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Go! London Partnership

The purpose of Go! London is to use the power of sport and physical activity to transform the lives of young Londoners. We will focus on underserved children and young people aged 4-24, those at a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion and discrimination.

We want Go! London funding to support initiatives that will create positive experiences of sport and physical activity for children and young people to:

  1. improve wellbeing (physical and mental);
  2. improve employability skills;
  3. better connect communities;
  4. improve safety;
  5. reduce loneliness.

We want to support groups that are trusted by young Londoners, particularly those who have experienced more structural challenges. Read on if you work with young people who:

  • have special educational needs, are deaf or have other physical/learning/sensory disabilities; or young people with mental health problems;
  • have been, are, or at risk of being excluded from school or college;
  • are not in education, employment or training (NEETs);
  • have been, or are, associated with or affected by gangs and/or exploitation;
  • are experiencing, or have been impacted by, domestic violence and abuse;
  • are experiencing homelessness;
  • are refugees or asylum seekers, or are newly arrived migrants;
  • have a social worker (this includes those in the care of a London Borough, those with a protection plan, children in need and care leavers) or are young carers;
  • identify as LGBTQIA+;
  • come from low-income families;
  • experience barriers to being physically active.

Information Sessions

We hosted several online and in-person information sessions to support the application process and to answer emerging questions.

The presentation is available here, and a recording of the session is available here.

Go! London Funding Pillars

Go! London Partnership will provide funding and support through 5 ‘pillars’ or ‘streams’. Some of these will focus on organisations that support young people and deliver activities for them, some will invest in young people and their ideas directly, and some will improve local community infrastructure.

Currently, there are two pillars open for applications: Foundation grants and Evolution grants. We will update this page with further information on the other funding pillars as they develop – join our mailing list to be the first to know.

Fund guidelines

Foundation Grants

Our Foundation grants focus on support and sustainability. We will fund projects that support more children and young people to take part in sport and physical activity, and that improve the sustainability of the groups delivering these activities so they can become more resilient in the future.

  • Grants of up to £40,000 for a maximum of two years (but we expect the average grant to be between £25,000 and £30,000)
  • Available for community groups and organisations trusted by underserved children and young Londoners
  • Funding can be for project-based costs, core organisational costs, or both
  • Funding can support existing projects that are already taking place.
  • There will be two Foundation application windows in 2023 (the first one will award grants in time for the Summer holidays) and two more rounds in 2024

You should apply for a Foundation grant if you are an organisation looking to continue delivering impactful work in physical activity and sport, reach more young people, and become more resilient and sustainable.

How to apply

Evolution Grants

Our Evolution grants focus on innovation and scaling up work. We will support organisations and partnerships developing innovative approaches and ideas to use sport and physical activity to enhance the lives of children and young people, or to scale up work which has already been tested and had a demonstrable impact.

  • Grants of up to £150,000 for a maximum of three years, but you can apply for a much smaller amount too
  • Available for organisations and partnerships that demonstrate creative, innovative and collaborative approaches to reduce inequality, improve life chances of young people, and help build a fairer London through sport and physical activity.
  • There will be annual rounds of Evolution funding over at least the next 3 years”
    You should apply for an Evolution grant if you have a new approach you want to pilot or if you want to scale up a successful program and take your work to the next level. The grant can also be used to introduce a sporting element to non-sporting programmes.
How to apply

Additional support

In addition to receiving a grant, successful applicants will get access to one-to-one and group development support. You will be asked to complete an organisational health check to create your tailored development plan. This offer will complement your Go! London grant if successful and help sustain and strengthen your organisation for delivery in future. Where possible, unsuccessful applicants will also be referred to appropriate resources and support.

From support with your fundraising strategy to improving the wellbeing of your team and volunteers, we’ll work with partners to create a tailored offer that can take your organisation to the next level.

We will ask you about your organisational development needs and priorities as part of the application process.