Grants of £150,000 to £450,000 for 3 to 5 years work are available through Comic Relief’s Ahead of the Game: Sport and Mental Health programme for projects in the UK, Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda that combine improving mental wellbeing with sport or physical activities with specific therapeutic elements.

The programme targets the most marginalised people, in the most disadvantaged communities.

This funding opportunity focusses on one of Comic Relief’s four key issue areas - global mental health. Comic Relief believes that every person has the right to quality mental health support where and when they need it and has the right to live free from stigma and discrimination. The programme combines this key issue with Comic Relief’s Sport for Change strategy which aims to bring about positive social change for individuals and communities through the intentional use of sport and physical activity. There are two aims to this funding call:

• A focus on improving mental wellbeing and helping people function better by promoting the use of sports-based approaches that support wellbeing, improve functioning and reduce distress.
• Ensure mental health is intentional, not incidental - to prioritise organisations running programmes which combine sport or physical activities with specific therapeutic elements, and who have access to mental health expertise.

Applications should represent less than 40% of the organisation's total income in any one year. Capital costs should make up less than 25% of the funding amount applied for.

Comic Relief predominantly funds registered charities. Applications are welcome from organisations with a maximum annual income of £10m, and a minimum annual income of £250,000 in the UK or £75,000 in other countries,

There is a two-stage application process.  The closing date for stage 1 is 1200 GMT on the 31st May 2019. Applications shortlisted will be given a further 4 weeks to submit a full proposal, and the deadline for second stage applications will be 1200 GMT on Friday 9th August 2019.

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