Disability Rights UK is launching our report into the delivery and impact of Sport England’s Together Fund, showing the vast and long-lasting impact this fund has on smaller organisations supporting Disabled people getting physically active across the country.
The report covers the delivery for phases 3 and 4, which spans the year between September 2022 and September 2023.
The fund’s aim was to reduce the negative impact of Covid-19, the associated cost of living crisis and any widening of inequalities in participation rates in sport and physical activity.
Sport England’s Physical Activity attitudes and behaviours survey commissioned during Covid-19 showed widening gaps in activity levels across certain communities: people from Lower Socio-Economic Groups; Culturally Diverse Communities; Disabled People and People with Long-Term Health Conditions.
Disability Rights UK distributed funds to Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) and small community-based organisations that aimed to support Disabled people, funding projects that aimed to help Disabled people become more active in a way that was right for them. It also helped to support the recovery and growth of small, community focused and grassroots organisations following the Covid-19 pandemic.
We are proud to say that this report has proven our Together Fund implementation has had a far-reaching and positive impact on the organisations and communities we have been funding.
The report’s key findings:
- Between September 2022 and September 2023 DR UK funded 63 projects supporting more than 5,000 direct beneficiaries.
- 46% of projects directly engaged with people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
- DR UK’s administration of the Together Fund was broadly praised for its adaptability
- Projects reported improved mobility and fitness among participants, as well as other positive health outcomes such as improved pain management.
- Projects were successful in reducing isolation among Disabled participants, as well as improving their self-confidence and overall mental health.
- Projects reported increased capacity and resilience to financial pressures, and improved quality of care for participants.
Elliot Watson – Get Yourself Active Project Co-ordinator said:
“It has been a truly fulfilling process supporting organisations with their applications & projects from start to finish and seeing first-hand the positive impact it has had on recipients. The Together Fund provided such an essential lifeline to organisations and individuals in a time of need, and DR UK will continue to foster the relationships with grantees well beyond the life of the fund because there is still so much to be learnt from each other.”
Want to view the full report?
The report was independently commissioned by Better Decisions Together.
