Message from the Chair
I am always delighted to read about our charity’s impact across many areas. It especially means more as we are in such challenging times with the rising cost of living and the impact this has on our communities and disabled people’s lives. I am extremely proud of the determination and passion that our staff team and board trustees have to work towards our vision, and achieve our goals.
The highlights for me this year include celebrating a real milestone – 25 years as a charity. I became chair in 2018 when we rebranded as Activity Alliance and within those five years, we undoubtedly faced tests in many ways, quite notably a global pandemic. Yet, we cannot forget the many opportunities and positive moments seeing change and our recognition as the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity. It is certainly a very different picture to when we began 25 years ago, but we are needed more than ever.
You will enjoy the many stories throughout this report that show how we impact people’s lives and ways of working. We cannot ignore the value of inclusion in a society where more than 16 million disabled people live. That is why we need to recognise the huge impact from our work. You will read powerful stories, including the new England Football training, Get Out Get Active increasing activities up and down the UK and raising awareness through wider policy engagement.
During challenging times for many in our society, we continue to be grateful about sponsorship, partnerships and opportunities that all our funders bring. We completed our second of a five-year cycle through Sport England’s system partner funding and were delighted to welcome People’s Partnership as principal sponsor of our much-loved junior athletics championships.
I hope you enjoy our Annual Report and support us in any way possible.
Sam Orde OBE
Chair
Reflections from our CEO
In January, I completed my first year as the charity’s Chief Executive. We have made significant improvements in the way that we work, becoming more efficient and more effective. I am proud of our team and the difference we make every day. This report outlines the breadth and strength of the impact we made across the year.
Our values continue to guide our approach. We care, unite, and champion, and disabled people remain at the heart of our thinking and delivery.
The partnerships team is central to our national, regional, and local work. They have ensured more organisations have access to expertise, resources, and training. Building networks and relationships with a range of partners, activity leaders and disabled people.
With a growing programme, events, and workforce portfolio, we have had the chance to test and learn using our resources and strong routes to providers. All this work is underpinned by our experts in research, communication, organisational health, and finance who continue to strengthen our foundations allowing us to increase our impact.
We are creating change and improving people's lives for the better through sport, physical activity and allowing people the opportunity to get active. However, many people still do not have access to meaningful opportunities. We must change that.
As we launch our new strategy at the end of 2024, we will build on the impact we have had in the last 25 years. Working alongside others, I am confident that we will create a better future.
Adam Blaze
Chief Executive Officer
This year's impact at a glance
We are values-led and our work reflects how we care, unite with others and champion disabled people. The following summary highlights the impact we are proud to have made this year.
Celebrating 25 years as a charity
We celebrated our 25th anniversary in September, noting that there has been a remarkable change over a quarter of a century. But our role as the leading voice for disabled people in sport and activity remains more necessary than ever before.
Partners come together to celebrate successful Get Out Get Active
Since 2016, our Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme has reached over 55,000 disabled and non-disabled people, bringing them together to be active in creative and innovative ways.
In October we held a celebration event bringing providers and partners together from 35 locations across the UK to recognise and celebrate the work of all those involved in the GOGA programme. The event, held in Birmingham, reflected on the impact of GOGA, and celebrated how providers have embedded the GOGA principles throughout their work to change the lives of all those taking part.
At the end of the event, all lead partners were presented with an Embedding Inclusion Award. They have continued to show how the GOGA approach can help organisations do things differently across the UK.
Read more here: GOGA continues to change lives through sport and activity
Fourth annual survey reveals the impact of cost of living and loneliness on activity rates
We released the results of our 2022-2023 Annual Disability and Activity Survey in June with a stark warning that the rising cost of living and its wider impact are having a negative effect on disabled people’s activity and wellbeing. Four in 10 (37%) disabled people said the cost of living crisis had affected how active they are, versus three in 10 (32%) non-disabled people.
The survey tracks changes in experience and perceptions of sport and physical activity with almost 2,000 disabled and non-disabled adults taking part in the survey between August and October 2022.
Read the key survey findings here: Annual survey: Need to reduce cost of living and loneliness
"I want to try new sports for the first time, but the cost of inclusive equipment is huge and I can’t afford it. Many clubs have shut, or cost has soared - and I don’t have money spare to spend because of the increased bills and rent. Physical activity is still so important to me, but it’s becoming harder than ever."
Ella Mae, research participantFor the first time the survey was released alongside a set of requests to Government to effect change to support disabled people to be and stay active. These included, delivering cross-government action with a cabinet-level position to co-ordinate its work and increasing the disability cost of living payment from £150 to £200, to support disabled people to stay active.
Our call to prioritise disabled people in policy
On 3 December, the United Nations’ International Day of Disabled People, our Vice President John Amaechi OBE joined us to call on the government to give disabled people more support to equally reap the benefits of being active.
Government activity commitments must prioritise disabled people
Boosting workforce confidence and skills
Here's a collection of impact stories highlighting how we've helped increase the confidence and skills of coaches, clubs and organisations to engage and empower disabled people in sports and activities.
Kicking off the new England Football disability training for clubs
In October England Football launched Disability Training for Clubs: Journey to Inclusion, a training programme created to encourage more grassroots clubs to open their doors to disabled people to play and get involved with football in their local community. Activity Alliance was heavily involved with the FA in the development of this training programme.
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Activity Alliance brings together experts of inclusive delivery
Activity Alliance are creating a group of expert tutors to share inclusive delivery across England.
Sharing Get Out Get Active learning through new workforce resources
In November we released a collection of resources inspired by the Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme, to help organisations, activity leaders and commissioners support more disabled people in the sport and physical activity workforce. The resources are based on research we carried out with Haringey Council which looked at the key qualities and skills of deliverers and leaders in Haringey.
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Activity Alliance plays key role in UK Coaching's Duty To Care Hub
Activity Alliance has worked with UK Coaching to develop the Inclusion pillar of the Duty to Care Hub.
Young para swimmers go for gold in national championships
In June, more than 100 young disabled swimmers took part in the National Junior Para-Swimming Championships in Coventry. The event is a well-established part of the nation’s swimming pathway for young disabled people. We are proud to have seen more than 5,000 talented youngsters take part in our junior swimming programme over the year.
Young para swimmers take part in thrilling National Championships
People’s Partnership sponsorship gives boost to athletics event
We were thrilled to be supported by the People’s Partnership for our annual National Junior Athletics Championships in Coventry in July. The partnership meant we were able to deliver a fantastic inclusive two-day event for 140 young disabled athletes. They enjoyed a full track and field programme, with an event for juniors with every impairment to take part in.
People's Partnership sponsor National Junior Athletics Championships
"I was looking for something to do during the lockdown. I always did quite well in PE at school, so I did some searching online and found a programme where I could show them what I was made of. Since taking up athletics the last one and half years have been the best time of my life."
Leon, junior athleteNew insight webinars and podcast series raise awareness
Building on the insight from this year’s Annual Survey, we successfully hosted a series of webinars to take an in-depth look on specific topics. More than 100 people signed up for each free online event. The topics included physical health, mental health and wellbeing, cost of living, intersectionality and diversity, representation and workforce, outdoor spaces and active travel. Each event brought us together with key partners and disabled people who shared their insight and expertise.
In February, we released the first in a series of eight Get Out Get Active (GOGA) Active Together podcasts. Each episode featured a different person’s experience of GOGA and how the programme helped them to become active, or support others to be active too. We released the Active Together podcasts every two weeks, hosted by Sam Lloyd from Lloyd Bell Productions.
Read more here: Introducing the new Active Together podcast series
In their words
Here, some of our strategic partners, funders and supporters share their thoughts about the positive impact Activity Alliance has made this year.
Tim Hollingsworth, Sport England’s Chief Executive and Government Disability Access Advisor for Sport and Physical Activity, said about our Annual Disability and Activity Survey 22-23:
"This year’s report highlights how the cost of living is being felt acutely by disabled people. The findings are a stark reminder that further and sustained action is needed to tackle the barriers faced by many disabled people when playing sport and getting active and that remains a major element of our strategy and investment at Sport England.
While mindful of the financial pressures on organisations in the sector, we would urge all to recognise the report’s findings as part of their work to ensure their offer is affordable and accessible for disabled people."
James Kendall, FA Director of Football Development:
"Football is our national game. It has the power to bring people together, remove social barriers and be a force for good across all communities. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Activity Alliance to support grassroots clubs in growing disability provision, providing them with a toolkit and training opportunities to help clubs to become more inclusive of disabled people, both on-and off-pitch."
John Amaechi OBE, Activity Alliance Vice President, said on International Day of Disabled People:
"Nobody can deny the impact that sport and physical activity, when done well, can have on people’s lives. But we cannot sit back on our laurels if we have thousands of disabled people still feeling excluded, left out or dismissed.
Disabled people want more influence on the policies that affect them and the activities they are involved in. Nearly two-thirds of disabled people told us in our research that the government should be focusing on making activities affordable to help more people to be active. We need the government to understand the wider challenges that people are facing around cost of living and match it with the level of investment, innovation and policy change that proves they are taking these issues seriously."
"Our partnership with Activity Alliance dates back well over 20 years and it’s a privilege to financially support and get involved with its regional games and Junior Championships. Together the impact we make improves the lives of individuals, families, groups, and whole communities."
David Pope, Lions Clubs British Isles’ Chair of Council. Long term supporters of our National Junior Athletics Championships"We have loved getting out and seeing the brilliant work that has been done across the UK by those working on GOGA, and hearing from the participants. Many of them continue to be active a year or more on from participating in GOGA. But it’s the seemingly small successes that make me proud – the ones that are so transformational for the person involved.
When I’ve travelled to GOGA locations, I’ve heard people tell me about making friends, going on holiday together, feeling valued and appreciated, developing support networks, starting volunteering, taking less medication – as well as getting fitter."
Ruth Hollis, Spirit of 2012’s Chief Executive. Spirit of 2012 is Get Out Get Active's (GOGA) founding funder.
Organisational wellbeing
We pride ourselves on building a positive culture that ensures we get the best out of our people and resources.
In line with our objectives, governance and funding commitments, we ensured all staff had time and space to talk through their wellbeing and develop through performance reviews. With a new CEO on board, in January 2024, we took the opportunity to reshape our leadership team. Three managers moved into head roles, and there were two other promotions for organisational health and programmes leads. We also recruited a Finance Officer, Communications Officer and a Project Officer.
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace
We continue with our ambition for Activity Alliance to be reflective of the people we serve within our communities. We are committed to championing equality, diversity and inclusion in all aspects of employment and in the services we provide.
Diversity Inclusion Action Plan
We developed our Diversity Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) with leads in the management team and the newly formed focus working group. The DIAP process covered a short but intense period across February and March. This plan captures our ambitions and improvement plan for our equality work across the charity. The group will meet with our equality lead throughout the year to oversee the actions against its timescales.
Our diversity profile
We use the social model of disability in our approach to all work. However, we know that some definitions used for protected characteristics can challenge this model, in particular the disability definition. The social model emphasises that it is society and barriers created by society that disable people, not a person’s impairment or condition.
We recognise this difference in our diversity profile by presenting two figures for disability. Figure one presents the percentage of people with an impairment and/or long-term health condition. Figure two presents the percentage of people with a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on everyday life. Figure two aligns closely to the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010.
These are the findings from May 2023 equal opportunities survey conducted among employees and Board members.
Activity Alliance diversity profile figures - (percentage of total number)
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- Figure 1: People with an impairment, long-term health condition or illness - 45% in 2023 (51% in 2022)
- Figure 2: People with a physical or mental impairment that has a 'substantial' and 'long-term' negative effect on their ability to do normal daily activites - 19% in 2023 (23% in 2022)
- Figure 3: Female - 67% in 2023 (67% in 2022)
- Figure 4: Lesbian, gay, bisexual - 12% in 2023 (10% in 2022)
- Figure 5: From an ethnically diverse background - 10% in 2023 (13% in 2022)
Financial wellbeing and fundraising
Activity Alliance’s total income for the financial year 2023-24 amounted to £2,929,768. Sport England investment continues to be one of the charity’s largest funding contributions and we are proud to be considered one of their system partners. Their financial backing means we can deliver programmes and services that help others to embed good practice and change attitudes towards disabled people in sport and activity.
Spirit of 2012, London Marathon Charitable Trust and Sport England National Lottery provided significant funding contributions for Get Out Get Active (GOGA) programme delivery.
We received £207,000 from a legacy, which will help us greatly towards achieving our charity objectives.
Our fundraising events included support from generous people taking part in the London Marathon and other community activities.
In October, we renewed our charitable partnership with Lions Clubs British Isles, who are part of Lions International, the world's largest voluntary service club organisation, members volunteer their time to humanitarian causes. For more than 20 years, Lions Clubs have supported Activity Alliance regional games and National Junior Athletics Championships, where more than 140 young disabled athletes compete each year.
This year we continued to develop our income generation activities to ensure our future is secure. The focus on our income generation strategy allows us to grow ideas and will lead us to work with different funders in the future.
Early on, we set an income generation target, which we exceeded, including a new corporate sponsorship with People’s Partnership. We secured additional monies through projects including consultancy for a BBC campaign and inclusive research. We also acted as expert inclusive communication consultants for various organisations and provided training to their teams. People working in various sectors continue to benefit from our online customer service training.
A full breakdown of Activity Alliance's income and expenditure for the year end 31 March 2024 is available in our Annual Trustees' Report and Accounts document. This is available to download in PDF format at the bottom of this webpage.
Annual Report 2023-24 alternative formats
Here you will find a summary of our annual impact highlights for the year 2023-24 in various alternative formats.
British Sign Language translation
This video provides a summary of our annual impact highlights in British Sign Language. It also features captions and an audio voiceover.
Watch British Sign Language summary of Activity Alliance Annual Trustees' Report 2023-24
Easy read summary
We have also provided our annual impact summary in easy read format. Easy Read uses pictures to support the meaning of text and give the essential details without a lot of background information.
View Activity Alliance Annual Trustee's Report 2023-24 easy read summary