LTA Tennis Foundation awards a further seven grants to improve lives through tennis

Aligning with its mission to improve lives through tennis, the grants awarded will support disabled children, young people, and adults to access tennis sessions, support education around the inclusion of LGBTQ+ groups within tennis, and see tennis delivered in underserved communities.   

One organisation which has been successful is Krimmz Girls Youth Club, who deliver an award-winning programme of physical, social, and confidence-building activities for girls aged 11-18 from predominantly muslim and South-Asian communities living in areas of deprivation across Bolton. 

Founder, Khadija Patel said of the grant “We are excited to have been given the opportunity to create more opportunities and access for muslims to participate in tennis, which have been limited due to financial constraints and lack of facilities to cater for the needs of the community. The support will heavily promote inclusivity within the sport, encouraging a more diverse group of participants. It will help break down cultural and social barriers, fostering an environment where muslim women and girls especially will feel represented and welcome”.  

This announcement comes a year on from the inaugural grant funding round, and as expected, some organisations who applied for, and were awarded funds through the innovate theme in round one, have this time applied for funding to scale their projects. 

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As ever, the applications went through a rigorous review process. Organinsations had to show that their project was successful, and how it has aligned to the grant framework outcomes, and ultimately, how it has improved lives through tennis.  

Successful organisations who are now scaling their projects include: 

Access Sport, Acez Tennis  

Access Sport’s vision is that no one should be excluded from the transformational benefits of playing sport. The team trains, equips and supports community sports clubs, organisations and volunteers to provide inclusive sport & physical activity, unleashing their potential to transform the lives of underserved young people in their local communities. 

Access Sport CEO, Helen Rowbotham said “The LTA Tennis Foundation’s Scale Grant is a game-changer for Access Sport. Working closely with the LTA team, this funding will allow us to launch our Acez tennis programme across more regions in the UK. Together we will support community tennis clubs to deliver fun, social, pan-disability tennis for disabled children and young people. So, a big thank you to the LTA Tennis Foundation and the LTA, we’re excited to work together over the coming years”.  

Pride in Tennis, Rally Allies  

Rally Allies is an initiative which teaches every club, park, county and commercial tennis venue in the UK how to support and celebrate their LGBTQ+ tennis participants.  

Following a successful first year, the team have identified a demand for support in three key areas of LGBTQ+ inclusion in grassroots tennis – Education, Volunteer Support, and Competition.  

Bruna Gil, Pride in Tennis Fundraising Officer and Board Member, said “We are thrilled to expand the Rally Allies programme, thanks to the grant from the LTA Tennis Foundation. This support will significantly enhance our training efforts, allowing us to reach more tennis venues nationwide and foster inclusive spaces for LGBTQ+ players." 

LTA Tennis Foundation Chair, Tim Lawler MBE said: “This was an exciting round. We had some strong applications, and I was pleased to see those who had been successful in achieving the innovate grant a year ago, going on to be successful with their scale applications. It shows that the Grant Making Framework is starting to achieve what we had hoped – that it is enabling organisations to pilot programmes that will improve lives through tennis, and then we can support them to scale longer term. I am also looking forward to seeing the progress of our newly funded organisations.”