USTA Foundation awards over $1 million in 2021 Cycle 1 grants
Over 100 National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) chapters will benefit from more than $1 million in Cycle 1 grants from the USTA Foundation, with awardees from 36 states and the District of Columbia announced on Wednesday
More than $1,070,000 in funds are expected to support 60,000 youth participants in community-centric programming at 105 chapters, 30,000 of whom are estimated to be picking up a racquet for the first time.
This initial investment marks a quarter of the approximately $4 million that the USTA Foundation will award to chapters in need this year.
In total, the NJTL network provides free or low-cost tennis and education services for more than 160,000 under-resourced youth across the country in over 250 diverse communities annually.
The selected chapters are expected offer more than 56,000 hours of education and 95,000 hours of tennis activities for students this year, including the creation and expansion of after-school and summer camp programs.
$100,000 is specifically targeted towards 20 new NJTL network members in 12 states.
“We're thrilled to provide grants to help these NJTL chapters fund their essential programming for under-resourced children during these difficult economic times,” said USTA Foundation President Kathleen Wu. “These grants are a reflection of the tremendously impactful work that NJTL chapters do every day in local communities.”
The announcement marks the latest major financial commitment from the USTA Foundation to NJTLs this year following a more than $5 million relief package from the Rally to Rebuild campaign, a one-time emergency grant program throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, the USTA Foundation announced Rally for the Future, the largest single fundraising campaign in its history, with a $20 million target over the next three years.
The USTA Foundation awards its grants annually in two grant periods, and applications for Cycle 2 grants, ranging from $2,500 to $40,000, will open on Aug. 2. Selection is based on each NJTL’s stated goals, including the number of youth, implementation of educational curricula, mentoring, social-emotional learning, and improved tennis delivery using USTA on-court resources.
To view the full list of selected chapters in Cycle 1, click here.
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