Active Thames Fund
About Active Thames
Active Thames is a partnership programme designed to support the development of watersports on the tidal Thames and inland waterways in London, Kent, and Essex. With over 15,000 football pitches worth of blue space, the tidal Thames is a fantastic place to get active. There is also an extensive network of inland waterways, which provide even more space for people to enjoy, and perfect locations to gain the skills and confidence needed to take on the tidal river.
Active Thames is delivered by the following organisations: Active Essex, Active Kent and Medway, London Sport, Paddle UK, British Rowing, Paddle UK, Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Canal & River Trust, Thames Path National Trail, and the PLA.
Photo: Laburnum Boat Club, previous grant recipients
About the Fund
Impact Reports
The Active Thames Fund is dedicated to fostering growth in water sports and enhancing the use of the Thames Path National Trail. It is focused on improving access, diversity, and inclusion, while raising awareness of the benefits of physical activity in blue space.
Now in its fifth year, the fund has awarded over £550,000 to 63 different clubs, each encouraging sport and physical activity on the region’s blue space. To date, over 8,280 individuals have benefitted from Active Thames funding. In 2024 alone, and with a boost from Tideway, the funding supported 3,826 individuals to participate in 1,248 activity sessions, with an additional 380 people developing key coaching skills and qualifications.
This year we have just over £100,000 to award.
Find out more about previous grant recipients through our Impact Reports:
View the 2024 Impact Report
View the 2023 Impact Report
View the 2022 Impact Report
Funding Priorities
As in previous years, the Active Thames fund links to the recommendations of the Active Thames Participation and Workforce Survey conducted in 2021, which is available here. Identified priorities and key areas of development were also supported by a Pulse Workforce Survey conducted in 2025.
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that align with one or more of the following objectives:
- Increase diversity in participation: Particularly among under-represented groups including:
- Children & Young People
- Ethnically diverse communities
- LGBTQ+ communities
- People with disabilities
- People with long term health conditions
- People from lower socio-economic groups
- Workforce Development: Enhancing the skills and capabilities of coaches, volunteers, and administrative support teams.
Most of the Active Thames grants awarded to date have been around £5000. Organisations seeking to apply for amounts higher than this should be in confident in the ability to meet multiple objectives, and ideally can demonstrate prior success in similar projects, although this is not essential. Previous beneficiaries of Active Thames grants are welcome to apply again.
Applicants are also encouraged to clearly highlight in their applications how their projects support the wider objectives and outcomes of the Active Thames grant, namely to:
- Improve people’s health and wellbeing (physical and/or mental)
- Build greater community connections.
Any opportunities which are open to the community need to be digitally accessible, too. Simply listing an activity on one platform, e.g. Facebook, would not be considered digitally accessible. More information on Open Active is available here and a free platform for all clubs to use is available here.
**Exceptions may be made for clubs formed according to unique interests or demographics, e.g., the Sea Cadets who only work with children.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Active Thames focuses on the waterways in Greater London, Kent and Essex including docks, basins, reservoirs, canals, lakes and rivers that feed into the tidal Thames and its Estuary.
The fund will not cover:
- Initiatives without a link to the waterways identified or the Thames Path National Trail.
- Retrospective costs.
- Marketing costs and expenses.
- Organisations known to be acting unsafely or harming the environment.
- Individuals.
- Any initiatives or organisations that create a conflict of interest for any of the Active Thames partners.
No. We can only give grants to formally constituted organisations with a bank account in the name of that organisation.
Funding will be awarded in December with delivery expected to commence by the start of Spring. If this is not possible, please make this clear within your application.
© 2025 Active Thames