Sport plays an important role in improving the lives of millions of people across the world, bringing people together to play, learn, improve their health and benefit from shared experiences. By bringing together rugby’s core values of teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship, Comic Relief and England Rugby will tackle a number of significant social challenges including educational attainment, social inclusion, unemployment, mental and physical wellbeing, personal development and community cohesion. Try for Change works to promote, support and grow rugby as a tool for social good, working with charities, clubs and individuals who use rugby and these core values to drive change. Try for Change aims to help people reach their goals and fulfil their potential, as well as deliver long-term benefits to the wider community. 
The first initiative launched under the Try for Change Fund is a small grants programme and this initiative is predominantly aimed at smaller charities, community groups and local community rugby clubs.
Examples of work this could fund are:
Where rugby is being used to help the rehabilitation of young offenders
Where rugby is helping achieve community integration for local refugees
Where rugby is provided to young people who are not in education, employment or training as part of a personal development programme
For this programme Comic Relief wants proposals to go above and beyond confidence building and to demonstrate how sport can be used to achieve positive social change. Proposals to this initiative will need to demonstrate wider social outcomes and not just focus on increasing participation in sport.
Proposals must be using rugby union to achieve social change, and proposals must work towards a minimum of one of the following outcomes:
• Increase community cohesion
• Improve educational attainment
• Increase employability
• Reduce involvement in gangs and reduce the risk of re-offending
• Improve mental and physical health
• Increase social integration
• Rugby for Change
Try for Change is focused on using rugby union or the rugby community as a tool for social good.
Proposals are welcome for grants between £2,500 and £10,000 for one year of activity. The work must take place in England. The focus of the applicant organisation must be in the local community and Comic Relief are keen to receive applications from organisations based within the community in which they are working.
Applicants should be based in the UK and have a maximum turnover of £500,000.
For further information and to apply, visit: www.comicrelief.com/grants/initiatives/try-for-change
Deadline: Friday 31 March 2017, 12:00