Community Support Grant

The mission of the charitable and philanthropic entity of the National Women’s Tennis Organization (NWTO) is to foster national and international amateur tennis competition by striving to raise the standards of age-level tennis match play, fitness, and sportsmanship. NWTO supports both individual and team competition. While NWTO collaborates collegially with the USTA, which sanctions tournaments, it is a separate non-profit organization from the USTA. NWTO offers sponsorship to specific tennis tournaments and seeks to provide focused support to local tennis community efforts to develop tennis players who demonstrate characteristics of sportsmanship, fitness, and the desire to develop life and leadership skills.

2024 GRANT INFORMATION  

The 2024 Grant opportunity is designed to add to the programmatic impact of tennis instructional programs for girls and women who tend to be underrepresented currently.

DESCRIPTION OF GRANT PROGRAM

The Philanthropy Committee of the NWTO was established to create and administer a charitable initiative. Newly established in 2020, the Committee has developed a grant program for not-for-profit entities that can provide programming specifically geared to the mission of the NWTO. In 2024, two grants, each up to $2,500, are available to eligible organizations intending to initiate, expand, or enhance existing tennis instructional programs. The intentional focus is to work with programs which can help girls or women. These grants may be used to develop or implement programs, secure external expertise, equipment, or curriculum materials, support internal staff training, or run a community service event aimed at enhancing participants’ tennis, fitness, sportsmanship, life skills, and leadership skills and/or otherwise to expand tennis programming consistent with NWTO’s charitable mission.

GUIDELINES

All grant applicants must submit a complete grant application form that includes a description of their program, the program’s measurable goals, objectives, and evaluation methods.  We encourage organizations to present your ideas and plans for your program enhancement. Think imaginatively within the broad parameters presented on how your organization can best help girls and women develop a variety of life and leadership skills in the context of tennis-playing programs. Here are a few generalized examples of the type of programming NWTO could consider supporting:

  • Add introductory tennis lessons and basic team play experience for low-income or underserved women seeking fitness and social experiences and provide the necessary scheduling and support to meet family and work commitments.

  • Collaborate with an existing program in your community to help its participants experience the fitness and social benefits of a recreational tennis play program.

  • Enrich your current program by securing a new relationship with a professional expert or outside service organization to either train your staff or your program participants in basic life skills such as mental resilience, teamwork, and leadership skills.

  • Introduce a community-wide introductory family tennis event or Sports Day for Women and Girls for low-income or underserved families to encourage both adults and youthful family members to try tennis with their appropriate age groups.

  • Explore the need for and implement a basic tennis program for differently abled and wheelchair-dependent women.

  • Secure an available curriculum to enhance your organization’s ability to provide life skills such as mental resilience, teamwork, or fitness to best serve the adolescent girls in your program.

APPLICATIONS FOR 2024 ARE NOW CLOSED. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR NEXT YEAR! 

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY

  • Charitable, educational, municipal, county, recreational organizations may apply, not individuals or for-profit organizations.

  • Organizations must comply with local, state, and national requirements and not discriminate as to participants. Applying organizations must be open to all people, regardless of race, color, creed religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or veteran status.

  • Organizations must already be operating–grant funds are not intended to cover existing operating costs.

  • Organizations awarded funding shall agree, if funded, to provide NWTO a written report at the end of the grant period of how the funds have been used, the outcomes of the grant, and future plans for the project. 

  • Attach any letters of support or testimonials from community members or other supporters.

REVIEW PROCESS

The NWTO Philanthropy Committee will review all applications received by the deadline and will make recommendations to the National Women’s Tennis Organization’s Board of Directors for final approval.  Notification of awards will be sent by January 1, 2025.

GRANT APPLICATION

Please reply to the questions below as completely as possible; if the question does not apply to your grant request, please indicate n/a. You cannot save your progress and return to your application at a later date, so we suggest gathering your documents ahead of time.

Any questions related to this program application should be submitted to info@NWTO.us prior to Wednesday, September 25, 2024.

THANK YOU.