Levelling the Playing Field’s funders have revealed the reasons behind their record £1million grant and highlighted the project’s potential to have “a major impact on social change”.
The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s investment in LtPF in 2019 was, at the time, the largest grant awarded through their Strategic Partnership Grants programme – an indication of their faith in its ethos, scope and potential.
The opportunity to support a project with sport and physical activity at its heart which would enrich the lives of thousands of marginalised children, and has the potential to scale-up nationwide, was one which immediately piqued The Trust’s interest.
“It was quite a brave decision by our board of trustees and a big indicator of trust,” says Olu Alake, The Trust’s Strategic Grants Lead (pictured below).
“James [Mapstone, Chief Executive of the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice] and I put together a proposal, which went through five iterations before I presented it to the trustees.
“We asked for £850,000 to fund the project. Secretly, I would have been happy to leave the meeting with our Trustees saying ‘yes’ to £500,000. By the end of the meeting, they had decided to invest up to £1million. I thought, ‘I should retire now!’”
Recognising the powerful potential of the project, the trustees had decided to enhance the investment to enable LtPF to invest more in the evaluation methodology and communications strategy, which would be critical in proving the project’s scalability.
LtPF is one of the largest of 19 projects The London Marathon Charitable Trust currently supports through its Strategic Partnership Grants programme, all of which use surplus generated by the world-famous annual race to increase access and remove barriers to physical activity, especially amongst under-represented groups in society.
“The first thing which got the board’s attention was the fact that this was going to be breaking new ground for our organisation and for the sport and physical activity sector,” states Olu.
“They had not previously considered a project that was as coordinated with such a diverse range of stakeholders or multi-layered as this before, where sport and physical activity was not an end in itself but a tool, not just to benefit young people, but to have a major impact on social change.
“It was the first major project funded in the Strategic Partnership Programme that was national in scope, working in conjunction with a statutory body outside of the sport and physical activity sector.”
The Youth Justice Board’s key role and the involvement of organisations like the Ministry of Justice, Sport England and Sport Wales as steering group partners demonstrated the project’s credibility and scalability.
“It was quickly clear to them that this could result in change of policy and impact across the whole country and potentially internationally,” comments Olu. “This could ignite conversations about the role of sport and physical activity in the desistance of crime at the highest level.
"Prior to us presenting this concept, our trustees hadn’t considered how we might play a role in addressing this siloed approach that is so often unhelpful – thinking of things as either a criminal justice issue or a sport and physical activity issue. With its connectivity of issues and blend of stakeholders from across sectors, this project can, and will, get things done.
“So, the board were impressed with the numbers, the methodology and the stakeholders involved. It really ticked a lot of boxes.”
The initial connection between The Trust and the Alliance of Sport (who manage LtPF) came quite by chance in 2018.
Olu’s prior experience at child poverty charity Buttle UK taught him that deeper investment in young people (e.g. giving them the means to realise ambitions in education and employment, rather than small handouts) was key to sustainable improvements in their lives. As a former president and founding member of 100 Black Men of London and employee of the Commission for Racial Equality, Olu was also “steeped in the issues of inequalities and stereotyping of black and minority ethnic youth” and understood the devastating impact these had on their life chances.
In 2018, Olu had just joined The Trust. With a deep personal belief in the power of sport (he was a footballer and martial artist as a youngster) and the Lammy Review newly published, the idea of improving the prospects of marginalised black, Asian and ethnic minority young people through sport and physical activity was percolating in his mind.
Around this time, Olu became aware of the 2nd Chance Project’s work using sport to support young people in the criminal justice system. Its co-founders James Mapstone and Justin Coleman were formulating ambitious plans for the Alliance of Sport. Olu was intrigued.
“I was looking to support something that identified and removed barriers to participation in physical activity for an under-represented cohort, with high impact, sustainability and scalability. James told me about his vision and his conversations with Keith Fraser [Chair of the YJB] which were along the same lines. I knew we were onto something.”
James himself adds: “From the word go the Alliance of Sport and The London Marathon Charitable Trust shared a vision for the project’s scale and potential for driving sustainable change. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity, belief and foresight they have shown.
“This funding will enable community organisations to give children of all ethnicities a platform to have their voices heard and fulfil their potential. Together, we are truly Levelling the Playing Field.”
So as one of the main advocators, facilitators and driving forces behind Levelling the Playing Field, what is Olu’s vision for the project?
“Of course, as a funder I would like to see all the outputs met – that the project has impacted positively on the lives of the thousands of people who have accessed it; that they are healthier physically, mentally and emotionally; that they have not fallen into the Criminal Justice System, or if they were already in it, that they have been helped to negotiate a path out of it to be successful, upstanding citizens.
“But in broader terms, I’d like to see in three years’ time that Levelling the Playing Field has identified for the Criminal Justice System and other associated sectors a real way to work in communities to ensure that the needs of every child, especially those who are marginalised, are met in a way that helps them towards a sense of self-actualisation.
“I hope their physical activity needs are recognised as part of a whole package of support and resources which changes how people think of them, removes the barriers and stereotyping that contributes to their marginalisation and reduces over-representation in youth justice.
“When the Lammy Review is revisited in three years’ time, I hope people namecheck the ministers who are behind Levelling the Playing Field and highlight that we’ve identified a way of making a real difference, and that it should inform the direction of future investment. That would be a real ‘sit back and smile’ moment!”
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Levelling the Playing Field was supported through The London Marathon Charitable Trust’s Strategic Partnership Grants programme. The Trust selects Strategic Partnership projects on an invitation-only basis and is not considering any new proposals for the foreseeable future due to the continuing uncertainty brought about by COVID-19.