U.S. Tennis Association Community Funding Guidelines:

One of the ways the United States Tennis Association (USTA) continues to succeed is through making grants to community tennis associations that promote and develop the growth of tennis and use the sport of tennis to build stronger, healthier communities.

In order to be eligible for a grant from the USTA, applicants must have their community tennis association registered with the USTA and classified as an IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or have a fiscal agent. (For more information on a fiscal agent, contact your local USTA Section office or Karen Ford at .) If you are using a fiscal agent, you will be asked to identify your fiscal agent and attach the written agreement from the fiscal agent.

The U.S. Tennis Association typically makes grants between $5,000 to $25,000.

Types of Grants – The USTA awards funding for three (3) types of grants.

  • Project/Program Support – A grant made to an organization for a specific program or project.
  • Organizational Capacity Building Support – A grant made to an organization to improve the organizations’ effectiveness and performance. Organization effectiveness – the ability of an organization to fulfill its mission through a blend of sound management, strong governance, and a persistent rededication to achieving results.
  • General Operating Support – A grant made to further the general purpose or work of an organization, rather than for a specific purpose or project; also called an unrestricted grant.

Funding Priorities - The U.S. Tennis Association supports community tennis associations with programs meeting its funding priorities, including:

  • Tennis Program Development – Funding to develop new on-court programs or improve and expand existing on-court programs.
  • Marketing and Promotion – Funding to assist your organization to market and promote, both your organization and its programs, services and activities.
  • Training and Education – Funding to assist your organization with on-court training, staff and volunteer leadership training and education, Board development training and education, etc.

Proposal Guidelines:

  1. Send 5 complete copies of your proposal, including cover sheet, 10 page (maximum) proposal plus attachments.
  2. Your proposal must be typed, single-spaced, single-sided on white/very light colored, 8 ½ x 11inch paper.
  3. Use standard typeface no smaller than 10 points and no less than .5 inch margins.
  4. Binders and folders are not accepted.
  5. Proposals by fax are not accepted.
  6. Please answer all of the questions in the order listed.
  7. Please use headings as provided.
  8. Please do not include any materials other than those specifically requested at this time.
  9. Please do not send videotapes.

USTA Community Funding Program 2005 Page 1 of 6

USTA Community Funding Cover Sheet(Two Pages Maximum)

(Please feel free to make copies of this form or generate this cover sheet on your computer.)

Please answer all questions on this page, do not refer to attachments.
Today’s Date: / / / /
mm / dd / yyyy
1. / Legal Name of Organization:
[as stated on IRS 501(c)(3)]
2. / Address of Organization:
City: / State: / Zip:
Phone Number: / Fax Number: / Website:
3. / Executive Director/CEO Name:
Title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.) / First Name / Last Name
Phone Number: / Email:
4. / Contact person for this application:
[if different from Executive Director/CEO] / Title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.) / First Name / Last Name
Phone Number: / Email:
5. / Summarize Organization’s Mission or Purpose: (two or three sentences)
6. / Type of Grant Request: (please check one)
Project/Program Support / Building Organizational Capacity / General Operating Support
Other: (Please describe)
7. / Please select one of the following funding areas that fits your program and/or organization’s focus.
Tennis Program Development / Tennis Marketing Initiatives / Training and Education
Other: (Please describe)
8. / Grant Request: / $ / Period of time in which funds will be spent: / From / To
9. / Organization’s total budget: / $ / Project/Program’s budget: / $
(if applicable)
10. / Fiscal year: / / / / / to / / / /
mm / dd / yyyy / mm / dd / yyyy
11. / Summary of project or grant request (two to three sentences)
12. / Project title (if project support is requested):
13. / Letter from IRS stating 501(c)(3) tax status? / Yes / No / (Please attach copy)
If no, please explain and/or identify your fiscal agent and attach the written agreement from the fiscal agent.
14.
Signature of Executive Director/CEO / Signature of Board Chair, indicating approval

USTA Community Funding Program

Proposal Outline

I. Proposal Summary - One-half page, maximum

Please summarize in a short paragraph the purpose of your organization. Briefly explain why your organization is requesting this grant, what outcomes you hope to achieve, and how you will spend the funds if a grant is made.

II. Narrative – Ten pages maximum.

A. Background: Describe the work of your organization, addressing each of the following:

  1. A brief description of its history and mission
  2. The need or problem that your organization works to address, and the population that your organization serves, including geographic location, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical ability and language
  3. Current programs and accomplishments. Please emphasize the achievements of the recent past.
  4. Number of paid full-time staff, number of part-time staff, number of volunteers.
  5. Your organization’s relationships – both formal and informal – with other organizations working to meet the same needs or providing similar services. Please explain how you differ from these other agencies.

B. Funding Request: Please describe the program for which you seek funding.

  1. If applying for general operating support, briefly describe how this grant would be used.
  1. If your request is for a specific project, please explain the project including:
  2. A statement of its primary purpose and the need or problem that you are seeking to address.
  3. The population that you plan to serve and how this population will benefit from the project.
  4. Strategies that you will employ to implement your project.
  5. The proposed staffing pattern for the project, and the names and titles of the individuals who will direct the project.
  6. Anticipated length of project.
  7. How the project contributes to your organization’s overall mission.

C. Training, Education and Professional Development:

  • Please explain the training, education and/or professional development opportunities that you provide your staff, volunteers, tennis instructors, etc.
  • Include a proposed schedule of training and education that your organization will participate in, in the upcoming year. (This may include national workshops, regional workshops, USTA Section workshops, Development Coach Workshops, USPTA or PTR workshops, etc.)

D. Evaluation: Please explain how you will measure the effectiveness of your activities. Describe your criteria for a successful program and the results you expect to have achieved by the end of the funding period.

III. Budget/Financials – The following information must accompany all proposals, regardless of the size of request. Not all categories are applicable, however. You may submit this information as an attachment and in the format most convenient to you; it must, however, include as much of the following detail as possible. IF YOUR REQUEST IS FOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT, SKIP SECTION A

A. For Project Support Requests: Please submit the information below for the current year’s and projected year’s revenue and expenses for this project.

  1. Revenue: include a description and total amount for each category that is relevant to your organization. (Skip categories where you have no revenue.) For each category, list specific amounts requested of foundations, corporations, and other funding sources for this proposal as well as the status of those requests: pending or committed. For pending requests, please indicate the date when you will be notified. (e.g. XYZ Fund: $10,000 pending – notification date is October 2004).

Revenue Categories:

  1. Grants and Contracts
  2. Local Government
  3. State Government
  4. Federal Government
  5. Foundations
  6. Corporations
  7. United Way/other federated campaigns
  8. Individual Donors
  9. Other (specify)
  10. Earned Revenue
  • Events
  • Publications and Products
  • Fees
  • Other (specify)
  1. Membership Income
  2. In-kind Support (donated goods, services, equipment, non-cash items, volunteer hours)
  3. Other (specify)
  4. Total Revenue

Expenses: Include the total amount for each category that is relevant to your organization. (Skip categories where you have no expenses.)

Expense Categories:

  1. Salaries (specify total salary budget, number of positions and whether full- or part-time)
  2. Payroll Taxes
  3. Fringe Benefits
  4. Consultants or Professional Fees (itemize type(s) or consultant(s) and fees)
  5. Insurance
  6. Travel
  7. Equipment
  8. Supplies
  9. Printing and Copying
  10. Telephone and Fax
  11. Postage and Delivery
  12. Rent and Utilities
  13. Maintenance
  14. Evaluation
  15. Other (specify)
  16. Total Expenses

B. Organization’s Previous Year’s, Current Year’s and Projected Year’s Revenue and Expenses

This section must accompany all requests. (Please use the same categories in section A for both revenue and expenses)

IV. Other Supporting Materials

  1. A list of your Board of Directors, with their affiliations
  2. A copy of your most recent IRS letter indicating your agency’s tax-exempt status, or, if not available, an explanation.
  3. One-paragraph resumes of key staff, including qualifications relevant to the specific request.
  4. Your most recent annual report, if available.
  5. No more than four examples of recent articles about, or evaluations of, your organization, if available.
  6. Current letters of support from participating organizations and/or the target population benefiting from the proposed effort (maximum of four letters; dated within the last 12 months)
  7. Current letters of support from your USTA Section and USTA District office. (maximum 2 letters; dated within the last 12 months)

If available, please attach:

  1. Annual report
  2. Most recent audited financial statements
  3. Please do not send videos/cassettes, t-shirts or other promotional material

V. Proposal Development Resources: If you need assistance with writing a proposal, please feel free to check out these organizations below. They are wonderful resources that provide tips for writing effective grant proposals. You should also contact your USTA Section and USTA District office for assistance.

  • The Foundation Center: Maintains lists of training and technical assistance resources such as grant-writing guides for grantseekers. Their website includes a Learning Lab: Proposal Writing Short Course. Website:
  • InnoNet Online Tool Box: A free resource to help grantseekers design proposals. The site, has step-by-step instructions on program planning, evaluation, and fundraising, plus tips, examples, sample surveys, and interview guidelines.
  • Fundraising Help & Ideas for Nonprofit Organizations,

VI. USTA Community Funding Proposal Deadline:

All proposals for funding must be received by Monday, October 18, 2004. Applicants will be notified in November.

Send five copies of your proposal to the address listed below.

United States Tennis Association

Community Funding Program

70 West Red Oak Lane

White Plains, NY 10604-3602

If you need assistance in completing your proposal, please contact your USTA Section and/or USTA District office.

The USTA Community Funding Program Guidelines are posted on the USTA website at

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