Together Fund

Data from the Sport England commissioned ‘Physical Activity attitudes and behaviours survey’ during COVID-19 is highlighting widening gaps in the activity levels across our existing priority audiences. COVID-19 has shone a light on the inequalities in our society.

This led to the creation of a Tackling Inequalities Fund which has now become the Together Fund, the focus of this programme is to help reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 and the widening of the inequalities in sport and physical activity.

We worked to identify organisations embedded in our poorest and most vulnerable communities and offer support to enable them to continue to provide opportunities for their community to be active. These organisations have provided vital services during the pandemic and are often a lifeline for the community. This investment will allow groups to maintain their presence, provide opportunities to be active and continue to safely bring people together.

We have invested funds based on the following principles:
• Any project/investment must be delivered by a local organisation and driven by community need
• Where the investment is made needs to be clearly evidenced as a LSEG community (Focus Community), or be reaching the target audience
• The organisation/group must be well embedded within the community (local intelligence can tell us this)
• The organisation must have a track record in delivering to the target audience within that community
• The organisation must use an asset-based community development (ABCD) approach with any project idea/ use of spend.

We have prioritised identifying organisations that are new to us, and looked to work with groups who may have never received funding from sporting bodies. We also prioritised working with organisations who specialise in supporting the target audiences.

Total investment: £448,515 (Oct 2021)

Read the report here:

Tackling Inequalities Fund: South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire:
Phase 1 and 2 Evaluation: Learning to March 2021 Report