Deadline: 13 March 2020
Comic Relief and the Mayor of London have launched the third and final round of the three-year funding partnership “London Together” fund.
London Together invests in sport for change approaches that aim to improve social integration. The fund supports work in London.
London Together is a key programme within the Mayor of London’s community sport programme, Sport Unites. It supports the Mayor’s long-term vision to make London the most active and socially-integrated city in the world.
London Together is aligned to Comic Relief’s commitment to fund sport for change approaches. They define sport for change as bringing about positive social change for individuals and communities through the intentional use of sport and physical activity.
Program Aims
Comic Relief have identified two aims for this round of funding: reducing social isolation and strengthening relationships between and within communities. They’re seeking proposals that use sport for change as part of a solution to work towards one of the following:
- Strengthening relationships between and within communities
- Comic Relief are looking to fund projects that use sport to increase trust between and within communities, challenge stereotypes and reduce prejudice.
- They are interested in funding approaches that:
- Support the development of positive and meaningful relationships within and between communities, with a focus on what different communities have in common, alongside a recognition of the value of diversity;
- Aim to break down any barriers, divisions, prejudice and tensions within a geographical area or between groups and encourage respect and understanding;
- Develop trust within and between communities;
- Develop people’s sense of belonging to their neighbourhoods;
- Promote the inclusion of marginalised groups and individuals and advocate for structural changes to support these groups;
- Create opportunities and/or spaces for people to identify social integration issues and come up with their own sport- or physical activity-led solutions to local issues.
- Reducing social isolation
- More than a quarter of Londoners – 27 per cent – are socially isolated (defined as not having someone they can rely on a lot in an emergency)(3). Isolation can be defined as separation from social or family contact, community involvement, or access to services and may involve staying at home for long periods of time(4). Factors such as unemployment and mental or physical health problems can lead to social isolation, which can then exacerbate these factors further.
- Comic Relief are interested in funding projects that:
- Provide individuals with a sense of belonging and identity to their local area and London;
- Go beyond just bringing isolated and/or lonely Londoners together: for example, activities that build participants’ confidence and skills, strengthen their connections with individuals, groups and the wider community, or shares knowledge about how to access other services and means of support;
- Address the specific barriers preventing people from taking part in sport, participating in their community, and accessing services. Barriers might include cost, mental health problems, low English levels or accessibility and inclusivity of services;
- Positively influence individuals’ behaviour, for example encouraging and enabling people to access health care when needed.
Funding Information
- Organisations can apply for funding lasting between 12 and 18 months. Funding decisions will be made in August 2020, with first payments made in September. You must be able to submit a final report by June 2022;
- Applicants can apply for a minimum of £25,000 and a maximum of £150,000;
- Projects must be delivered within the London boundary;
- Comic Relief will fund project costs. To help organisations ensure they request the full cost of delivering a service or project, they encourage organisations to include;
- Projects must use a sport for change approach: – You will need to evidence social outcomes, not just increased participation in sport or physical activity. They are interested in how sport is being used intentionally to address social integration and what it is specific about the activity which enables you to achieve your social outcomes. For example; is messaging integrated into sport sessions? Is sport being used as a tool to engage a group of people into a service?;
- Comic Relief will fund both tried and tested and new work – just tell them why you think it will be effective within the context of the London Together aims;
- Comic Relief will fund projects that provide regular opportunities to create sustained, meaningful relationships and opportunities for integration. they will therefore not fund one-off interventions or one-off community events that do not form part of a wider programme.
Comic Relief Does Not Fund
- Activities which evangelise (the practice of preaching or spreading religious beliefs ) or proselytise the practice of trying to convert people to one’s own belief or religious views);
- Organisations which adopt a partisan political stance or activities which are party political. Comic Relief will not support organisations that advocate the use of violence to campaign or influence public opinion;
- One-off conferences or workshops, as it is difficult to demonstrate what impact such events are likely to achieve. Comic Relief can fund conferences, workshops and other gatherings as part of longer-term projects or work;
- General appeals, individual and group sponsorship, marketing appeals, proposals for bursaries from individuals or proposals from individuals for the funding of study or attainment of qualifications;
- Work where the long-term institutional care of children or young people is a preferred way of working over the longer -term (e.g. setting up or running orphanages). Where short-term, temporary institutional care is used as part of an intervention to support children and young people, applicants will need to demonstrate how the work they propose seeks to develop and implement community-based alternatives;
- The delivery of services that are normally government’s responsibility. The only exceptions would be when specific services are simply not in place, and are fundamental to delivering the programme’s results as specified in the call for proposals. In this case, low-cost alternatives can be used as an interim measure, along with a realistic plan for ensuring sustainability when the investment ends, for example through community ownership.
Funding Principles
Comic Relief have identified some key principles for the funding call which they encourage you to take into consideration:
- They expect organisations to be locally driven and well connected to their target communities. They believe that projects developed and delivered in partnership with target communities are more effective at responding to local need and creating positive social change.
- Comic Relief encourage organisations to apply in partnership for this fund. This could include:
- Focusing on collaborative approaches rather than additions to each other’s services
- Partnering with organisations who are able to influence at a structural level
- Taking approaches that encompass learning from each other
- Partners are defined as organisations who will be responsible for managing a share of the project budget. Please include all partners in section 5 of the application form.
- Comic Relief want to work with organisations that share their commitment to learning. They will invest in organisations that can:
- Be self-reflective; considering which aspects of project delivery are working well, which aspects are less successful and why.
- Feed learning back into service delivery, with a desire for continual improvement.
- Respond to changing contexts and emerging needs – the issues you are dealing with may change over time and your work may need to respond to that.
- Engage with other Comic Relief funded partners, where appropriate. They are working with InFocus to bring funded organisations together regularly to reflect on their experiences, learn from one another, make links and coordinate with one another to reflect on their projects and pathways to change.
Eligibility Criteria
- Charities
- Comic Relief predominantly funds registered charities. Comic Relief will ask for evidence of registration during the application process. They will always prioritise applications from organisations that are registered in the country where the work will take place. Applicants are welcome to include partners not registered in the country, but must be able to clearly demonstrate the added value of all partners included in the proposal.
- Other types of organisations
- Comic Relief do also fund other types of organisations. In these instances, the governing documents of the organisation must clearly outline the organisation’s social purpose, demonstrate that any profit or assets are used for this social purpose, and show that an asset lock is in place. They will ask for a copy of your governing documents as part of your application.
- Organisations applying to work in India must be Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registered approval before they apply, as well as any partners they expect to work with.
- Private providers
- Where proposals include the engagement of private providers (e.g. as service providers or consultants) as part of a project to deliver specific objectives, applicant must demonstrate the use of a private provider is ultimately resulting in public good, rather than solely private profit for those private providers.
- Organisations who currently hold London Together funding (as the lead partner) are unable to apply to this round (as the lead partner);
- As stated in the eligibility criteria, organisations can only submit one proposal as the lead partner (though they can be named as partners on any number of applications).
- The requested amount must be proportionate to the annual income of your organisation, and this will be looked at as part of the assessment process. Comic Relief funding can’t exceed 40% of your total annual income in any given year;
- The funding is for organisations delivering projects in London.
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online via given website.
For more information, visit https://www.comicrelief.com/funding/funding-opportunities/london-together/