The London Marathon Charitable Trust has today been renamed as the London Marathon Foundation as part of a rebrand it hopes will extend its funding reach and impact.
The charity, one of the UK’s major funders of physical activity schemes, was set up in 1981 by London Marathon co-founders Chris Brasher and John Disley to distribute the surplus from the annual event.
Over the years, London Marathon Events (LME) – organiser of the London Marathon – and its portfolio of events have grown.
At the same time, so has the charitable trust, which has now awarded more than £98m in grants.
In a press release, the London Marathon Foundation said the rebrand marked an “exciting new chapter for the charity as it looks to the future and its ambitions to connect new groups and communities with funding, helping those who need the most support in leading active lives”.
It added: “This new strategy also refocused the charity’s priority audiences, putting children and young people and marginalised groups and communities at the heart of its work.
“Looking to the future, the new name and design gives scope to the London Marathon Foundation’s ambition to be recognised not only as an impactful funder, but as a leading voice for change in the sport and physical activity for development sector.”
Catherine Anderson, executive director at the foundation, said: “After more than 40 years of funding thousands of projects that have inspired activity across London and the UK, now is the right time to modernise our brand to support the charity we are today and want to be.
“We’re excited for how we can inspire activity and change lives as the London Marathon Foundation, directing our funding to where it’s most needed and creating more opportunities for those who need the most help to be active.”
Sir Rodney Walker, chair of the foundation, said: “We’re proud of what we’ve been able to achieve to inspire activity across the UK so far – from awarding £10,000 in grants in our first year to the £98m we’ve now awarded.
“We look forward to our next chapter as the London Marathon Foundation, and the role we can have in championing participation and diversity in sport and physical activity.”
The foundation will launch a new website next month and said all other work associated with the rebrand had been done in-house to minimise costs.