Anita White Fund

The Anita White Fund (AWF) aims to support female leaders in sport around the world. 

PLEASE NOTE: The application window for the 2024 Anita White Fund has now closed.

A legacy of the Anita White Foundation, the AWF has been established to honour Dr Anita White OBE and Cath Sweet – two leading figures in the women and sport movement who collaborated on a number of international sport development projects.   

The AWF consists of two sets of awards to reflect Anita and Cath’s respective fields of expertise, with each one granting amounts of up to £2000 per successful applicant in one funding cycle.  

• The Anita White Catalyst Grant is to enable women who have successfully completed leadership programmes to advance the women and sport movement in their countries/regions/organisations. For example, the grant could be used to implement initiatives promoting networking and coalition building or to develop action plans for the advancement of women and sport.
• The Cath Sweet Award supports women who wish to deliver programmes that promote social inclusion through sport, and will prioritise activities with a focus on disability. This fund is supported by UK Sport in memory of Cath and her work to use sport to deliver positive social impact around the world.  

Grant Amount:                                         

Anita White Catalyst Grant: between £500 – £2000 

Cath Sweet Award: between £500 – £2000  

Criteria for support

All initiatives must: 

• Have a clear start and end date for activities funded through the grant (the earliest start date is May 1st 2024, the latest end date is December 31st 2025). 
• Have other local support for the planned activities – this can be financial (such as other grants or partnership funding) or in-kind (such as donated equipment, facilities, volunteers, etc) 

Anita White Catalyst Grant 

• Catalyst Grant initiatives must be led by a graduate of a women’s sport leadership programme 
• Initiatives must be implemented in countries where women face particular challenges 
• Initiatives should benefit women in sport leadership roles, and contribute to the building or enhancement of the women and sport movement  

Cath Sweet Award 

• Cath Sweet Award projects must be led by a female sports leader located in a low- or middle-income country 
• Project outcomes must have a clear focus on promoting social inclusion for marginalised groups in society (not just within sport), with priority for programmes focused on disability inclusion 
• Projects must have the support of a local organisation that will help to ensure the impact of activities is sustainable 

Items that will not be funded 

• Conference participation costs for individuals (unless there is a clear strategy for how this achieves your aims) 
• Purchase of personal equipment such as laptops, mobile phones or tablets  
• Training course fees for individuals 

Application Process

• Applications must be received by February 1st 2024, midnight GMT. 
• Applications should be submitted using the Application Form. 
• Individuals can apply to one fund only (either the Anita White Catalyst Grant OR the Cath Sweet Award) per funding period.
• Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page for additional information.
• Successful Applicants will be informed by email and announced on the IWG Website. 
• Approved Grantees will be required to sign an Agreement with Sport and Recreation Alliance before receiving funds. 

Download a pdf of the AWF Application Form

Read the Anita White Fund Frequently Asked Questions

Reporting

• Grantees will be required to submit updates including photos or video during the initiative 
• All projects must be completed by December 31st 2025 
• Grantees are required to submit a report no more than five weeks after the initiative has been completed 
• Learning from the funded projects will be shared widely to encourage good practice, with some showcased at the IWG World Conference in July 2026. 

Governance

The AWF is hosted by the IWG UK’s Secretariat via the IWG Funding, Accountability and Assurance Group. 

The AWF budget forms part of the Sport and Recreation Alliance’s commitment to have financial management for the IWG, and the fund is ringfenced for these awards. 

The Fund is coordinated by Professor Elizabeth Pike, co-founder of the Anita White Foundation, in a voluntary capacity.   

The operation of the fund is delivered by the following AWF Team of volunteers: 

• Dr Lombe Mwambwa (AWF Scholar) 
• Dr Lucy Piggott (AWF Scholar) 
• Jen Browning (UK Sport)