For Sports Fun 4 All, a grant from The Haberdashers’ Company didn’t just bring in money — it gave us the time to go and find more.
The funding catch-22:
April 2025 marked a significant moment for Sports Fun 4 All. We received our first ever piece of core funding — £5,000 from The Haberdashers’ Company — not ringfenced for a specific project, but given to us as an organisation. To invest in our people and our capacity. It sounds simple, but for a community charity running free football sessions across London, it was anything but.
The reality for most small charities is that writing funding applications takes dedicated time. That time is hard to find when you’re busy delivering the work. We knew there was funding out there but it was difficult for us to get to it.
The Haberdashers’ grant changed that. It covered 25 weeks and enabled me to spend 10 dedicated hours each week on applications. Two hundred and fifty hours of focused effort that simply wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
“This was the first time we received core funding, and it was crucial in increasing our capacity to pursue funding opportunities.”
The Results: 46 Applications, 18 Wins:
Over those 25 weeks, Sports Fun 4 All submitted 46 applications to trusts, foundations and grant bodies. Eighteen were successful. Twenty-one were unsuccessful. Five are still pending — so the final tally may yet improve.
In total, we secured £98,839 — meaning that for every £1 The Haberdashers’ Company invested in our CEO’s time, we brought back roughly £19.77. That’s an impressive return on an investment for a small organisation like ours.
What the Money Funds:
Every pound of the £98,839 goes towards what Sports Fun 4 All is actually here to do: run free, high-quality football sessions for young people across London — no fees, no barriers.
Programme reach
- Free football sessions at 13 venues
- Coverage across five London boroughs
- 16 sessions delivered every week
- Holiday programmes for children on free school meals
- Sessions near Haberdashers’ Knights Academy, Downham
- Sessions near Haberdashers’ Hatcham College, New Cross
The holiday programmes matter in particular. Children eligible for free school meals are among the most underserved during school holidays. Without structured activity there can be very little for young people to do. Sport Fun 4 All’s sessions give them somewhere to be, something to belong to, and people who show up for them every week.
A Partnership to Build on
We’re grateful to The Haberdashers’ Company — not just for the grant, but for the vote of confidence it represented. Funders who back organisations, rather than just projects, are rare.
That trust feels even more meaningful given our existing connection. Sports Fun 4 All already runs sessions near Haberdashers’ Knights Academy and Haberdashers’ Hatcham College, so this relationship creates impact for Habs schools’ communities.
Quote/Testimonial
We hope to keep building it on this partnership with the Company. The children turning up to our sessions every week deserve consistency: the same faces, the same sessions, the same belief in them. Long-term partnerships make that possible. We look forward to building on our partnership with the Company.
Kieran Connelly
Founder/CEO
Sports Fun 4 All
