Impact and sustainability

During the year we administered 16 grant programmes, assessed 736 applications, and awarded over £27 million in grants. Projects funded during the year supported over 230,000 beneficiaries in a wide variety of ways.

Supporting sustainability of services in the armed forces sector 

As a fixed term funder, facilitating and encouraging sustainable projects and professional networks is vital. Many of the issues facing the armed forces community are inter-related and long-term, so doing what we can to enable projects to sustain their work beyond the initial funding period ensures that veterans and their families get ongoing access to support. 

We look at three broad areas: financial sustainability; operational sustainability; and sustainability of impact. 

For the projects we fund, we encourage them to focus on how their achievements and progress will sustain beyond the life of the grant or specific programme. Recent programme evaluations have highlighted this. 

The Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme found that building trust with veterans, between organisations and with the wider community, was instrumental in improving awareness of mental health and wellbeing services; reaching new beneficiaries; establishing new connections; and increasing referrals through improving systems, processes and communication. 

Other programmes have allowed grant holders to participate in training, equipping them with skills that they can continue to use beyond the funding period. Funding to Thorney Island Community Primary School, for example, under the Service Pupil Support programme (SPSP) allowed staff members to become ‘Drawing and Talking’ practitioners, aiming to provide further support to service children with emotional needs around attachment. 

While in the short-term, these skills will positively impact children within the programme, these skills will continue to be put to good use well beyond the life of the grant. This ensures the sustainability of support offered to service children in schools, so they do not feel alone in their emotional needs. 

Similarly, Llantwit Major School, also funded under the SPSP programme, has reported substantial growth in leadership skills, self-esteem, and collaborative abilities among service pupils - leaving a legacy for these young people which will have impact far beyond the grant. 

Examples of collaborative working have been reported across Thrive Together portfolios with professional relationships being fostered, not only with other portfolio regions or veteran charities but with wider statutory providers such as DWP, the NHS, and HMPPS. In developing these connections, portfolios have hosted webinars and in-person events to spread awareness of their work, connect with key contacts, and encourage organisational change. 

For example, the Armed Forces Community HQ in the Northwest region has shown a clear commitment to collaborative working through the development of the Forces Wellbeing Collective, ‘a network of professionals, volunteers, and cross-sector organisations working together to improve the wellbeing of the armed forces community in the Northwest’.