Sports 4 Life program – May 2

Posted by Women’s Sports Foundation on April 15, 2025

Women’s Sports Foundation invites applications for Sports 4 Life program

Established in 1974, the Women’s Sports Foundation aims to advance the lives of women and girls through sports and physical activity.

The foundation invites applications for Sports 4 Life, which was created in 2014 based on the knowledge that while sports participation offers tremendous life-long benefits—from improved physical health and self-esteem, to better grades in school and enhanced leadership skills—young girls of color are disproportionately excluded.

The program seeks to increase the participation and retention of Black, African-American, Hispanic, and/or Native American girls, inclusive of American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Funding can be used for coaching, curriculum, equipment, uniforms, transportation, facility rental, tournaments and/or team-building activities, all while fostering the Sports 4 Life benefits: leadership, self-esteem, confidence, and perseverance.

Applicants must serve predominately Black, African-American, Hispanic, and/or Native American girls (representing more than 70 percent of the enrolled program participants) have the ability to deliver structured, developmental sports programming to girls ages 11 to 18 through experienced and committed leadership; and have the ability to provide ongoing funding to implement sports programming after the life of the funding has expired.

In 2025, funding is made possible by co-founding partner ESPN and national partner Gatorade. Together, the Women’s Sports Foundation and partners will award a minimum of $400,000 in 2025.

In general, the applicant should be a nonprofit school, parks and recreation department, nonprofit organization or an amateur sports league. To be eligible, programs must comply with all of the applicable federal civil rights laws, including the requirements pertaining to developing and submitting an Equal Employment Opportunity Plan (EEOP), reporting findings of discrimination, and providing language services to people with limited English proficiency..

Letters of intent (LOIs) are due May 2, 2025, with a target date for LOI feedback of June 6, 2025. Follow-up grant applications will be requested on an invitation only basis, with final decisions to be made August 2025.

For complete program guidelines and application instructions, see the Women’s Sports Foundation website.

Deadline: May 2, 2025 (Letters of Intent)