Grants are one of our principal ways of furthering the aims of the LA84 Foundation. Through grantmaking as well as our other programs, we intend to further the heritage of excellence passed on to us by the success of the 1984 Olympic Games. To help ensure that grant funds serve these purposes, the staff of the LA84 Foundation intends to be an active participant in all phases of the grants process. We hope to get to know the prospective grantee organizations, to provide help in the formulation of grant applications, and where possible to help in the solicitation of matching funds. For the requests that are approved for funding by the Foundation's Board, we expect to stay informed about the program's progress, to monitor program expenses, and to be available to help if problems arise.

Please Note: If your organization is awarded a grant, you will be required to supply us with a certificate of insurance naming the LA84 Foundation as an additional insured. If you do not carry insurance, please explain in writing how you will cover liability issues that may arise from participation in your program.


CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING GRANT REQUESTS

The LA84 Foundation is endowed with Southern California's share of the surplus from the 1984 Olympic Games. As one part of its overall effort to expand youth sports opportunities in Southern California and enhance the public’s understanding of the role of sport in society, the Foundation operates a grants program. The Foundation anticipates receiving many more requests than it will be able to fund. In order to help make the difficult funding choices, the Board of the Foundation has adopted the following Grant Guidelines.

A. POPULATION TO BE SERVED

The Foundation intends to serve the same broad cross section that contributed so much to the success of the 1984 Olympic Games.

1.  The Foundation will give special attention to sectors of the population known to be underserved by current sports programs.

a. Within this broad arena, we anticipate giving special emphasis to those groups or communities that are most in need. These will often be communities of lower income. However, we will be careful not to duplicate services already being provided to those communities through other resources.

b. While serving all youth, the Foundation will give special attention to girls, minorities, the physically challenged or developmentally disabled, and youth in areas where the risk of involvement in delinquency is particularly high.

2.  The funds that are part of the Foundation, accordingly, are aimed primarily to youth who are not at elite levels of sports accomplishment.

a. The Foundation recognizes that 60% of the total Olympic surplus went to the United States Olympic Committee and the various National Governing Bodies for the support of Olympic-level competitors. The funds that are part of the Foundation, accordingly, are aimed primarily to youth who are not at elite levels of sports accomplishment.

3.  Moreover, we recognize that the 1984 Olympic Games were awarded to Los Angeles, and we have a particular obligation to this community.

a. The Foundation expects to receive grant requests from all areas in Southern California, and it intends to serve the whole region. Special consideration will be given to those areas that provided Olympic venues. Moreover, we recognize that the 1984 Olympic Games were awarded to Los Angeles, and we have a particular obligation to this community.

B. PROGRAM RELATED CRITERIA

1. The current objectives of the Board encourage assistance to organizations that provide ongoing, structured youth sports programs combining the essential elements of teaching, learning and competition.

2. CHOICE OF PARTICULAR SPORTS: The Foundation is prepared to consider requests for sports programs emphasizing so-called "minor" sports and sports for individual competition as well as more traditional team sports. The key is not the sport, but the quality of the program.

3.  QUANTITY: Will the program reach a large number or only a few? Other things being equal, we will give priority to programs that will reach large numbers, or large proportions of their targeted populations.

4. QUALITY OF STAFF: Grant proposals should describe in detail the nature and background of staff who will operate the youth sports programs. We will emphasize programs run by experienced, trained personnel. The Foundation is also prepared to support programs that utilize, under appropriate supervision, older youth as role models for younger children.

5. NON-DUPLICATION: Is this a program that really cannot be carried out with other resources, or one not already being conducted by others? Our aim is to provide programming in needed areas, rather than to substitute for existing alternatives. Priority will be given to projects where the probability of duplication is low. In addition to these five major criteria for program support, there are others that, though perhaps of lesser import, will be given special attention wherever appropriate. These include:

6. MEASUREABILTY: Will we be able to objectively assess the impact of the program?

7. OVERALL PROGRAM QUALITY: The Foundation will give particular attention to programs that may have an especially meaningful impact upon their participants. By this we mean that participation in the program significantly enhances their health, physical abilities, sense of pride in self, and cooperativeness and sense of respect for others.

C. COST-RELATED CRITERIA

1. The Existence of Other Sources of Funding: Priority will be given to proposals where Foundation funding comprises only part of the total funding for the program. The remainder of the funding may come from the local group or community in question, or from other organizations, including foundations and corporations. Consideration will be given to programs that combine public and private sector funding, taking advantage of the benefits of each. This criterion is most applicable to established groups. It may be modified in the case of new groups in the most resource-deprived areas.

2. Continuity: All Foundation grants will be for a finite period of time. Priority will be given to those requests that show signs of planning for subsequent financing when our grant concludes.

3. Cost in Relation to Impact: The Foundation will look closely at the overall costs of the program in relationship to the various other criteria, especially impact. Programs with high dollar cost in relation to impact must be especially meritorious on other criteria if they are to be justified.

4. Grants for Capital Construction: Capital construction requests will be funded only when a) a special need can be established, b) a part of the funding will be met by matching grants or other devices that will supplement the Foundation's contribution, and c) the cost is small relative to its potential service to the group or community in question.

SUGGESTIONS FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS

Please read the Grant Guidelines carefully, including the section on the administration of the grants program.

The Foundation does not have a standardized application form.

The Board of Directors meets three times per year. Proposals are accepted at any time on a first-come, first-served basis. Due to the number of requests we receive, it generally takes several months before the Board takes action on the application.

Your proposal should be responsive to the Guidelines and should:

·  State clearly the purpose for which the funding is requested. ·   Briefly describe your organization, its history, status (nonprofit or for    profit, etc.), and connection to youth and sport. ·  Describe in detail how the program would work and whom it would    serve. Include an estimate of the number of participants to be served    by the grant. ·  Describe the personnel who would be carrying out the program, and    include brief biographical statements of those who would be most    centrally involved. ·  Provide a clear time schedule for the program.

In addition to the above, you must attach copies of the following:

·  the organization's most current annual operating budget ·  the most recent completed financial statement ·  the most recent IRS form 990 ·  IRS tax status determination letter ·   California tax status determination letter ·  a detailed program budget with justifications for each budget item ·  list of board of directors

INCLUDE YOUR CONTACT PERSON, MAILING ADDRESS, E-MAIL ADDRESS, AND DAYTIME TELEPHONE NUMBER.

Please send a typed original grant proposal with a duplicate copy to:

LA84 Foundation
The Grants Program
2141 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90018

 LA 84 Foundation Required Document Checklist (Pdf)