Impact
Find out about our Impact Programme
Our ring-fenced impact fund allows us to work with groups that fit with our Three Waves:
Waves of Growth – supporting and growing the UK’s para-surfing community
Waves of Change – working to build a more diverse surfing community – with particular focus on gender and ethnicity
Waves of Support – working with organisations using surfing and surf therapy to help those struggling with poor mental health
We are a Limited Company, rather than a charity or a not-for-profit organisation. This means you are not able to claim Gift Aid on any money you donate, but we guarantee that every penny goes towards our impact programme.
We love water, waves and the outdoors. They make us feel happy and we want to share this with more people, of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
We built this place to bring the positive power of blue space to as many as possible.
We know that we are already having an impact on those who walk through our doors. But we want to do more.
We want to support communities who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access the benefits of water and waves with us, due to financial, physical, cultural or psychological barriers.
We help make it possible for these groups to visit by offering sessions at a reduced rate – and where this price is still too high we look for ways to run sessions at no cost to the surfer.
We do this with support from our partner organisations – and thanks to brilliant individuals like you.
A few impact highlights from 2022
- We delivered 1,484 social impact surfs – these were either heavily discounted or free.
- We supported 122 adaptive surfers, booking through our usual online ticket system, to visit over the last year. Help ranged from providing extra coaches, in-water support and equipment to make their visits possible – at no extra cost to the surfer, but with a £3,800 cost contribution from the business.
- We launched our Royal Wave initiative and gave away almost 800 free beginner lessons to those that needed them most (385 codes to individuals who applied and 392 to groups under our three waves).
- We raised £8,500 in funding to enable our Summer of Waves programme.
- We ran a 6-week course with women from Bristol’s female Muslim community in association with Open Minds Active and AidBox Community.
- We worked with Active Being Connect to run courses for women based in more deprived areas of South Bristol who are struggling with poor mental health.
- We ran 4 x 6-week surf therapy courses with The Wave Project, alongside a regular Surf Club for children that have been through a surf therapy course.
- We hosted the 2022 English Adaptive Surfing Open competition – and supported Team England Adaptive to train for and get to the World Para Surfing Championships in California.
Read our impact reports
For further information and case studies, check out our annual Impact Reports
To enquire about the impact programme contact impact@thewave.com