Opportunities from Ashoka, Laureus South Africa, NovoNordisk and 10 others.

The definitive guide to finding opportunities, building partnerships and generating new income in the sports industry.

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On The Ball is a fortnightly newsletter and digital platform sharing opportunities, tools, tricks, and templates to help you unlock new income for your business or non-profit in sport.

We’ve got some BIG announcements coming over the next few months - watch this space!

This week we have 13 (!!) opportunities for you to consider, including:

- Ten grants and/or funding competitions
- One networking event
- Two incubator/accelerator-style capacity building programmes

Don’t forget, only paid members get full access to the list plus 24/7 access to the On The Ball + digital hub featuring a full events calendar, grants database and more.

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So, let’s get into it:

The Thompson Family Charitable Trust distributes circa £8m per year to UK registered organisations working in the fields of youth development, disability, sport and health. Grants in the last financial year ranged from £5,000 to £600,000, and included funding towards the Snow Sports Foundation, Tennis First, Greenhouse Sports and a number of other sport-related organisations. The Trust does not have a website. Applications - which may be made at any time - should be in writing in the first instance, and sent to the Trust at Roy Copus, The Thompson Family Charitable Trust, Hillsdown Court, 15 Totteridge Common, London N20 8LR.

Ashoka and the Schneider Electric Foundation have teamed up to launch a global Youth Innovation programme that aims to select and support 25 of the most impactful and innovative youth projects across the world. Five projects per continent will be selected, and in each continent the best project will receive the 1st prize of 30k EUR, 2nd prize of 20k EUR, the third and the fourth will receive 10k EUR each and the last spot will receive an amount of 5k EUR. In addition, the overall top project amongst the 25 will receive an additional award of 50k EUR. The current call is open for organisations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with further rounds opening the coming months. To apply, proposals must be submitted before the 19th May.

Applications are now open for the Laureus Sport for Good Incubation Hub in South Africa. Not-for-profit organisations that use sport to address social ills in Polokwane and Rustenburg are invited to take part in a six-month capacity building programme that will include a combination of in-person workshops, mentorship, online education sessions and networking opportunities with other likeminded organisations. The programme will focus on skills and practices in the areas of governance, finance, safeguarding, impact evaluation and more. Eligible organisations must have been operating for at least two years. Apply before May 12th to be considered.

For projects in Northern Ireland and the border counties of Ireland, a 35 million EUR fund from the EU has been launched to support projects that will promote positive relations characterised by respect, celebrate cultural diversity, and encourage people to live, learn and socialise together. The PeacePlus Fund will provide individual grants of between 1m and 3m EUR that enable individuals and communities to collaborate across a broad range of areas of mutual interest, such as parenting, arts and culture, sport, education, and social innovation/enterprise. Applications to this call must be received no later than 5pm on Thursday 13th June 2024. As with any EU related funding, the process and application portal is complex.

Sport England have launched a new Movement Fund to replace their Small Grants programme and Active Together Fund. The fund includes grants of between £300-£15,000, crowdfunding pledges up to the same value and resources to improve physical activity opportunities for people and communities who need it most. Eligible funding costs include new or improved equipment, refurbishment or upgrades to facilities, training for staff and volunteers, delivery costs and emergency relief. Non-profit organisations based in England can apply at any time. Sport England will not fund projects working with children under the age of five, or projects involving the delivery of football.