The Play it Forward grants program powered by Bell Bank recognizes the rising cost of youth sports has left some families and communities behind.
Play it Forward grants provide funding to 501c3 non-profit organizations who lack the resources to pay for youth sports and activities for the populations they serve. Grants are available to qualifying organizations in low-income areas within Maricopa County, Arizona serving large numbers of families and children. Individual grants can be used by each organization for where it is needed most.
Rookie Grant – $5,000 (6 opportunities available)
Any 501c3 non-profit organization based in Maricopa County may apply for this opportunity. The Rookie Grant is for qualifying organizations who have demonstrated true impact in the communities in which they serve through strategic partnerships and engagement with local at-risk youth through sporting events, athletic engagements, clubs, leagues, volunteer opportunities and other activities empowering the community to be active in youth sports.
MVP Grant – $10,000 (1 opportunity available)
Any 501c3 non-profit organization based in Maricopa County may apply for this opportunity. The MVP Grant is for an exemplary organization who has fostered relationships with organizations throughout Arizona and served an outsized impact in the development of youth sports and programs. This grant award is for an organization who has truly shown how leadership and collaboration promotes success in our state’s most vulnerable communities by lifting kids out of the status quo, and ushering them into extracurricular activities challenging them to be better leaders, stewards of positive character and team comradery.
Letters of recommendation will be requested for either grant during the application process.
• NOVEMBER 1ST
• DECEMBER 1ST
• DECEMBER 15TH
• DECEMBER 20TH
To qualify for a grant, your organization must be a non-profit organization in good standing with the IRS with operations based in Maricopa County, Arizona. We look for organizations who are in low income communities providing community-based recreational level or school sports for kids in grades K-12. You must provide proof of budget constraints, and you must operate in an area in which the local school district has a higher percentage of low income students than the state average or the average household income in the community is lower than 60% of the estimated state median income by household size based on the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. For more information on income guidelines and to determine if your organization qualifies, please visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Low Income Home Energy Assistance ProgramState Median Income by Household Page. Legacy Cares reserves the right to make exceptions to eligibility guidelines for reasonable extenuating circumstances.
Qualifying organizations may apply to one of two grant opportunities offered. Legacy Cares will not approve any grant for applications received for both the Rookie Grant and the MVP Grant. Each organization need only apply to one.
The first step is to fill out a grant application. Your application will then be sent to our advisory board for review and approval. A member of the team will then contact you to let you know the outcome of the review. If a grant is awarded, our team will make arrangements for payment directly to the organization.
Once approved for a grant, Legacy Cares will provide a check to your organization in the full amount, with no stipulations as to how the grant is to be used. Your organization will also participate in a mandatory award ceremony at Bell Bank Park on December 20, 2022 to commemorate our support of your organization. We ask at least one member of your team be present for this ceremony. Additionally, your organization will ask you to complete a survey three months following your grant award to learn how your grant was spent and the impact it made in the community. All grant awardees are required to complete this follow up survey to be eligible again the following fiscal year. If this survey is not completed by grant awardees, any future application from your organization will be immediately denied.
All applications received during the application window will be reviewed. If an application is received after the deadline, it will not be accepted.
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When Bell Bank opened its doors in 1966 with a single location in a north Fargo shopping center, our founders couldn’t have dreamed of the growth the company would have. For decades, having happy employees and happy customers has been at the heart of the organization. Our values – being a family, treating our customers well and making our community a better place – are at the core of all we do.
For additional questions, please contact us by email at info@legacycaresinc.com.
