Beyond Sport is a global organization dedicated to promoting, funding, and celebrating social innovation

that uses sport to create positive change

We do this through: The Beyond Sport Awards, the Beyond Sport Summit, and Beyond Sport World

We’ve connected with over 700 organizations - NGOs, federations, teams, charities, etc. - throughout the world that use sport in innovative and entrepreneurial ways to trigger social change. Through the Beyond Sport Awards, unique best practices and those that are especially innovative are promoted and funded…

Unearthing Best Practice: Innovation and Entrepreneurialism

What makes an innovative, unique sports program?

When it comes to innovation, one of the key best practices Beyond Sport has come across is the ‘fund-generating’ program. In other words, there is an entrepreneurial element to how the organization attains funding. So, in addition to using sport as a tool to address a social issue – whether that be social inclusion, conflict resolution, education – the program has developed a way to incorporate a positive way to attain funds and support, other than traditional sponsorship/fundraising.

Best practice example: Moving The Goalposts

• Located in Kilifi, Kenya, where girls are twice as likely to become infected with HIV as boys.

• Engages with girls between 10 and 25 years old who are marginalised by social, economic and academic limitations, in football teams.

• The activities of these teams are then paired with health education and training sessions.

Fund Generating practice: Selling packs of sanitary pads to the local female population, which include health messages

Best practice example: Boxgirls

• Began in Berlin Germany and has since expanded to Kenya and South Africa

• Empowers girls through boxing and self defence courses

• Works with girls to bridge ethnic divides, overcome economic barriers, and helps to make them strong leaders in their community

Fund Generating practice:• Started an internet cafe above

the gym• Corporate workshops• Gym memberships

Fund-generating programming: Why is it so great?

•Allows charities and NGOs to veer away from relying on sponsorship and traditional fundraising methods

•This then allows them to become independently sustainable, when it comes to income streams.

• It provides a natural way for the program participants to be employed and trained for real-life skills.

•Impacts the entire community, beyond only the participants of the project

Continuing the conversation…

•Is this indeed an innovative and entrepreneurial best practice?

•Are there downsides to integrating this type of approach into your programming?

•Other examples you have come across? – In academic research and/or practitioners in the field?

•How can we gather these innovative best practices and make them available for other organisations around the world to apply to their own programming?