Peter Harrison Foundation: Opportunities through sport and physical activity

Overview

Who Can Apply?

The Foundation only accepts applications from organisations that are:

• registered in England and Wales with the Charity Commison
• registered in Scotland with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
• registered in Northern Ireland with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI)
• a CASC (Community Amateur Sports Club)

They accept applications from local branches of national charities - but only if they have either a separate legal constitution or the endorsement of their national Head Office.

PLEASE NOTE: Charities will not normally be considered for a grant unless they have been registered with the Charity Commission for two years or more and have produced independently examined or audited accounts for at least one full year of operation (Community Amateur Sports Clubs must also have been operating for comparable periods).

GRANT PROGRAMMES

PHF is committed to three broad areas of need:

• Opportunities for self-development through participation in sport and physical activity, especially activities for disadvantaged and disabled people across the UK
• Support for children and young people in the Southeast of England, particularly those with special educational needs, disabilities or mental ill health
• Education, with a particular interest in supporting Harrison Scholarships and capital development at Reigate Grammar School

Their only nationwide programme is Active Lives - Opportunities through sport and physical activities

Active Lives - Opportunities through sport and physical activities

Through Active Lives they make grants totalling about £700,000 per year. Due to a high volume of applications they were only able to provide a contribution towards 12% of the applications received in the last funding round. Therefore, the Trustees have decided to focus their limited resources.

Please ensure you meet their eligibility and funding criteria before starting an application.

They fund applications for physical activity initiatives that: 

• Offer high-impact, life-enhancing opportunities for those who live in the top 10% of areas of deprivation 
• Remove barriers to participation for disabled or disadvantaged people  
• 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 
• Have a well-developed plan for sustainability and seek to deliver a legacy 
• Reflect their values:   Excellence, Entrepreneurship, Integrity, Sustainability

Type of funding: They will consider applications for capital, project or core funding.

Location of project: Anywhere in the United Kingdom.

Funding priorities

Applications which evidence that they meet the funding priorities below will have the best chance of being successful.

Meet income level priorities 

• SMALL GRANTS – In your last set of accounts, your organisation’s annual income was under £500,000 
• MAJOR GRANTS – In your last set of accounts, your organisation’s annual income was under £5,000,000 

Focus on deprivation 

• Provide high-impact, life-enhancing opportunities for those who live in the top 10% of areas of deprivation 

Are experienced 

• Have significant experience using physical activity to engage disabled individuals and/or those who face severe and multiple disadvantage 

Provide high impact opportunities 

• Focus on using physical activity to provide opportunities for individuals to build their personal skills and self confidence 
• Committed to removing barriers to participation in these life enhancing opportunities for disabled or disadvantaged people 

Prioritise grassroots and community engagement 

• Prioritise grassroots involvement rather than elite participation in physical activity 
• Have Trustees, staff and beneficiaries who include people with personal and lived experience of the challenges your community faces 
• Understand your community’s needs  

Demand excellence 

• Support, implement and disseminate best practice
• Seek to have a wider impact, perhaps through training, partnerships and/or dissemination activities [major grants only]
• Have a strong leadership and can show us the difference your charity has made in your community 
• Have good governance in place including signed Safeguarding and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies, and efficient financial processes. 
• Are best placed to deliver the solution 

Have an entrepreneurial mind set 

• Operate with ambition, inspiration and determination 
• Have a vision for your charity’s future 
• Seek to find ways to maximise the impact of your work, including the sharing of information with others 

Work with integrity  

• Act responsibly, respectfully, reflectively and transparently  
• Know your strengths and challenges 

Strive for sustainability 

• Seek to deliver significant outcomes that leave a legacy 
• Have plans for financial and environmental sustainability for the initiative and organisation 

Eligibility criteria

Your project / activity must:

• take place in the UK
• provide opportunities for personal or skills development through participation in physical activity
• meet the needs of people who face physical, mental, economic or social disadvantage

Your organisation must:

• be 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

Previous grants and applications:

• If you have received a grant from PHF before, it must be at least two years since you submitted your final grant report.
• If you have applied to PHF before, it must be at least 1 year since you were notified your last application was unsuccessful.

Funding Levels

They are able to provide capital, project and core funding over 1,2 or 3 years.

They provide two levels of funding:

Major grants: between £5,001 and £30,000

They prioritise applications from organisations with a turnover of under £5,000,000 

All major grant applications should be submitted using PHF's online application form

Small grants: up to £5,000

They prioritise applications from organisations with a turnover of under £500,000 

• Projects in Surrey: apply via the Community Foundation for Surrey
• Projects anywhere else in the UK: apply using PHF's online application form

Example Grants

For a list of grants visit the website and select the Northern Ireland region when running the grants search.

For answers to FAQ's visit the website here