Finish Line Youth Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Finish Line Youth Foundation provides ongoing support to the Special Olympics. It also makes grants for racial justice, K-12 education, health and community development.
IP TAKE: The Finish Line Youth Foundation recently competed a years-long grantmaking commitment in support of communities of color. It also provides ongoing support to the special Olympics. Other areas of interest are creating opportunities for children and youth with disabilities and increasing opportunities for participation in sports and recreation programs for children and youth in underserved areas.
The foundation gives away about $2 million a year. Finish Line is accessible at this time, but suggests that grantseekers follow Finish Line on social media for updates about grantmaking opportunities. This funder is approachable and supportive, however. Grantmaking is national in scope, but the foundation’s hometown of Indianapolis appears to be a geographic priority.
PROFILE: The Finish Line Youth Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Indianapolis-based Finish Line athletic shoe and clothing company. The foundation’s grantmaking mainly supports Special Olympics programs and initiatives that serve the Far East Side of Indianapolis, Indiana. A smaller portion of the foundation’s grantmaking works more broadly to support “diversity and inclusion initiatives, opportunities for those with special needs and resources for disadvantaged youth.”
Grants for Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The Finish Line Youth Foundation names diversity and inclusion as grantmaking priorities. In recent years, the foundation ran its signature Louder Than Words grantmaking initiative for “organizations nationwide that make a difference in communities of color.” In the foundation’s hometown of Indianapolis, the program’s grantees included EmployIndy, the Happy Hollow Children’s Camp and Clean for Green, a program that engaged youth in cleaning up their neighborhoods and participating in mentoring programs. Elsewhere, the foundation gave to Chicago’s Gary Corner Youth Center, Girls Play Los Angeles and the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village of Flint, Michigan, among others. The initiative was completed in 2021, but the foundation remains committed to supporting communities of color through its grantmaking.
Grants for K-12 Education, Public Health and Community Development
Finish Line’s grantmaking for education and community focuses on children and youth with disabilities and on increasing opportunities for young people to participate in sports and recreation activities. The foundation has provided ongoing support to KABOOM, a national organization that works toward outdoor play space equity for underserved communities. Other grantees include Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Sam’s Wish, which fulfills “wishes” to disabled children and their families, and the Fight for Life Foundation, which was founded by the football player Marlin Jackson to bring social and emotional development programs to K-12 schools across the country.
Important Grant Details:
The Finish Line Youth Foundation makes about $2 million in grants a year, most of which goes to Special Olympics programs. Grants to other organizations range from $2,000 to $75,000. The foundation’s average grant size is about $10,000. For additional information about past grantmaking, see the foundation’s recent tax filings.
Finish Line is not currently accepting grant applications but invites prospective grantees to follow Finish Line on social media for updates about the funding opportunities. General inquiries may be addressed to the foundation via email.
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