Last September, we launched an emergency Community Solidarity Fund in response to the unrest and violence that occurred in England and Northern Ireland that summer.
This was the first time we’d launched an emergency response fund, and we felt passionately about using the unique power of sport and physical activity to strengthen communities.
Delivered in partnership with Sported, the Fund provided immediate financial support to keep local spaces safe and accessible for physical activity, ensuring young people and vulnerable communities remained engaged and protected.
A total of £240,000 was awarded to 120 community organisations across 17 affected regions, with each organisation receiving a grant of £2,000 to address urgent recovery needs. This included covering the costs of venue and equipment damage, CCTV repairs and installation, and additional staff presence outside buildings, to support safe spaces for physical activity.
What worked well?
At the end of the grant period, funded groups were invited to complete a survey to assess the impact of the Community Solidarity Fund. The results clearly showed that the funding helped groups continue delivering safe, accessible activities while making a meaningful difference in their communities. Among those who responded:
- 100% said the grant helped them either maintain (59%) or increase (41%) their delivery of activities
- 87% agreed or strongly agreed that the grant effectively addressed their immediate needs
- 91% reported that the Fund made a positive difference to their group
- 83% rated the application process as easy or very easy
Spotlight on Blackburn Blind Sports
One group supported through the Fund was Blackburn Blind Sports, a community organisation providing inclusive, weekly sport sessions for blind people, with many of their members being of Muslim and South Asian ethnicity. Last summer, they had to temporarily pause their sessions while protests took place locally, with some members feeling too scared to leave their homes for fear of being targeted.
With their grant from the Community Solidarity Fund, Blackburn Blind Sports were able to take swift, practical action – relocating to a more secure, council-run sports hall and providing direct transport for members to travel safely and continue participating in their sessions.
Their Chair, Mohammed Salim Patel, said: “Last summer created some worrying times for us, but the London Marathon Foundation Community Solidarity Fund was one of many ways that we as a disabled and diverse community felt supported. The funding enabled us to keep our members, who are blind, even more safe and without it, we might have had to consider stopping our sessions completely.”
Learnings
Key learnings for us, whether launching an emergency response fund or designing a new fund in the future, include enhancing communication around the availability of funding – some groups reported only discovering the fund by chance – and reassessing funding levels, as several organisations found the fixed grant amount insufficient to fully meet their recovery needs.
