NFL Player Foundation Grants
About The Program
Through its Player Foundation Grant program, NFL Charities (NFLC) awards a total of $1 million in grants each year to recognize and support the charitable work of current and former NFL players' non-profit organizations that either fund and implement programs or function as grant-making foundations to other charitable organizations.
Who Can Apply
The NFL Player Foundation Grant program is open to current and former NFL players with non-profit organizations. The player must have founded a non-profit organization and/or work in a full-time salaried position for a non-profit (former players only). The applying organization must be defined as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) or Section 509(a) of the IRS code and must be located or operating within the area of the player’s current or former NFL team or in his hometown.
The player must demonstrate active involvment with the non-profit foundation. Board membership, spokesperson roles, volunteering and other similar support positions do not qualify a player as directly or functionally associated with a foundation and, therefore, the foundation would be ineligible for funding.
Players also must provide personal financial contributions to their non-profit foundations in order to be eligible for funding consideration. This requirement is waived for former players who are full-time, salaried employees of that foundation and hold no other jobs.
Former player applicants must be vested in the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Retirement Plan in order to apply.
2011 Important Dates
The 2011 Player Foundation Grant Application cycle will run from October 17, 2011 through December 5, 2011. Completed applications must be submitted in G.A.M.S. by 11:59 PM ET on 12/5/11 for funding consideration. Grant determinations will be made in March 2012.
Click here to access the application
Award Amount
NFLC evaluates all Player Foundation Grant applications and groups them into tiers to determine funding levels. Tiering is based on specific factors including: 1) the level of a player's involvement in his foundation; 2) the foundation's quality of services and scope of impact; 3) the financial strength of the foundation and its effectiveness in activating philanthropic resources; 4) the quality of the application package including narrative strength, completeness, presentation and clarity of financial information; and 5) the amount of the player's personal financial contribution to his own foundation during each fiscal year cycle.*
*If a player applicant does not directly work for his non-profit organization, the maximum NFLC grant available to that player's foundation will not exceed up to one-half of that player's personal financial contribution to his foundtion. However, this rule DOES NOT apply to former players who are full-time, salaried employees of that foundation and hold no other jobs.
In recent years, Player Foundation Grants have ranged from $500 to $50,000. The $50,000 Impact grant level is limited to two grants per year in order to support the most effective and innovative player foundations. Player applicants may not receive a $50,000 Impact grant award more than once in a five-year period.
Additional Requirements
- For players who have established programs that are managed by donor advised funds with local community foundations, NFLC will only support a player's work through community foundations that are recognized by the Council on Foundations and practicing under National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations. See www.cof.org for more information.
- NFLC follows national grant making standards and Better Business Bureau recommendations and seeks to fund organizations with administrative costs of less than 35% of the total expense budget.
- Grants cannot be made to memorial foundations that were established on behalf of deceased NFL players.
- Grants cannot be used for game ticket purchases, to purchase tables at fundraising events and/or to pay for staffing or operating costs.
- NFLC cannot award Player Foundation Grants to organizations that seek funding solely to support a youth football camp. Applications for camp funding should be made to the NFL Youth Football Fund at www.nflyff.org.
- All 2010 Player Foundation Grant recipients must complete the online Player Foundation Grant Evaluation Report in G.A.M.S. pior to applying for a 2011 Player Foundation Grant.
- Late or incomplete application packages cannot be considered for funding. Every submission must include completion of ALL required fields int eh application as well as uploads of ALL required attachments listed within the online form at the time of submission.
Application Guide
2011 NFL Charities Player Foundation Grant Application Guide