USTA St. Louis Unveils New Grants System

An all-new grants application process — complete with a rolling deadline of March 1 through September 1 each year and four distinct grant categories — was recently approved and instituted by USTA St. Louis. USTA member organizations can apply for grants online by clicking here.

When USTA St. Louis Executive Director Jill Kunkel stepped into her new post last November, one of her primary initial objectives was to update a grants system comprised of an annual hard deadline in April and a lack of diverse grant types. So, Kunkel developed and proposed a new granting system that was approved by the USTA St. Louis Board of Directors in February and went into effect in March.

“We were missing a lot of opportunities to help because we only had one granting period,” Kunkel said. “I wanted to make it easier for organizations to apply and give them the opportunity to apply for a longer period of time. So it’s not just a one-time get your grants in, we’re going to have one big meeting, go through them, grant them and be done with it. Needs and programs come up throughout the whole year. We wanted to be able to address that.”

Grant applications will now be reviewed and awarded as they are received until annual funds are exhausted. Applicants will be notified within 30 days of application receipt. USTA member organizations can apply for multiple grant types up to a $5,000 yearly cap per organization.

Kunkel created four grant categories that each have their own specified allocation cap, which aids the USTA St. Louis district in self-directing funds into diverse areas of opportunity. Community development grants can be awarded up to $2,500. The three other grant programs — provider innovation, facility enhancements and equipment — can be awarded up to $500 per grant.

“It’s easy for organizations to apply for programs to really enhance what they’re doing,” Kunkel said. “It’s no longer just one bucket of money that we’re pulling from once a year. We divvied it up the best we could in past years instead of helping the most amount of people in a variety of ways. We developed the different focused areas so more people could apply.”

Each grant submission is a one-time application, and grant recipients are required to complete a program-end evaluation prior to receiving any more funds. A grant committee reviews and approves applications as they’re submitted.

“We’re looking for ways they’re going to enhance or add to their programming,” Kunkel said. “We’re also interested in how many people they’re going to impact with their programming.”

Kunkel is hoping the provider innovation category draws a high level of interest and submissions. Tennis providers — such as tournament directors, pros and coaches — can apply to initiate, promote, improve or expand programs in such areas as leagues, tournaments and Junior Team Tennis.

“You’re hosting a junior tournament and you want to do a snow-cone machine or something just to make it a better experience for our tournament players,” Kunkel said. “Fill out the provider innovation grant and do something cool for that tournament. We want to get innovative ideas to enhance the experience of especially our junior players so they want to keep playing tennis.”

Grant submissions — which must be completed online — need to include a description of the program, objectives, evaluation methods, a budget and why the organization seeks funding. The age groups and populations that would benefit from the grant award are also required, as is a completed W-9 form. Kunkel believes an emphasis on serving via grants will help shift USTA members’ perspectives.

“We have a reputation of just collecting money from people and not giving back. I want to change that mindset,” Kunkel said. “We want to give our resources because we are a not-for-profit organization. I want to make it as easy as possible for more people to apply. And now we can give on a more regular basis.

“I want us to be known as more of a granting organization, not a taking organization. What we take and why we take it is so we can give it out to help grow our great sport. Fees from league registration and tournaments go toward our local grant opportunities. I want to flip the focus on our outreach programs. We’re here to help enable organizations through this updated grant program.”

For additional information or to have questions answered, contact Jill Kunkel via email at director@ustastl.com. USTA Missouri Valley also offers several grant programs available to USTA St. Louis member organizations. To review and apply for those as well as USTA National grants, click here.