The London Marathon Charitable Trust has changed its name for the first time in more than 30 years, the organisation announced today.
Now called the London Marathon Foundation, the charity has a new logo and will be publishing a new website next month.
Its trading subsidiary, London Marathon Events (LME), undertook the rebrand in-house at no cost to the charity.
The charity, which was founded in 1981 by London Marathon co-founders Chris Brasher and John Disley to distribute the surplus made from the annual running event, made £820,000-worth of grants in 2021.
This was down from £4.4m of grants made in 2020, with the charity’s income affected by event cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The charity’s rebrand follows its new funding strategy, published last year, which centres on “inspiring, encouraging and championing participation and diversity in physical activity, and puts children and young people and marginalised groups and communities at the heart of the Foundation’s work”.
Its Active Spaces Fund opened in October and remains open to charities in London.
Catherine Anderson, executive director at the London Marathon 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 – continuing the legacy of the London Marathon co-founders and helping many more people lead active and healthy lives.”
Rodney Walker, chair of the London Marathon 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 organisation was founded as London Marathon Limited in 1981, before changing to the London Marathon Charitable Trust in 1992.
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