About the Sport Welfare Training and Development Support award
The Sport Welfare Training and Development Support award helps clubs and groups create safer, more welcoming and inclusive environments by providing funding for welfare-related training, education and development.
Funding available: Up to £500 per organisation
Closing date for expressions of interest: October 2026
Who is this support for?
Expressions of Interest are welcomed from organisations delivering sport and physical activity across Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire. To be eligible, organisations must:
- Be based in Coventry, Solihull or Warwickshire
- Operate on a not-for-profit basis
- Deliver sport or physical activity opportunities within their local community
This includes (but is not limited to) grassroots sports clubs and groups, charities delivering physical activity and not-for-profit organisations. If you’re unsure whether your organisation is eligible, please contact our Sport Welfare Lead by emailing charlie.creed@thinkactive.org before you apply.
What we can’t support
Please be aware we can’t fund support for the following activities:
- Dance, where the focus is on artistic or performative dance
- Children’s play, or activities focused on children under five
- Gardening and manual tasks
- Self-defence
- eSports and virtual reality games
- Activities for people outside Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire
What support is available?
Funding of up to £500 can be used to support a range of welfare and development initiatives that help create safer and more inclusive environments.
Examples include:
- First aid training
- Coach development
- Mental health awareness and training
- Online safety
- Safeguarding and child protection
- Safeguarding adults
- Disability awareness and inclusion training
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) training
- Welfare Officer development
- Promotional materials, including posters, leaflets, banners and social media resources
- Welfare recognition materials, such as posters, branded clothing and lanyards
If your proposed activity is not listed above, we would still encourage you to get in touch to discuss your idea before applying.
Who is encouraged to apply?
We are particularly interested in supporting organisations that work with communities who may experience greater barriers to taking part in sport and physical activity.
For example, this may include:
- People living in lower socioeconomic communities
- Culturally diverse communities
- Disabled people
- People living with long-term health conditions
- LGBTQ+ communities
- Migrants
- Older adults
- Children and young people
- Women and girls
We’re looking for organisations that understand the needs of their communities and can demonstrate how this support will create a lasting positive impact.
Additional requirements
As part of receiving support, one member of your club or group must attend Think Active’s online Introduction to Child Sexual Abuse course, accredited by the CSA Centre. This training will help you respond more confidently to concerns about intra-familial child sexual abuse and identify potential signs and indicators of abuse. The session date and time will be confirmed and shared later.
You will also be asked to provide details of how the support has been used by the club, the impact, challenges and anything you have learned. You will be provided with an end-of-project form to complete in order to capture this information.
How the application process works
We’ve designed the process to be supportive and straightforward:
Step 1: Complete an Expression of Interest
Submit a short Expression of Interest telling us about your organisation, the people you support, the welfare training or development you’d like to access, and how the funding will benefit your club and community.
Step 2: Meet with the Sport Welfare Lead and complete the application together
Once we’ve received your Expression of Interest, you’ll be invited to meet with our Sport Welfare Lead. This conversation gives you the opportunity to discuss your organisation’s needs, explore your ideas and identify how the funding could best support your welfare and safeguarding objectives. Following your meeting, you’ll work alongside the Sport Welfare Lead to complete the full application, ensuring all relevant information is included before submission.
Step 3: Panel Review
Your completed application will be assessed by an internal funding panel against the award criteria.
Step 4: Outcome
We’ll let you know the outcome of your application as soon as possible. If your application is successful, we’ll provide details of the next steps and how your funding will be awarded.
Upcoming events
Join our next FREE Sport Welfare Forum with our Sport Welfare Lead, Charlie, and discover how Think Active’s funding support could help your club or community.
Reserve your place today and find out how Think Active’s funding and support could help your club create an even safer and more inclusive environment for everyone. To find our next Sport Welfare Forum event and book your place, click here.
