The Championships 2024 has ended, the world’s greatest tennis players and visiting fans have left the All England Club Grounds, but the magic of Wimbledon continues throughout the year, thanks to charitable grants from the Wimbledon Foundation.
Currently celebrating its tenth year, the Wimbledon Foundation, the official charity of the All England Club and The Championships, awarded 62 grants this summer, totalling over £679,000. This financial support helps charities and community projects in Merton and Wandsworth across four funds: the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund, Community Fund+, Health and Wellbeing Fund, and Get Set, Get Active Fund.
Since 2014, the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund has awarded £1.7 million through 287 grants to wide-ranging projects which have helped more than 45,000 people. This fund is currently open to applications until midday on Monday 9 September 2024 and supports organisations in Merton and Wandsworth which tackle a range of social needs. These include improving health and wellbeing, providing access to learning, training and employment skills, offering specialist support and advice for vulnerable groups, and encouraging participation within the community. Follow this link to apply for support.
In June, the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund awarded a total of £183,000 to 20 organisations. Among the recipients was St Raphael’s Hospice in Merton, which received a grant towards its Compassionate Neighbours programme, where volunteers provide social, emotional and practical support to residents affected by life-limiting illness, isolation and loneliness.
David Morris, St Raphael’s Hospice Philanthropy Manager, said: “This project will have a tremendous impact on the wellbeing of the people we support in our community, which is only possible thanks to the generous support of the Wimbledon Foundation.”
Wandsworth-based children’s charity Rackets Cubed was awarded a grant to fund 130 additional opening hours at the Roehampton Community Box Hub’s social supermarket, supporting an additional 50 vulnerable families living locally, not just with food and hygiene products, but also signposting them to further help.
The Foundation’s Community Fund+ awarded grants totalling £183,000 to five previously funded groups.
Heidi Shrimpton, Director of Learn English Together in Merton, which offers free English lessons to adults living in and around Merton, said: “The Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund+ support enables our learners to progress their English language, build confidence and integrate into their local community and have better access to progression opportunities such as college, volunteering and employment.”
Nine organisations in Merton and Wandsworth have been awarded three-year grants totalling £675,000 (£225,000 per year) by the Foundation’s Health and Wellbeing Fund, supporting projects which aim to improve the mental and physical health of people in Merton and Wandsworth and tackle social isolation.
Waste Not Want Not’s ‘Healthy Eating, Healthy Living’ initiative received funding to deliver healthy eating classes, education and meals at their hub in Battersea, ensuring perfectly edible and nutritious food does not become waste and is instead channelled for the benefit of the local community.
Merton’s Sunlight Youth Programme, run by the Community Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service (CDARS) charity, received a three-year grant to help provide a wraparound programme for young people aged 18-25 who may be experiencing mental health issues and other complex needs.
A further 28 organisations benefitted from Get Set, Get Active Fund grants, supporting local community groups and clubs in Merton and Wandsworth, running projects which aim to increase the opportunities for local people of all ages and abilities to access and participate in sport and exercise. In total, £88,954 was awarded.
Recipients include Spencer Lynx, a free hockey club for under-served state primary school children who have not had the opportunity to be physically active outside school, and Disability Sports Coach, an inclusive community sports club in Wandsworth, whose spokesperson Rachael Woods said: “The Get Set, Get Active Fund has enabled Club Wandsworth to go from strength to strength. Our disabled members tell us that the club is the highlight of their week and without it they would have nowhere to play the sports they love. Club Wandsworth continues to grow, and we are so grateful for the support of the Wimbledon Foundation in ensuring its continued success.”
Amanda Horton-Mastin, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation said of the local investment: “In this tenth anniversary year of the Wimbledon Foundation, we are delighted to have awarded over £679,000 to 62 excellent organisations through our local grant programmes across Merton and Wandsworth. We are proud to support all our new grantees and look forward to seeing the impact of their work in the local community. We are also excited to receive new applications for our current round of the Wimbledon Foundation Community Fund which closes on 9 September.”
