USASA Grants Program

The United States Adult Soccer Association established the USASA Grants Program to provide its state associations & leagues with additional financial support & resources. This support is focused on assisting these organizations to increase membership and to promote & enhance the services provided to members.

The priorities of the USASA Grants Program are as follows:

1)Increase Membership – Recruit new members or re-affiliate past members.

2)Develop New Competitions – Small Sided, Co-Ed, One Day, local markets.

3)Facility/Organization Development – Fields, indoor, IT, staff, website.

4)Promotion/Publicity – Activities that raise awareness of USASA, meetings etc.

The USASA Grants Program is open to all USASA affiliated member organizations however member leagues must have written support of their State Association before applying.

Requirements

  • Applicants must submit the attached application form in full.
  • Submit operating statements for the past three years & include 990 tax returns.
  • Submit copy of Articles of Association or description of legal structure, copy of current bylaws and list of current Board Members and Officers.

USASA Grants Program – Application Form

Your Name
Email Address
Telephone Number
Organization Name
Project Aim
(Maximum 500 words) / Please define the overall aim of the project. (Does it address 1 or more of the USASApriorities?)
Include 3-5 targets for your project (what you hope to achieve with this funding.)
Project Need / Please demonstrate why this project is needed within your State.
Project Description / Please provide details on your intended approach. This should include: Type of activity, who will the project target, how will you reach this target group, where will the project be delivered, planned schedule of delivery.
Organizational capacity / Who will manage & deliver the project, how the project will fit with your organizational structure, how will you measure outcomes.
Timeline / Give details of when the project would start & finish.
Partner Support / Give details of any partners you have identified to support the project.

Outcome & Results

The outcome framework will help USASA monitor your project & measure its success. It will also form a key part of your grant agreement. Please provide a realistic overview of what you think your project will achieve.

STEP 1: Identify your ‘Primary’ Outcomes (up to six) and ‘Secondary’ Outcomes (up to four)

Use the USASA Outcome Framework (below)to select between three and six of the most relevant ‘Primary’ outcomes your project will work towards. In many cases, we would suggest an optimum number for ‘Primary’ outcomes is three.

To acknowledge that the impact of your project may also make significant contributions to a larger number of other outcomes within the framework, you may also identify up to fourSecondary Outcomes.

Please note: If you think your project will achieve different outcomes to those presented in the outcomes framework, please contact the USASA National Office – 708 496 6871.

STEP 2: Complete the Participant targets table

Use this section to show who you plan to work with, how often and with what target groups. Put simply you are describing the number and type of people you intend to engage. You will be asked to report on progress against these targets over the life of the project. You must include minimum and stretch targets - by this we mean:

  • Minimum targets represent a threshold or minimum expectation of delivery against the investment in the project. Therefore please ensure these targets are realistic and achievable. Failure to meet these ‘”performance indicators” may result in questions being asked by the USASA National Board of Directors, as thefunder, and consequences as a result of wishing to ensure value for money and quality assurance of projects. The USASA National Board of Directorsdoes acknowledge that project delivery is not simply about numbers and that reasons may justify failure to meet some targets.
  • Stretch targets are positive targets where the aim is to challenge and drive the improvement of projects. While still achievable, stretch targets should represent aspirational levels that clearly exceed minimum expectations, and instead represent the achievement of an outstanding performance.

STEP 3: Complete the outcome targets table

For each of the outcomes explain in more detail what you will achieve. This must include setting a target for the number of people who will achieve the outcome. As above, you will be asked to report on progress against these over the life of the project. You must include minimum and stretch targets.

Each outcome should also have a simple measuring tool. A helpful example is the acronym: ROME (see next page).

  • R – Report it.
  • O – Observe it.
  • M – Measure it.
  • E – Externalise it.

Increase Membership / Facility/Organization Development / Develop New Competitions / Promotion & Publicity
Recruit New Leagues / Improve IT hardware – card printers, computers. / Develop Seasonal tournaments / Improve advertising
Re-affiliate old leagues / Improve IT software – online registration etc. / Develop Small Sided tournaments / Improve website
Develop Hispanic Leagues / Improve IT knowledge - training / Develop Women’s competitions / Develop Social Media
Improve relationships between the unaffiliated leagues & State Association / Increase staff numbers, hours etc. / Develop Local & State competitions / Promote National Competitions to members
Improve relationships with Sport & Social Clubs / Develop website / Develop a Corporate Cup / Provide promotional items to players – T-shirts, key chains, pens etc.
Develop new leagues – small sided, social, co-ed. / Develop fields / Develop Co-Ed competitions / Organize meeting for potential new members
Develop U-23 Leagues / Lease or purchase office space. / Develop Vets Cup / Purchase banners, flags, table skirts etc.
Increase competitive opportunities for socially isolated groups. – World Cup style tournaments. / Increase staff education & training / Introduce Beach Soccer
Increase volunteer support & training

Participant targets

How many participants do you expect to work with over the lifetime of the project?
Please break this down into minimum and stretch targets.
Example:
  • Year 1: A minimum of 350 and a stretch target of 500 unique users
  • Year 2: A minimum of 500 and a stretch target of 750 unique users
  • Year 3: A minimum of 450 and a stretch target of 700 unique users
  • Total: A minimum of 1,300 and a stretch target of 1,950 unique users

What activities do you plan to deliver? And how many people will they involve?
Activity means what you will provide, deliver, offer or support in order to achieve the outcome. Include a minimum and stretch target.
Example:
  • For the co-ed league we will provide a minimum of two and a stretch target of fourgames per week for 10 weeks of the year. Each lasting 45 mins. A minimum of eight and a stretch target of twelveteams will be involved in league.
  • We will run one new member event each year. This will involve a minimum of thirty and a stretch target of fifty people.

Outcome targets

Outcomes – Include each primary outcome you have selected from the USASA Outcomes Framework / Outcome (targets) – Provide numeric target(s) for each outcome / Measurement Tool – Indicate how you will be measuring the outcome
Example:
  • Develop new co-ed league
/ Example:
  • A minimum of eight and a stretch target of ten teams will participate.
/ Example:
  • Measured – via online registrations.

Example:
  • Improve State website
/ Example:
  • Produce new graphics for home page.
  • Update league stats, minimum once a week.
/ Example:
  • Observed – Written feedback from members.

Monitoring

Successful recipients of grant funding will be required to provide monitoring returns twice per year. We monitor each project to make sure that:

-Our grants are providing value for money

-Your project delivers the benefits you identified in your application

-We learn from the experience of all projects

You will be required to submit monitoring reports in late-February and mid-September to allow USASA National Office to report to the USASA National Board of Directors prior to the AGM & MYM.

Which person or group of people in your organisation will be responsible for monitoring the project?
Will your partners require any monitoring information in addition to what the USASA requests? / Only complete if applicable

Site Locations

Please give the full address of the main site where the project is going to be delivered, including the zip code.

Name of the site
Address of the site
Zip code

Publicity

How will you publicise this project locally? (Please tick.)

Local/Regional Press / Local/Regional TV/Radio
Websites / Other

Project Costs

Please complete the table providing both a description and total for the costs each year.

Resource / Year 1
Please provide a description and cost / Year 2
Please provide a description and cost / Year 3
Please provide a description and cost / Total cost over three years
Example:
Administration / Example:
6 hours per week @ $25 per hour
Total: $150 / Example:
10 hours per week @ $25 per hour
Total: $250 / Example:
15 hours at $25 per hour
Total: $375 / Example:
$775
Administration / Total: / Total: / Total: / $
Volunteer Expenses / Total: / Total: / Total: / $
Referee Costs / Total: / Total: / Total: / $
Trophies/incentives
Training Courses / Total: / Total: / Total: / $
$
Facility/Venue Costs / Total: / Total: / Total: / $
Transport / $
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

Partnership Funding (cash and in-kind)

Please tell us about the funding you have applied for from other partners and whether it has been confirmed or you are still waiting to hear. We will consider ‘in-kind’ contributions (for example, office space and secondments) as partnership funding.

Confirmed Cash/In-Kind Partnership Funding – Table A

Evidence of this funding must be made available upon request.

Details
Organization or funding stream / Year 1 ($) / Year 2 ($) / Year 3 ($) / Total ($)
Total Cash Funding

Unconfirmed Cash/In-Kind Partnership Funding – Table B

Details (Organisation or funding stream) / Year 1 ($) / Year 2 ($) / Year 3 ($) / Total ($) / What date is this funding likely to be confirmed?
.
Total Cash Funding

Grant summary

Please complete this table using the totals from the above tables.

Year 1 ($) / Year 2 ($) / Year 3 ($) / Total ($)
Total Project Cost
From the Project Costs table
Total Partnership Funding
Both Cash and In-Kind, using
USASA grant requested
Total $

Supporting documents

Please email a scanned copy of any supporting documents to the following address:

Declaration

Submitted by

Name
Position/Organization
Email