THE PETER HARRISON FOUNDATION ACTIVE LIVES AND POSITIVE FUTURES GRANT PROGRAMMES
Small Grants of up to £5,000 and Major Grants of between £5,001 and £30,000 are available to UK registered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) for sports-based projects providing sport and physical activity opportunities for disadvantaged children and young people and/or people with a disability.
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o Application deadline: WEDNESDAY 2nd APRIL 2025. This represents the final opportunity to apply to the Foundation before it closes its grant programmes until further notice due to “unprecedented demand”.
o Funder: The Peter Harrison Foundation (founded 1999. Charity number 1076579. Total value of all grants awarded during the year ended 31 May 2024: £1,505,808 (2023: £2,048,341; 2022: £1,362,836; 2021: £1,514,803; 2020: £1,992,812)).
o Who can apply: UK registered charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs that have been registered with their appropriate regulatory body (for example, the Charity Commission for England and Wales) for at least 2 years.
o Key words: Capital, Revenue, Project Cost, Sport, Disability, Disadvantage, Developing Potential and Life Skills, Special Needs, Mental Health, United Kingdom.
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The Peter Harrison Foundation has posted the following message on its website:
“The Peter Harrison Foundation will close to new funding applications until further notice from Wednesday, 2 April 2025. This decision follows an unprecedented surge in demand for funding, resulting in less than 5% of grant applications being successful. We recognise the time and resources organisations invest in preparing grant applications and want to avoid charities spending their valuable time on applications when the likelihood of success is so low. This closure will allow us to focus on:
- Reviewing our grant-making strategy and processes to ensure our available funds can have the greatest possible impact in the future.
- Supporting around 200 current grant holders.
- Processing the hundreds of outstanding applications submitted before the deadline.
We regret the challenges this decision may pose to organisations seeking funding, however the overwhelming demand has made it unfeasible to continue accepting new applications. By pausing to review our strategy, we aim to strengthen our ability to support impactful charitable work and responsibly manage our resources.
Organisations currently receiving funding will not be affected by this decision.“
The Foundation operates two grant programmes, with most grants awarded through its Active Lives Programme. The programmes are:
1. Active Lives – the Foundation supports sporting activities that provide opportunities for people who are disabled, or for disadvantaged children and young people to fulfil their potential and develop personal and life skills. Applications are accepted from registered charities across the United Kingdom.
2. Positive Futures for Children and Young People – applications are accepted from charities where the beneficiaries are children and young people with special needs in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex.
The Foundation also operates a Discretionary Grants Programme (see the first heading under ‘Grant Programmes’). However, this is not an open grants scheme; the trustees use these funds to support projects that are of particular interest to them, and which fall outside its open grant programmes.
Within its Open Programmes, the Trust will consider applications for capital, revenue or project funding and welcomes applications for physical activity initiatives that:
o Give a focus for skills development and confidence building through the medium of sport.
o Have a high degree of community involvement.
o Have a strong training and/or educational theme within the sporting activity.
o Help to engage children or young people at risk of crime, truancy or addiction, and
o Provide sporting equipment or facilities for disabled or disadvantaged people.
Charities that have been registered with the relevant regulatory body in their area for at least 2 years (for example, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator or the Charity Commission for England and Wales) may apply. Applications are not normally considered from local branches of national charities unless they are separately constituted.
The following funding is available:
1. Small grants of up to £5,000 (for organisations with a turnover of up to £500,000), and
2. Major grants of between £5,001 to £30,000.
Grants, which can be awarded for a single year or over several years, can also be for significant amounts. There is no specific requirement for matched funding.
During the year ended 31st May 2024, the Foundation awarded grants totalling £1,505,808 (2023: £2,048,341).
A list of all awards of £20,000 or more is provided on pages 3 and 4 of the Foundation’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year. A list of recent grants awarded is also available on the Foundation’s website.
Funding is not available for:
o Activities that are primarily the responsibility of central or local government.
o Adventure Challenges or expeditions in the UK or abroad.
o Exempt charities.
o Individuals.
o Overseas projects.
o Projects that are solely for the promotion of religion, or
o Requests for retrospective funding.
To apply, eligible organisations are advised to follow the guidance on the Foundation’s website.
The deadline for applications is Wednesday 2nd April 2025.