Active Thames Fund
2025: Now open for applications
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.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, applicants must:
- Be formally constituted as a not-for-profit or statutory organisation.
- Operate activities based on or alongside waterways in Greater London, Kent or Essex, including docks, basins, reservoirs, canals, lakes and rivers that connect to the tidal Thames and its Estuary.
- Begin project delivery the start of Spring 2026 / conclude by Autumn 2026
- Commit to ongoing reporting and collaboration with the PLA’s Impact & Partnerships Officer to monitor the use of funds and project outcomes.
- Have safeguarding and equal opportunities policies in place. If you do not have them, Club Matters has suitable templates which you can use. An Active Thames partner may visit your activity and ask for proof of your safeguarding policy and/or equal opportunities policy at any time.
- Ensure that all activities that are open to the public are digitally accessible and compliant with Open Active standards. More information is available here. If you are not familiar with Open Active, please contact us to find out more.
Important dates
Applications open from 15 September 2025.
Applications close on 19 October 2025.
Funding decisions and communications to all applicants will be made within four weeks of the closing date.
Within your application you will need to provide detailed information about how you intend to use the funding and who the intended beneficiaries are. Please note the following:
Applications will be scored against the following criteria:
- A clear delivery outline and budget proposal;
- A clear demonstration of how the project contributes to the Active Thames objectives and outcomes, including increasing diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, promoting health and wellbeing, and/or supporting strong community connections;
- Adherence to safety, safeguarding, and environmental best practice; and
- Ability to complete the project within the stated timeframe.
Your application will be reviewed by a panel comprising of Active Thames partners, including Active Essex, Active Kent & Medway, London Sport, British Rowing, Paddle UK, Royal Yachting Association (RYA), Canal & River Trust, Thames Path National Trail and the PLA. Your application may also be shared with other potential funders at the discretion of the Impact and Partnerships Officer.
Successful organisations will be required to submit a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Report at the end of their project delivery. An example of a previous M&E template can be found here for reference.
Please submit your application via the following form.
This will be available online from 15 September 2025.
As the form will not ‘save’ automatically we recommend you prepare your responses in a Word document before submission.
If you are unable to complete the form due to accessibility needs, please get in touch through [email protected]
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.
Support & Guidance
If you require any support with your application, are unable to complete an online form, or have any further questions please contact us at [email protected].
We will also be holding a number of online ‘drop-in’ sessions for groups who may wish to speak to us directly:
- 1 October, 12-1pm
- 8 October, 12-1pm
If you do wish to make use of these, please contact us at [email protected] and we will share joining information with you.
© 2025 Active Thames