Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic heroes are invited to apply to a newly created ‘ChangeMakers Fund’ which will provide £100,000 for athletes to create their own projects which will positively impact their local towns and cities.

The opportunity for athletes comes as part of the ChangeMakers initiative, a partnership between The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn, UK Sport, Team GB and ParalympicsGB  to support athletes who want to help projects they are passionate about, whether it’s grassroots sport, sustainability, mental and physical wellbeing, inclusivity or any other initiative with a positive social impact.

After starring in Paris and getting involved in good causes as part of ChangeMakers Week, British Olympic and Paralympic athletes can now make a further difference outside of their sport and power social impact projects in their communities with this innovative new fund created by The National Lottery’s operator, Allwyn.

Athletes can choose between two types of funding – a ‘Try It’ fund which helps athletes who have a social impact idea and want to test its viability and impact, and a ‘Scale It’ fund, to support athletes who have a pre-existing social impact initiative that requires a larger amount of funding.

With athletes having shared their desire to do more and be active by giving back to their communities, Allwyn, UK Sport, Team GB and ParalympicsGB  have taken action to support athletes to best make a difference to causes close to their hearts, whether it be improving health and wellbeing, supporting equality, diversity, and inclusion, or driving environmental sustainability.

The fund was officially launched by Team GB Weightlifter Emily Campbell who is passionate about inspiring women and girls into physical activity:

“The ChangeMakers fund, created by The National Lottery operator Allwyn, is an incredible opportunity for athletes. I am personally extremely excited and I am going to start my application straight away. We all feel the importance of giving back to the communities that made us, and I would love to open my own gym in Nottingham for people of all abilities and backgrounds. These kinds of opportunities are just not possible without the support of The National Lottery.

“We as athletes have a fantastic platform to talk about the things we are personally passionate about and additional support to turn this passion for social impact into reality means there’s never been a more exciting time to be an athlete. I want to use my voice to empower more young females to be strong, healthy and confident – and I’m calling on all my fellow athletes to think about where they can make a difference, knowing that additional support is now here for us to make it happen.”  

Andria Vidler, CEO of National Lottery operator Allwyn, added:

“After an incredible Olympic Games, and with the Paralympics still to come, we are excited to open our ChangeMakers Fund. By tapping into these athletes’ passions and their power to inspire we hope this funding will help them drive positive change in their communities and build on the amazing legacy of Paris 2024."

Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport said:

“Our Olympic and Paralympic athletes are remarkable, not just for their achievements in sport but for their unwavering commitment to making a difference in their communities. The ChangeMakers Fund is designed to harness their ability and desire to drive positive change beyond the field of play. With this fund, we are empowering our brilliant athletes to transform their passion into tangible, impactful projects that will benefit communities across the UK. We are incredibly proud to support them in this next step of their journey to inspire and uplift those around them.”

The National Lottery raises on average £30M every week for National Lottery-funded projects.  This is the power behind the social impact that The National Lottery makes across the nation – from arts, to heritage, to community, to sport and our elite athletes. The £1M annual Allwyn Social Value Fund is designed to enhance and support those initiatives and is not being funded by money allocated for National Lottery Good Cause funding or National Lottery players.

Athletes can access the ChangeMakers fund by visiting https://stories.uksport.gov.uk/changemakers/changemakers/the-fund/  

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