding and you happen to experience any difficulties or challenges in delivering your proposal, please contact the Athlete Support Team immediately at athlete.support@uksport.gov.uk

Try It – Application Guidance

Question	Guidance
Please describe the project activities you are requesting funding for	Be as specific as possible about what you plan to deliver and how this will be done. Please do not tell us about the need for your project in this question. As a guide, the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · What it is exactly you are aiming to achieve through your social impact activity. · What activities do you intend to offer as part of your proposal. · How you intend to deliver the activities/ what the delivery model is. · When the proposed activity is intended to take place and for how long.
What is the rationale behind your idea and ambition?	Use this question to demonstrate the need for this activity. As a guide the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · Is this based on your lived experience? Something that defines you? Or simply just a social cause/interest you are passionate about. · Is this based on a defined statistic and your idea looks to respond to it? If so, evidence this to support your application.
What research have you undertaken to help inform this application?	Use this question to describe the need for your project. As a guide the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · Demonstrate that you know there is demand or a gap in provision for the project. · That you can reach or will have access to your target demographic i.e. have they been pre-identified. · Have you consulted with the target demographic to understand their needs? If so, demonstrate this.
Which of the three UK Sport Impact Areas does your proposal align to?	Please tick all the relevant UK Sport impact areas that your proposed idea aligns to. If ‘other’, please describe what this is.
Who is your activity targeting?	Define the target audience. Be as specific as possible. If your beneficiaries haven’t been identified, how do you intend to reach them?
Where will this activity be taking place?	Define the location of your proposed activity. Be as specific as possible.
What are you hoping your project will achieve?	Use this question to demonstrate what success looks like for your project. As a guide the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · What are the proposed outputs of your intended activities? Remember an output describes the result of an activity i.e. the number of young people engaged, the number of sessions delivered. · What are the proposed outcomes (if any) you are hoping to achieve? Remember outcomes are the actual add value of the output for the target group i.e. changes to wellbeing, attitude.
What methods will you use to demonstrate whether your project has been successful?	Use this question to demonstrate what tactics you plan to implement to measure the outputs and outcomes mentioned in the above question.
Budget	Use this section to provide a breakdown of your proposed costs. Remember the Try It Fund has a maximum of up to £500 – you don’t necessarily need to apply for all the money. To confirm, this won’t put you at a disadvantage/advantage against other applications received. The following headings should act as an initial guide to help form your budget: · Staffing costs i.e. coaches · Equipment · Facility Hire · Branding/Marketing · Other costs The grant funding you will receive from UK Sport is VAT exempt. However, you will need to consider what headings and proposed spend in your budget will be subject to VAT. Please ensure you account for this in your budget. Lastly, make sure you have familiarised yourself with the information provided above about what type of activities The ChangeMakers Fund won’t fund.
Additional Information	This is an opportunity for you to share with us any additional information that you believe is relevant to your application and idea to making change.

Scale It – Application Guidance

Question	Guidance
If you selected ‘Organisation’ please complete the following questions - Name of Organisation - Company or Charity Number - Organisation Website - Organisation Social Media Handles What is the purpose and mission of your organisation	We recognise that for some athletes who are already advanced on their change making journey, that they may have found, co-founded or own an organisation that focuses on social impact. If this is relevant to you, you have the option of deciding whether to apply individually as an athlete or apply through your organisation. Please note that for organisation-based applications, UK Sport will need to undertake some additional due diligence to inform the grant assessment process and provide us with the assurances we need. To confirm, applying through your organisation does not put your application at a disadvantage or advantage.
Please tell us about the purpose/ethos of your pre-existing social impact initiative and/or organisation and what you do?	This will help us to understand your pre-existing experience in this space. As a guide, the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · What was the original rationale behind you starting this initiative and/or organisation. · What activities have you undertaken to date (do not tell us in this question the impact of these activities) · How did you identify that there was a need for your intervention? · Have you created a theory of change or logic model to support your ethos and delivery?
What impact have you achieved to date?	Let us know about your successes to date. As a guide we are looking for information on: · The outputs achieved so far. · The outcomes achieved so far. We will also allow applicants to submit evidence to help bring this impact to life further such as reports, infographics, press releases, case studies for example. Please upload these via a compressed zip folder and attach to the email alongside your application to athlete.support@uksport.gov.uk
Which of the three UK Sport Impact Areas does your proposal align to?	Please tick all the relevant UK Sport impact areas that your proposed idea aligns to. If ‘other’, please describe what this is.
Please describe the project activities you are requesting funding for	Be as specific as possible about what you plan to deliver and how this will be done. The type of information we are looking for within your answer is: · What it is exactly you are aiming to achieve through your social impact activity. · What activities do you intend to offer as part of your proposal. · How you intend to deliver the activities/ what the delivery model is. · When this is intended to take place and for how long. · How this funding scales the delivery and impact of your pre-existing initiative and/or organisation.
Who is your activity targeting?	Define the target audience. Be as specific as possible. If your beneficiaries haven’t been identified, how do you intend to reach them?
What are you hoping your project will achieve?	Use this question to demonstrate what success looks like for your project. As a guide the sort of information we are looking for within your answer is: · What are the proposed outputs of your intended activities? Remember an output describes the result of an activity i.e. the number of young people engaged, the number of sessions delivered. · What are the proposed outcomes (if any) you are hoping to achieve? Remember outcomes are the actual add value of the output for the target group i.e. changes to wellbeing, attitude.
What methods will you use to demonstrate whether your project has been successful?	Use this question to demonstrate what tactics you plan to implement to measure the outputs and outcomes mentioned in the above question.
Budget	Use this section to provide a breakdown of your proposed costs. Remember the Scale It fund has two different amounts of grant funding available – 9 grants of up to £5,000 and 3 grants of up to £10,000. We have a finite pot of funding, so remember you don’t necessarily need to apply for all the money. To confirm, this won’t put you at a disadvantage/advantage against other applications received and we will actively be looking at value for money and the proposed return on the grant investment. The following headings should act as an initial guide to help form your budget: · Staffing costs i.e. coaches · Equipment · Facility Hire · Branding/Marketing · Training costs for staff · Volunteer expenses · Other costs The grant funding you will receive from UK Sport is VAT exempt. However, you will need to consider what headings and proposed spend in your budget will be subject to VAT. Please ensure you account for this in your budget. Make sure you have familiarised yourself with the information provided about what activities the ChangeMakers fund will not fund.
Please explain how you have considered how this new delivery could be sustained on conclusion of the funding/delivery period	To confirm the answer you provide here, will not be scored.