Our Priorities

Our funding strategy was built around the following priorities designed to maximise our impact:

1. Achieving positive social outcomes
   All Spirit grantees were encouraged to include a flexible pot of funding as part of their grant award ringfenced to cover access costs for those that faced barriers to taking part. Access funds could cover any additional expenses for the project to increase inclusion, for example the hire more accessible spaces or equipment, or personal costs for participants for example taxis or travel costs, carers costs.o understand what works and how to scale successful approaches. Every project we funded addressed clear objectives tied to wellbeing, social cohesion and disability inclusion.
2. Fostering participation across communities
   We prioritised projects that brought people from diverse backgrounds together to share experiences, ideas and opportunities.
3. Local solutions to build stronger communities
   We supported initiatives shaped by the needs of local communities, empowering local people to play a leading role in decision-making.
4. Supporting partnerships
   Collaboration was at the heart of our work. From national sporting organisations to local community groups, we funded partnerships that combined expertise and resources to amplify their impact.
5. Encouraging innovation and learning
   Through smaller grants and our Incubation Fund, we supported innovative approaches and research projects that tested new ideas and turned evidence into practice.

Our funding strands

To deliver on our priorities, we organised our funding across three key strands:

1. Creative: Supporting projects that fostered creativity and cultural engagement, strengthened inclusion and provide opportunities for people to develop and celebrate their talents.
2. Active: Enabled the least physically active in society to engage in sport and physical activities that improved wellbeing and social connections.
3. Connected: Promoted social action and volunteering, supported local communities to address issues that mattered most to them and bringing people together as equals to create stronger social bonds.

Our 2023 Impact Report described how we spent our endowment against these three strands:

Committing to transparency and evaluation

We believed in being open and accountable with every funding decision we made. Our funding criteria and outcomes were always clearly explained and accessible, alongside how we were going to assess applications. Whether successful or unsuccessful we sought to give high quality feedback to all applicants.

Evaluation and learning was a constant in our work, and grant holders could allocate up to 10% of their grant on external and/or internal evaluation. This commitment to learning helped us shape smarter funding decisions and gather valuable insights to share with others.

Access Funding

All Spirit grantees were encouraged to include a flexible pot of funding as part of their grant award ringfenced to cover access costs for those that faced barriers to taking part. Access funds could cover any additional expenses for the project to increase inclusion, for example the hire more accessible spaces or equipment, or personal costs for participants for example taxis or travel costs, carers costs.

Funding Strategy: Who and what we funded

We did not accept unsolicited applications.  We advertised opportunities to apply to us, and when those are live any of the following types of organisation could apply to us for funding:

• Charities registered in the UK;
• Voluntary and Community Organisations (with a formal constitution);
• Social Enterprises and Community Interest Companies (CICs);
• Statutory Bodies including local authorities and their agents;
• Consortia (made up of eligible organisations) with a named lead delivery organisation;
• Private companies (providing Spirit grants are ring-fenced for charitable purposes and do not contribute to profits).

Organisations that applied to Spirit must put together clear, honest, specific and realistically budgeted applications using the forms we provide.  Costs must be proportionate to the nature and size of the project, the proposed outcomes and to the applicant organisation. We published every grant opportunity on our website with an application form and an Information Pack. The pack contains grant specific guidance about the costs we can support and to what level. Here are some general principles that we applied across all our grants.

What we could fund:

1. Programme related costs, including staffing and overheads. These may be:

• Staff fully or partly working on the project
• Management time proportionately related to the project

Operating costs directly incurred as a result of managing the project.

2. We did not fund capital projects. Applicants may allocate a small proportion of the project budget (usually no more than 10% – this will vary depending on the grant round) to the cost of equipment needed to deliver the outcomes.

3. Spirit allowed higher allocations towards equipment for projects whose primary purpose is to reduce or remove barriers to the participation of disabled people, those with impairments or life-limiting conditions.

4. We strongly encouraged learning and external monitoring and encourage applicants to allocate between 5-10% to external monitoring and evaluation. We clarify the level within each funding round.

Spirit will consider contributing to applicants’ core operating costs. These must be proportionate to the grant and justified in the supporting documentation. Again, each grant round will offer further guidance on this.

We could not fund:

1. Costs (including notional costs) that have already been incurred before the formal grant agreement except by explicit prior agreement;
2. Elements of work that duplicate funding provided by another body;
3. Contributions to reserves or the payment of debts;
4. Provision of services that are the responsibility of Government or another Statutory Body;
5. Political campaigns;
6. The promotion of religion;
7. Projects for/with animals;
8. Individuals directly;
9. Work that happens outside the UK.

When there are open Spirit funding programmes we will post all the information applicants need to apply on our website.  This will include specific eligibility requirements for the funding available. All Spirit funding must be invested in projects which deliver the outcomes of our Theory of Change.