How to Apply

There are a number of things we will be looking for before we progress with reading your application:

• Not-for-profit status of the applicant organisation
• Non-discriminatory status of the project
• Acceptance of the foundation’s Grant Terms and Conditions
• All relevant sections of application completed and additional documents attached
• Application form completed in English

For organisations applying for micro grants, we are aware that some may be too small to be registered as non profit or similar.

In this instance, we would like to see at least a bank account in the organisation’s name plus one of the following:

– affiliation to a governing body

– a constitution or set of rules

– evidence of prior activity

– confirmation from a local authority

– a signed declaration that the applicant is acting on behalf of a genuine group or organisation (not as an individual), along with a brief description of the group, how long it has existed, and approximately how many people are involved.

No, sorry. We can only accept applications from registered non-profit organisations, clubs and teams. See ‘Eligibility Criteria’ above.

In addition to the application form, we will also ask you to send

• Proof of your not-for-profit status
• One or two references, depending on the size of grant you are requesting
• Project timeline
• Predicted project impact table
• An overview of last year’s organisational budget (Momentum and Impact grants only)
• A budget for the project, including any other funding you are expecting to help fund the work
• Safeguarding Policy
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Policy

If you also wanted to send a few photographs, a short (2-3 minute) video about your work or the issues you are aiming to address, or even a map of the area (for the Regeneration projects), that would be very useful

Looking after nature and the natural places we like to go to, to spend time in, and possibly challenge ourselves, is vital not only for our own personal health and well-being, so we can continue to enjoy them, but also for our planet, which, thanks to us humans, is not in a very good environmental state right now. As a society, with the threats of a changing climate, more extreme weather events, and the rapid loss of plants and species around us, it is vital that we protect what we have left, and restore it where we can.

We are looking for projects on land and under water, that address specific issues and root causes leading to the damage and destruction of nature. We want to see projects that bring about the protection of pristine habitats, and conservation and restoration of damaged or degraded natural areas – and this could be as broad as entire wild landscapes or as focused as your local urban park or canal.

It could involve repairing damage caused by walkers or bikers on trails, or replanting or enabling regrowth of species which have been deliberately removed or damaged, to restore what was there before, and encourage specific animals, fish or birds to come back. There might also be invasive species that need to be removed before this can happen.

Maybe climbers need to be educated to avoid certain rock faces during nesting season, awareness raised amongst divers, snorkelers and kayakers to avoid damage to coral reefs, or visitors sustainably brought to an area to view wildlife, giving species’ more value alive than dead. Or perhaps work needs to be carried out helping a community to live alongside and protect wildlife that likes the taste of their crops or livestock and stop retaliatory action.

Work to mitigate potential climate change impacts on specific areas or sports in a responsible way will also be considered. Another project might involve removing single use plastic or litter from mountains, trails rivers, coasts or the sea. And it might work with local people to train them and provide the tools for alternative livelihoods, giving them an income alongside protecting the biodiversity around them.

Whatever the issue in your area, every project needs to be supported by local people, who have been included and involved from the beginning, and understand and want this work to happen. Ideally, your organisation will have been working in the area already, have already built up good relations with the local community, who also work for you and with you, if not run the organisation. We would also like to see that you intend to continue your work there into the future.

Finally, it has been shown that the prime cause of nature, or biodiversity loss, is because people have become disconnected from nature, or try to control or dominate it. As David Attenborough said, “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced”. All projects, therefore, must also seek to cultivate and encourage a deeper connection with people and nature, broadening understanding and appreciation of the environment, and its benefits to human health, well-being and our precious planet.

This is a broad category, so we are open to innovative ideas! We are looking for projects which motivate people to get sustainably and responsibly physically active, outdoors or in a specific sport, and with the potential to get active on a long-term basis, where, until now, they have not been active before.

This could be because the knowledge of how to get active has not been there, the infrastructure to get people to a certain place has not been available, or the equipment to do the sport or activity is out of reach locally or financially. Or it could be a deeper, underlying reason to do with gender, ethnicity, ability, income, sexuality or background having made it harder to join in, or find a comfortable, safe space to be active in.

We are looking for projects that work to increase knowledge and motivation, as well as bring barriers down, and bring them down permanently, to address this. What work do you do that, with more funding could have a big impact in the lives of individuals, local communities or society as a whole, if your project had support? What access pathways are missing that could bring about the greatest change in the people you work with?

Health and well-being connections brought about by connecting with nature have been well documented, and increased connection with nature naturally leads to a desire to look after and protect it. Therefore, environmental education, or access to nature as part of any project, is helpful as part of the holistic nature of any project.

Measurable performance indicators are vital, and this could include things such as repeat/regular participation, or a specific barrier being permanently removed. How will you evidence the impacts your project has had on individuals from a personal point of view, within social situations or on their aspirations, as a result of participation?

1. Use of rights-based approaches: applying human rights principles to the work you are doing, and accounting for the rights of nature and the rights of nonhuman entities. Including recognising the rights of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and women. Such rights may include, but are not limited to, land and territories, water, food, health, and a safe and clean environment. See more here with this link to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights
2. Inclusion & Diversity: All projects should, as far as is practicably possible, ensure inclusive and equitable participation opportunities that are accessible to all. This includes reducing any known barriers preventing this, and establishing appropriate conditions for participation by addressing any support needs.
3. Safeguards: If you are working with vulnerable people, particularly with children, do staff, or the providers you use, have the relevant safeguarding policies in place, as well as the training and experience to support them. Likewise, any proposed activity needs to be provided in a risk assessed, safe environment, guaranteed by relevant professionals.
4. Ensuring local people are fully engaged: If specialist work needs to be carried out, relevant experts may need to be brought in, but wherever possible, projects will involve the local community, giving them ownership of the project and its outcomes, and contributing to their livelihoods during and after the project.
5. Education and communication for local and wider communities: Education and communication around responsible ways for the future sustainable management and public use of an area or habitat, or attracting and keeping (relevant or underserved) communities participating in an activity, is vital, as is reaching the relevant communities or visitors effectively, and its continuation once the project funding has finished
6. Legacy: It is important that the work and spirit of each project leaves some sort of legacy, so that what has been started does not come to an abrupt end. This could be the intention to carry out ongoing management and maintenance of some new planting, or maybe awareness raising has led to a new behaviour or way of doing things. It could also be that the experience of individuals getting physically active or more connected to nature means they feel more resilient, confident, have improved mental health and well-being, and want to continue doing the new activity, or even found greater opportunities are available to them.

You need to decide, depending on the work you are doing and what you need funding for. We offer 4 different levels of funding:

1. Micro Donation (up to €2 000) – supporting grassroots initiatives such as community clubs, schools or local organisations, most likely for one off equipment purchases, transport, trips or venue hire.
2. Seed Grant (up to €10 000) – supporting early-stage projects or pilot initiatives.
3. Momentum Grant (up to €30 000) – supporting programmes that demonstrate clear impact and are ready to scale.
4. Impact Grant (up to €100 000) – supporting transformative initiatives with potential for significant sector impact. There will only be 3-4 of these grants available each year.

Please note: If you are applying for the Impact Grant of €100 000, of which we will grant only 3-4 each year, you will also be asked to fill in an additional question at the end of the application about what you would be able to achieve if you were offered a Momentum Grant of €30 000 instead, and attach a second, smaller budget outline. You can leave this part blank if you are not interested in a Momentum Grant.

Yes absolutely. In fact, for the larger Momentum and Impact grants in particular, we would prefer to see that we were not the sole funder.

Yes, as long as the grant is not made up entirely of staff salaries. If you need to take on someone purely to work on this project, that salary can be part of the application, or if an existing member of staff will use some of their role on the project, a percentage of their salary can be used.

We will need to make sure that you are applying from a bona fide organisation, which is set up to do the type of work you are applying for funding for. With that in mind, we will need to see:

• Proof of your organisation’s registered non-profit status
• One written reference for a Micro Donation or Seed Grant, or two in the case of Momentum or Impact grants from another organisation that has funded yours, or worked with you, in the past. This/these need(s) to outline in what capacity the referee knows you, in what capacity they have worked with you, and be relevant to the type of work you are proposing in your application.
• Online presence of your organisation. An up-to-date website would be perfect, regular and recent presence on social media as a bare minimum – ideally showing you have done / are already doing similar work to that which you are applying for

We will accept applications from any every geographical region. However, we reserve the right to withdraw an application if political, religious, or financial legalities prevent us from supporting you or getting funds to your particular location.

We will be accepting applications from 1-30 June 2026. You can apply any time during those dates, but do not leave it until the last minute, in case there is a technical issue uploading it!

The application form will be available here during the time we are accepting applications for funding. All applications must be completed using this online form, before the deadline, which this year is 12.00 midday BST / 13.00 CEST on 30th June.

If you would like to see the questions we ask, please download this excel file.

We will be looking at a number of criteria when we assess your application:

• Alignment with vision and mission of ISPO Impact Foundation
• Alignment with minimum requirements and eligibility criteria
• Long-term potential of impact of the project
• Impact at a local level and with the local community
• Education about and opportunities for connection with nature, and on future stewardship of nature / natural places
• Innovative aspects of the project
• Available funds. Please note that not all projects that we receive applications for, will ultimately gain funding. Please see also ‘What is the process for selection of projects’ below

Each project will be scored initially on:

• meeting all eligibility conditions, with all supporting documents submitted
• alignment with the Foundation’s mission and relevance to the sports, winter and outdoor sports sector
• clarity, ambition and measurability of the applicant’s objectives
• organisation credibility, track record and capacity to deliver

Those shortlisted will be scored on:

• the project’s quality, innovation and inspirational appeal
• the scale and ecological significance of the conservation impact (Regeneration only)
• quality of community involvement and local stakeholder engagement (Regeneration only)
• robustness of site permissions, legal access and practical delivery plan (Regeneration only)
• reconnection with nature (visitor, education, access) (Regeneration only)
• scale of direct participation (Participation only)
• quality and design of participation offer (Participation only)
• understanding of why people are not currently active (Participation only)
• long term behaviour change (Participation only)
• legacy and sustainability
• geographic reach/focus on under-represented community or region

Please note that the decisions of the trustees and advisory council as to the funding of specific projects are final. We may be able to give limited feedback as to why your project may have been unsuccessful, but we cannot enter into discussions over those reasons or why one project was chosen over another.

Project selection will progress along the following timeline:

• Applications will be accepted via the website during the whole month of June
• Applications will be assessed and shortlisted by early September
• Those not on the shortlist will be informed
• Shortlisted projects will be discussed and scored by the advisory council by early October and applicants informed
• Winning Impact and Momentum projects will be invited to a staged presentation at ISPO trade show in Amsterdam each year in early November, so if you are already intending to go, or are not based too far away, please do keep this timeframe in mind when applying! See ispo.com for exact dates each year.

The objectives will help us measure your progress as your project gets underway. The objectives should clearly state the main stages of the project and be measurable, and within a set time frame. The anticipated impact of the project should be clear and obvious. For instance: ‘Plant 50 000 trees of a mixture of 8 native species to form a corridor between 2 forests by the end of June, with help from 100 volunteers and 6 schools from the local community’ would be an excellent objective. ‘Hold an event for people to try climbing’ would not!

That depends on the amount of money you are applying for. A Micro Donation we would expect to be fully used within a couple of months of it being made. A Seed Grant (up to €10 000) project is likely to last around 12 months. We would anticipate that a Momentum or an Impact Grant could last 2-3 years.

No, please only apply once.

If your project has not been shortlisted, we will aim to let you know by early September.

If your project has been shortlisted, we aim to let everyone know whether or not they have been successful in their application by the middle of October at the latest.

We may contact you during the assessment period to ask for further details or clarification on some points – and we will email you using the address you supplied us with in your application form, so please make sure it is one that is monitored! Also keep an eye on your junk/spam mailboxes just in case any messages end up in there.

Please note that the decisions of the trustees and advisory council as to the funding of specific projects are final. We may be able to give limited feedback as to why your project may have been unsuccessful, but we cannot enter into discussions over those reasons or why one project was chosen over another.

• Micro Donations will receive all money requested up front. We will request a short one page update report, once the donation has been spent, with proof, and images confirming everything has been carried out
• Seed Grants will receive 50% of the funding requested immediately and 50% once the project is halfway through, the first instalment has mostly been spent, and on receipt of a satisfactory interim report. We will also require a final report once the project has come to an end.
• Momentum and Impact Grants will receive 50% of the funding requested up front. A further 30% will be given once the project is halfway through, the first instalment has mostly been spent, and on receipt of a satisfactory report. The final 20% of the grant will be given on completion of the project and approval of a final report.

For Seed Grants, we will give you your funding in two stages: 50% at the start and 50% once the project is half way through. For Momentum and Impact Grants, we will give you your funding in 3 stage: 50% at the start, 30% half way through the project and 20% once the project has completed.

In order for us to keep track of the progress your project is making, we will ask you to send in reports at the relevant stages of the project. Alongside the reports, we will be measuring your progress against the objectives you outlined in your application form. It is therefore vital that the objectives are clear and concise with measurable predicted achievements and approximate timelines.

This should not be an onerous task, and we will send you a template for the reports, at the time of signing contracts, if your project has been successful in winning funding.

We will announce all the winning projects at the ISPO trade show in Amsterdam each year in November. If you are relatively local and available to come to the presentation, we would be delighted to welcome you. Do not worry if that is too far to travel. We will publish a press release about the winning projects, and promote them, and any updates as they progress on social media. Each project will have a page on our website, which we will update as the project progresses. We may also publicise the projects at relevant trade shows, conferences and in any presentations about the foundation, as well as newsletters from the Foundation or any of its partners.

As part of our contract with you to receive the funding, we will require you to authorise use of your logo, if you have one, and a selection of images / short video clips that we can use in the above situations. We will also link from our website to your website or social media platform.

We would be delighted if you could publicise the fact that you have won the grant from the foundation, tagging us into any social media posts or linking to us from your website (once the official presentation at ISPO has taken place). As the project progresses, and you have updates on progress, it would be great if this also could be highlighted, with acknowledgement of the foundation as well.

Yes, absolutely!