General

1. What is NFL Charities?
2. How do I apply for an NFL Charities Grant?
3. Am I eligible for funding from NFL Charities?
4. Are there any others non-profit organizations at the NFL that I can go to for support?
5. What is the Youth Football Fund?
6. What is USA Football?
7. Does NFL Charities accept requests for event donations, individual grants and auction items?
8. apply for funding from NFL Charities for an organization from outside of the United States of America?

Medical Research Grants

1. Ethics
2. Grant Recipients
3. Citizenship and Immigration
4. Expenses not Funded by NFL Charities
5. Other Funding
6. Approved Methods for Application Submission
7. Online Form Requirements
8. Application Review Process
9. Publications and Presentations of Research
10. Intellectual Property
11. Indemnification

General

1. What is NFL Charities?

   Formed in 1973, NFL Charities is a non-profit organization that enables the NFL to contribute collectively on behalf of its 32 member clubs to charitable causes on a national level. This foundation, which has approved more than $120 million in grants to more than 600 different organiztions, supports sports-related medical research, youth health programs and the charitable work of its teams and current and retired NFL players. NFL Charities' primary funding categories include:

   • Sports-related medical research and education grants
   • Player foundation grants in support of the philanthropic work of current and former NFL players
   • Financial assistance to former NFL players in need
   • Youth health and fitness initiatives, including educational programs with national partners
   • Supplementing the charitable activities of the 32 NFL clubs

    

2. How do I apply for an NFL Charities Grant?

   NFL Charities is pleased to provide the 32 NFL teams, all current and retired players with 501(c)(3) non-profit foundations and other eligible applicants with a brand new, entirely paperless grant application process. We are confident that our returning applicants will find this new online system to be a more streamlined and user-friendly vehicle than previous NFL Charities grant processes.

   The NFL Charities Grant Application Management System (GAMS) saves time for Grant applicants with an interface that is easy to use and requires minimal technical know-how. Qualified applicants may access NFL Charities online grant opportunities by logging onto GAMS. (provide link to that page here) All NFL Charities online grant applications are to be completed by using GAMS and submitting all forms through the online system. Hard copies of these applications and/or any supporting documents received by mail, fax or e-mail cannot be processed. Please note that NFL Charities adheres to strict eligibility criteria so please take the time to thoroughly review the Grant eligibility requirements as well as the proper online submission process in order to be considered for funding.

3. Am I eligible for funding from NFL Charities?

   NFL Charities awards grants to support targeted initiatives on a national scale while also supplementing the extensive local community service work of our 32 teams and the foundation of individual players (both retired and active).  For more information NFL Charities grant requirements, please navigate through each of our granting categories located in the Grants tab on the navigation bar at the top of each page.  Each NFL Charities grant category has specific eligibility criteria and requirements that must be met by each applicant.

4. Are there any others non-profit organizations at the NFL that I can go to for support?

   In addition to NFL Charities and the charitable dollars allocated by the 32 NFL teams and owners to community initiatives nationwide, other non-profit foundations support the NFL Giving platform including the NFL Youth Football Fund, the NFL Disaster Relief Fund and Player Care Foundation. If you do not qualify for an NFL Charities Grant opportunity, you may log onto www.nflyff.org,  www.usafootball.com, www.nflplayercare.org for more information on how to apply for any of the grant opportunities available through those organizations.

5. What is the Youth Football Fund?

   Youth, and youth football are top priorities for the NFL, its teams, and its players. In 1998, the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) formed the NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) — a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation which supports the game at the youth level, promotes positive youth development and ensures the health of football in future generations.

   Through the YFF, hundreds of thousands of youngsters have been given the opportunity to learn the game of football, get physically fit, and stay involved in productive after-school activities with adult mentors. The YFF also provides youth football participants with safe and accessible places to play, as well as programs and initiatives that address the importance of proper coaching, health and safety, academic and life skills development.

   Formal YFF grant programs exist as an important grassroots youth football development strategy. Each program includes its own set of eligibility criteria and requirements. In many cases, these programs focus on NFL clubs and current and former NFL players to help advance and support youth and high school football initiatives nationwide. For more information on YFF grant programs, please visit www.nflyff.org.

6. What is USA Football?

   USA Football is a non-profit organization endowed by the NFL and NFL Players Association through the Youth Football Fund to lead the development and growth of youth, high school and international football. As the sport's national governing body and Official Youth Football Development Partner of the NFL, its 32 teams and the NFLPA, USA Football provides education for coaches and game officials, skill development for players, program resources for youth football league commissioners and health and safety information for youth and high school football constituents.

   USA Football hosts more than 100 football training events annually and has trained tens of thousands of youth football coaches nationwide through full-day coaching schools and its online Certified Coaching Education Program (CCEP).  USA Football also was commissioned by the National Federation of State High School Associations to help create an online varsity football coaching education course available to high school football coaches and state athletic associations across the country.

   USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competitions and provides more than $1 million annually in equipment grants and youth league volunteer background check subsidies. Aside from its national team program, USA Football does not operate leagues or teams.  Carl Peterson, a successfull football scout coach and NFL team executive for more than 40 years, serves as Chairman of USA Football.

   For more information, log onto www.usafootball.com 

7. Does NFL Charities accept requests for event donations, individual grants and auction items?

   NFL Charities’ guidelines and resources do not allow us to consider personal appeals or any local / regional requests for support.   We are a non-profit organization that is mandated to make grants only on the national level through a series of restricted programs and national partners in order to achieve our maximum level of impact.

   To learn more about the positive impact that each of the NFL teams have in their communities as well as local support opportunities, please visit the community page of your local NFL team’s website.

8. apply for funding from NFL Charities for an organization from outside of the United States of America?

   NFL Charities cannot execute grants to organizations that are based outside of the United States of America.

Medical Research Grants

1. Ethics

   All grant requests must conform with prevailing ethical standards for medical research and must have been approved in advance by the institutional review board of the participating institution. In addition, any proposal involving animals must have been approved by the institution's animal care and use committee.

   All grant requests must conform with prevailing ethical standards for medical research and must have been approved in advance by the institutional review board of the participating institution. In addition, any proposal involving animals must have been approved by the institution's animal care and use committee.

2. Grant Recipients

   NFL Charities does not make grants directly to individual Principal Investigators (PI). Accordingly, grants will be disbursed only to the institution or research organizations associated with its PI applicant. However, it should be noted that if a PI relocates to another institution, the funding from NFL Charities relocates as well.

3. Citizenship and Immigration

   If the PI or other individuals who are essential to carrying out a research project being proposed for a grant are not U.S. citizens, the grant applicant must furnish evidence of immigration status that can reasonably be expected to enable the individuals to complete their work on the project.

4. Expenses not Funded by NFL Charities

   Absent extraordinary circumstances, the following expenses will not be funded and should not be included in the budgets for grant requests:

   • Patient Care. Routine patient care costs, such as hospitalization, physician fees and diagnostic testing of the type normally required for conventional treatment of the patient's condition; and
   • Contributions. Additions to endowment, departmental or education funds, payments of "dean's tax" or transfers to other accounts that may be used for purposes other than carrying out the research funded by the grant.
   • Indirect/Overhead limitations. NFL Charities Medical Grants do not cover indirect costs.  Only budgets that include direct costs against medical research can be approved. The preceding is not intended to prevent or limit the use of grant funds for laboratory and other testing related to the research that would not otherwise be required for patient care. It is also not intended to prevent the use of grant funds for the acquisition of equipment or software needed specifically to carry out the research which is not otherwise available. Travel expenses are not prohibited, but any expenses expected to exceed $2,500 in any year must be set forth in detail in the proposed budget.

    

5. Other Funding

   If a grant proposal will require funding in addition to that being sought from the Foundation, the participating institution must have received a binding commitment for all such additional funding from a reliable outside funding source (or must have committed its own funds for that purpose) at the time the application is submitted. If a participating institution receives additional funding for a project while a grant proposal for that project is pending or after the proposal has been approved, the organization must disclose the additional funding to NFL Charities.

6. Approved Methods for Application Submission

   NFL Charities employs a PAPERLESS process for all of its grant categories. Application materials sent to an email address or via fax or through the postal service cannot be processed or reviewed. Submission through the Grant Applications Management System (GAMS) with all required supporting back up information is the only way that submissions can be processed properly, in one complete package. The preceding is not intended to prevent or limit the ability of any individual institution from applying for funding. Nor is it intended to limit the number of applications we receive in any given grant cycle. This requirement is due to the large volume of grant requests and accompanying materials we receive in the medical grant category. Managing each application as a digital package at every stage of evaluation is the single best way to ensure all materials have been considered for each applicant during the review process.

7. Online Form Requirements

    

   • Process. Every text field MUST BE POPULATED on the form with the information as requested in order to be considered for funding.  Tables, images, and diagrams that cannot be loaded into text fields on the online form (and maintain their proper presentation formats) may be referenced and then uploaded at the end of the form but the field must also populated with the information as requested to provide context for these attachments.
   • Technical Difficulties/Error Messages. If you encounter a point where you are having problems moving forward in your online form, the problem most likely rests with your personal computer and any previously received error messages that are being held in your internet cache. The majority of cases do not point to actual problems with the backend of the online form itself.  We suggest you save and exit the form and then go into your internet tools/options and delete all cookies, history and cache. Refresh your screen and then try to move forward.  IF troubles remain, you may reach out with a question through the GAMS HelpDesk Area. Answers will be replied into your GAMS secure login space the earliest possible time. Please do not exit and send an email inquiry outside of the GAMS workspace as that only slows the process and removes tracking capabilities of your process in GAMS.
   • “Medical Category” This question on the form is looking for answers such as– cardio, neuro, ortho, etc. whichever area your proposed research falls under. This is not directed by NFL Charities. We assume every PI is aware of their proposed categories and our goals are to fund the best science among a diversity of submissions.

    

8. Application Review Process

   NFL Charities Medical Grants are reviewed following a modified NIH review format.

9. Publications and Presentations of Research

   It is the policy of NFL Charities that the results of research funded by NFLC be presented and published promptly. Any and all presentations made and publications should directly and visibly acknowledge support for the research provided by NFLC.

10. Intellectual Property

    Any patents or other intellectual property rights arising in connection with research funded by NFLC will generally be subject to the intellectual property policies of the recipient institution. NFLC will not fund any grant request, however, when the research to be funded is subject to material limitations on publication or when the research to be funded is subject to preexisting rights requiring the assignment or licensing of patents or other intellectual property rights arising from such research to any pharmaceutical, biotechnology or medical equipment company or other commercial enterprise. Applications must include full information about any such arrangements that are or might be applicable to the research to be done under a proposed grant. The preceding is not, however, intended to prevent the subsequent assignment or licensing of patents or other intellectual property rights arising from research funded by NFLC by the participating institution on commercially reasonable terms.

11. Indemnification

    Grantee institutions will be independent contractors, not agents of NFL Charities. As a condition to receiving a grant, a participating institution or its affiliate must agree to indemnify NFLC for all liabilities and expenses relating to claims involving the employment of research personnel, including, without limitation, employment taxes and workers compensation and discrimination claims. In addition, grants for research involving human subjects will be conditional upon an agreement on the part of the recipient to indemnify NFLC and its trustees and officers for losses and expenses arising in connection with professional and general liability claims.