FFC Youth Sports Fund
The FFC Youth Sports Fund offers major donors a high-leverage way to help shape the future of youth sports in the DC. metropolitan area. Designed as a collaborative philanthropic vehicle, the Fund brings together private philanthropy, civic leadership, and community partners around a shared goal: expanding access to high-quality youth sports and building the systems needed to sustain that access over time.
The Current System Isn't Working for All Kids
Despite the proven benefits of youth sports, systemic barriers prevent too many DC metro area children from accessing quality programs.
The data reveals a troubling reality:
70%
Dropout Crisis
70% of kids drop out of sports by age 13, often due to cost, accessibility, or lack of opportunity, robbing them of critical developmental benefits.
62%
Access Issue
Only 62% of DC metro youth ages 6-17 play sports. But access isn’t equal: just 53% of girls play (vs. 70% of boys), and only 51% of Black youth play (vs. 84% of White youth).
$883
Rising Costs
Average annual cost per child to play sports nationally is $883, and climbing. Hidden costs like transportation turn “free” programs into impossible barriers for low-income families.
20%
Untrained Coaches
Only 20% of the nation’s 6.5 million youth coaches receive training, leaving many young athletes without the quality mentorship and safety protocols they deserve.
A STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTING IN YOUTH SPORTS
We believe that today’s most complex challenges cannot be solved through fragmented giving alone. More donors are recognizing the value of coordinated investment models that align capital, expertise, and influence in service of bold, shared outcomes. The FFC Youth Sports Fund is built for that moment. It enables donors to move beyond isolated grants and invest in a broader strategy that can strengthen organizations, unlock partnerships, and help position youth sports as a priority across the region.
The Fund offers more than an opportunity to give. It offers a chance to help shape a stronger ecosystem, one that connects nonprofit providers, families, schools, public agencies, and civic and business leaders in a more aligned effort to support young people.
At its core, the Youth Sports Fund is about mobilizing leadership and resources at a level equal to the opportunity. It is a vehicle for those who want to make catalytic investments, encourage broader participation, and help create the conditions for lasting impact.
A STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY FOR INVESTING IN YOUTH SPORTS
We believe that today’s most complex challenges cannot be solved through fragmented giving alone. More donors are recognizing the value of coordinated investment models that align capital, expertise, and influence in service of bold, shared outcomes. The FFC Youth Sports Fund is built for that moment. It enables donors to move beyond isolated grants and invest in a broader strategy that can strengthen organizations, unlock partnerships, and help position youth sports as a priority across the region.
The Fund offers more than an opportunity to give. It offers a chance to help shape a stronger ecosystem, one that connects nonprofit providers, families, schools, public agencies, and civic and business leaders in a more aligned effort to support young people.
At its core, the Youth Sports Fund is about mobilizing leadership and resources at a level equal to the opportunity. It is a vehicle for those who want to make catalytic investments, encourage broader participation, and help create the conditions for lasting impact.
“It’s time to shift the conversation—youth sports aren’t a nice-to-have; they’re essential to every child’s growth and wellbeing. For every DC metro area student currently in an after-school program, one more would participate if it was available to them.” – James Kallusky, EdD. – Fight For Children President & CEO
WHY THIS MATTERS?
Access to youth sports helps young people build confidence, resilience, leadership, health, and a sense of belonging. Sports-based youth development can improve mental well-being, school engagement, and long-term outcomes for children and teens across the DC region. Yet too many young people still face barriers to participation — including cost, transportation, limited access to quality programs, and under-resourced communities. This is not just a program gap; it is a youth sports equity challenge that requires long-term, collaborative solutions. Fight For Children believes youth sports should be accessible to every child. The FFC Youth Sports Fund was created to expand access, strengthen community organizations, and build a more equitable future for youth sports across the DC metro region.
A Collaborative Investment Model
The Youth Sports Fund reflects an emerging model of philanthropy, one that brings donors together around shared goals, aligned strategy, and measurable community impact.
Rather than funding one organization or initiative at a time, the Fund is intended to mobilize broader, more coordinated investment in the youth sports ecosystem. It is designed to complement direct giving while creating opportunities for larger-scale progress, stronger alignment, and more sustainable outcomes.
Over time, this kind of platform can help attract additional philanthropic, institutional, and civic participation, creating the potential for greater public visibility, stronger cross-sector partnership, and broader investment in youth sports as a driver of youth development and community well-being.
what the fund is designed to do
The Fund is structured to support both near-term needs and long-term goals. It is designed to:
- expand access to high-quality youth sports opportunities for young people across the DC metropolitan area
- strengthen the nonprofit organizations and leaders serving youth and families
- reduce barriers to participation, including affordability, access, and infrastructure/play space gaps
- support innovation, shared learning, and stronger coordination across the sports-based youth development sector
- elevate youth sports as a serious strategy for physical and mental health, community safety, education, and opportunity
- encourage broader cross-sector engagement that can help sustain impact over time
This gives donors an opportunity to support both visible community outcomes and the underlying conditions that make those outcomes possible.
How the Fund
creates impact
The DC Youth Sports Fund invests across eight strategic areas to create lasting systemic change.
1. Grants to FFC collaborative Members
Targeted funding can help FFC’s community-based organizations expand reach, improve program quality, and serve more young people.
2. Capacity Building
Investments in coach education, leadership, operations, fundraising, impact measurement, and program quality can strengthen the long-term effectiveness of youth-serving organizations.
3. Community access & engagement
The Fund can support initiatives and events that connect families to opportunities, donors to one another, increase public awareness, and make youth sports more visible and accessible.
4. research, learning & measurement
Data and evaluation can help identify gaps, inform strategy, and guide high-impact investment over time.
5. Coalition Building
The Fund can help strengthen alignment across nonprofit, philanthropic, civic, and community stakeholders working to improve access and outcomes.
6. advocacy & public will
Over time, stronger coordination and shared investment can help elevate youth sports as a broader community priority and encourage deeper public engagement in the conditions that support participation.
THE OPPORTUNITY AHEAD
A Shared Vision for Youth Sports
The future of youth sports in the DC region will not be shaped by any one organization acting alone. It will be shaped by the willingness of leaders across sectors to align behind a shared vision and invest in what young people need to thrive.
A Platform for Collective Leadership
The FFC Youth Sports Fund is designed to be a platform for that kind of leadership. It creates a meaningful opportunity for donors to help drive access, strengthen the field, and support a more coordinated future for youth sports in the region.
Investing in a Stronger Future
This is a chance to invest in more than programs. It is a chance to invest in a stronger system, a broader coalition, and a more equitable future for young people.
Leadership Message
“Fight For Children has long believed in the power of youth sports to change lives. We have also seen that creating lasting access requires more than excellent programs alone. It requires stronger organizations, deeper partnership, better alignment, and sustained investment.
The FFC Youth Sports Fund is our effort to help bring those elements together. It is designed as a vehicle for philanthropic leadership, one that can help align donors and partners around a shared commitment to young people and a stronger future for youth sports in the DC area.
For those that join the Fund, this is an opportunity to help shape what comes next: not only by funding important work today, but by helping build the conditions for greater scale, stronger coordination, and broader community investment in the years ahead.
Together, we can create a region where every child has the chance to benefit from the power of sports.”
James Kallusky, Ed.D.
Fight For Children President & CEO
connect with us - explore a leadership investment
We welcome conversations with donors, family philanthropies, corporate partners, and civic leaders who are interested in helping shape this opportunity.
Contact: shiree.skinner@fightforchildren.org