A further £20 million of National Lottery funding is being made available to help tackle inequalities in physical activity levels as the nation continues its recovery from the pandemic.
Last year, as part of Sport England's initial response to the crisis, their £20m Tackling Inequalities Fund (TIF) was launched to improve participation in sport amongst lower socio-economic groups, culturally diverse communities, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.
The TIF funding, which is intended to last up until December 2022, was focused on those hit disproportionately hardest by the pandemic, and has enabled the aforementioned groups to continue to exist and engage with their communities, supporting people to be active.
Now, a further £20m will be spent on helping the same audiences to become active or get more active as TIF becomes the Together Fund. The fund will build on the work of TIF and help community organisations reach and engage their audience in movement. It'll have an increased focus on supporting groups to recover and grow during the funding period [until March 2023], while acknowledging that there are some instances where the priority will still be survival rather than growth.
Viveen Taylor, Sport England's Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, said: Â"Tackling inequalities is at the heart of our Uniting the Movement strategy and it's critical that this continues to be at the forefront of our minds with the Together Fund.
Â"With this new round of funding, we hope to see community organisations progress from fighting for survival to growing into thriving groups than can be sustainable and fully engage their own communities in activity and all the benefits that come with it.”
Like TIF, the Together Fund will not be open for application. Instead, Sport England continue to work with their network of 43 Active Partnerships and more than 30 national partners, who have previously helped them to connect funding to where it's most needed. As such, community organisations wishing to engage in the Together Fund should make contact with their local Active Partnership.
Sport England will also continue to identify new national partners that can provide additional reach into specific communities, and help them distribute funding to the people and places that need it most. Potential new partners should contact Sport England via email.
For more information see the full story on Sport England's news pages, here.
