Supporting the communities where our customers and employees work and play.

Interest Areas And Guidelines

Due to the overwhelming number of requests received, the Foundation is unable to accommodate every request. Therefore, the Foundation must be very selective in choosing organizations that fall within our areas of interest and meet the specifications of our guidelines. The Foundation strongly urges your organization not to apply if it does not meet these guidelines.

Interest Areas

Finish Line Youth Foundation focuses funding on organizations that provide opportunities for youth participation in the following areas:

• Youth athletic programs - Community-based programs addressing active lifestyle and team building skills.
• Camps - Established camps with an emphasis on sports and active lifestyle, especially programs serving disadvantaged and special needs kids.

Guidelines

The foundation may provide financial support for the following purposes:

• Programs and projects - The foundation may support the direct costs of youth programming for requests in their areas of interest
• Scholarships - The foundation may provide full or partial scholarship funding for camps or youth athletic programs

The foundation is particularly interested in:

• Organizations providing opportunities for participation for children and young adults age 18 and under
• Organizations whose activities provide direct services to individuals and produce tangible results, rather than those that are policy oriented
• The potential impact of the program/project and the number of people who will benefit
• The organization's fiscal responsibility and management qualifications
• The ability of an organization to obtain the necessary additional funding to implement a program or project and to provide ongoing funding after the term of the grant has expired
• Programs operating near Finish Line stores.

If you would like to submit a grant proposal to the Finish Line Youth Foundation, please click on the online "Eligibility Quiz" link and take the quiz. If the quiz finds your organization eligible to receive funding from FLYF, it will automatically lead you to the Grant Application process that can only be completed and submitted online through this established process.

The Foundation will not make grants to:

• Organizations not currently exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or created for eligible public purposes (such as public and private schools and state-funded universities and colleges)
• Political campaigns, or attempts to influence public officials
• Organizations that unlawfully discriminate as to race, religion, income, gender, disability or national origin
• Projects or programs aimed at promoting the teachings of a particular church or religious denomination, or construction projects of churches and other religious institutions
• Fraternal, veterans or labor organizations
• Foundations affiliated with a for-profit entity
• Endowments
• Organizations for on-going operating support
• Start up organizations or programs
• Reduce debt
• Beauty or talent contests
• Individuals
• Sponsor teams, special events or fundraising activities
• Medical, scientific or academic research
• Pay for travel or trips

Generally speaking, grants range from $1,000 - $5,000. In addition to established grants, the Foundation is also very committed to providing opportunites to make significant, larger grants to maximize funding impact in our areas of interest. As of May 2010, FLYF is initiating two larger-scale grant opportunities.

Finish Line Youth Foundation Special Grants

Click here to learn more about the new FLYF Special Grants

If you would like to submit a grant proposal to the Finish Line Youth Foundation, please click on the "Online Eligibility Quiz" link and take the quiz. If the quiz finds your organization eligible to receive funding from FLYF, it will automatically lead you to the Grant Application process that can only be completed and submitted online through this established process.

Eligibility Test

Click here to take the online eligibility test and see if your organization is qualified.