06th October 2021
TIF was set up in April 2020 with £20m of National Lottery funding that was allocated through Active Partnerships and to more than 30 national partners.
The funding, which is intended to last up until December 2022, was focused on communities hit disproportionately hardest by the pandemic – lower socio-economic groups, culturally diverse communities, disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.
Since its launch, TIF has enabled community groups to continue to exist and engage with their communities, supporting people to be engaged and active.
Following TIF’s first year Sport England, along with all the partners that made the fund a success, collaborated on a report showcasing how it differed from previous Sport England funds.
The report details how we’ve worked, with a shared purpose, built trusting relationships, learned together and developed flexible working.
It also covers what we’ve learned – including the fact that one approach won’t work in all circumstances, that building trust takes time, that digital can help some people not all, and that a little can go a long way.
The full report can be found here, but here this is a summary of the five top tips to developing strong relationships:
- Ensure a clear purpose and that all involved are aligned to it
- Put trust at the heart of everything and create relationships at all levels – it takes time but is vital to successful partnerships
- Be open, honest and learn together – sharing what works and what doesn’t
- Be flexible and open minded about how you work
- It’s not all about money – a little can go a long way and advice and support are important too.
Watch the video about the story of TIF so far (including a few clips from Active Sussex case studies) below:
The story of TIF in Sussex
You can read the local report from a Sussex perspective here. We have also shared a couple of local case studies from groups that have received funding from TIF, which you can watch on YouTube on the following links:
- Tackling Inequalities Sussex – Long Term Health Conditions
- Tackling Inequalities Sussex – Lower Socio-Economic Areas
Continued support to tackle inequalities with £20m Together Fund
A further £20m will be spent on helping the same audiences to become active or get more active as TIF becomes the Together Fund.
This money will continue to support community organisations working with our priority audiences, so the organisations have a future to plan for.
The support is designed to enable further recovery and growth up until March 2023 and our director for equality, diversity and inclusion Viveen Taylor, is pleased to see our support for priority audiences maintained.
“Tackling inequalities is at the heart of our Uniting the Movement strategy and it’s critical that this continues to be at the forefront of our minds with the Together Fund,” she said.
“TIF saw us work in a new way, working collaboratively with partners to ensure our funding got to the people who needed it most, those who were most affected by the impact of the pandemic.
“We’ve seen how this approach has been a success so I’m delighted that we’re committing to working together in this way again and targeting those most in need.
“With this new round of funding we hope to see community organisations progress from fighting for survival to growing into thriving groups than can be sustainable and fully engage their own communities in activity and all the benefits that come with it.”
The Together Fund will build on the work of TIF and help community organisations to reach and engage their audience in movement.
It’ll have an increased focus on supporting groups to recover and grow during the funding period, while acknowledging that there are some instances where the priority will still be survival rather than growth.
Like TIF, the Together Fund will not be open for application – instead, Sport England will continue to work with the network of 42 Active Partnerships, including Active Sussex, and more than 30 national partners who’ve previously helped us to connect funding to where it’s most needed in their locality.
As such, Sussex community organisations wishing to engage in the Together Fund should make contact with us to find out more.
Contact Ross Joannides, Strategic Relationship Manager at Active Sussex via email: rjoannides@activesussex.org