Earn up to $2500 from the Sportsmanship Initiative.

The St. Louis Sports Commission – through its affiliated Sports Foundation – is undertaking an effort to make St. Louis a model community for good sportsmanship by providing financial assistance to youth sports leagues, associations, individual teams, and sports-related nonprofits committed to participating in and implementing the Sports Commission’s Sportsmanship Initiative. The Sportsmanship Initiative is a series of programs that advance the ideals of respect, civility, integrity, and fair play. Through these grants, the Sports Commission will take a direct role in helping athletes, parents, coaches, officials, and fans create a positive sports environment that enables kids to play hard, have fun, and learn the lessons that lead to active, healthy, and happy lives.

Grants typically range between $500 and $2,500 to cover the direct costs of developing and operating a youth sports program. Equipment, uniforms, competition fees, facility improvements and other expenses which directly impact youth participation will be funded. However, grant funds cannot be used for employee salaries, rent/mortgage, utilities, transportation, and other administrative costs. For an organization to be eligible to receive grants, it must be an independent 501(c)(3) organization. Additionally, the application process requires a prospective grantee to earn a minimum of 25 quality points through participation in Sportsmanship Initiative programs. Please read the entire grant application carefully. A completed Sportsmanship Grant Scoresheet (page 5) must be submitted with your application. To be clear, earning a prescribed number of quality points does not guarantee funding. It only guarantees an organization’s eligibility to receive funding. The organization must still demonstrate a thoughtful, comprehensive, and inclusive application to help further the goals of its sports programs.

However, preference is given to organizations that earn quality points above and beyond the minimum. Participation in Sportsmanship Initiative programs coupled with a clear, effective program demonstrates the prospective grantee’s commitment to creating more positive environments in youth sports. Grants are not made to support political activity, legislative lobbying, fundraising events, or sponsorship ads.  Interested organizations can apply for a sportsmanship grant by clicking here to download the official grant application. Specific guidelines, requirements and criteria appear in the document.

The deadline to submit the grant application is November 30, 2010. The Sports Commission will notify grant recipients by December 31, 2010.  Questions and inquires regarding grants should be directed to Solomon Alexander, director of the St. Louis Sports Foundation, by phone at 314-345-5130 or by e-mail at salexander@stlsports.org.

Grants awarded by the St. Louis Sports Commission’s Sports Foundation are funded by proceeds from the 1994 U.S. Olympic Festival held in St. Louis. The Sports Commission established its Foundation following the Festival to share the fruits of the event and fund organizations serving youth and amateur sports in the region.