Spike It Forward Volleyball Program

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Executive Summary

Spike It Forward Volleyball Program is a nonprofit in Texas that offers free club volleyball training and a chance to compete to girls ages 9 to 17 from low-income families. Club volleyball is the main path to varsity and college play, and club fees of $1,500 to $3,000 a season keep most girls who would benefit out of it.

We pay for coaching, uniforms and tournaments so that cost is never the reason a girl does not play. We also check grades each quarter and connect players with tutoring.

With this grant we will serve about 90 girls in Year 1 at 2 sites. We do not promise that any player will earn a scholarship or a college roster spot. We promise a safe team, good coaching and a fair chance to play.

Our Year 1 budget is about $159,500, growing to about $211,000 by Year 5 as we add sites, coaches and participants. Each year's budget is planned to balance, with a small surplus each year. We have 4 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a part-time Program Coordinator and two part-time coaches) and 8 by Year 5.

We are asking the Lone Star Girls Sports Foundation for $55,000 for certified coach stipends, uniforms and equipment and tournament travel. Our other income and startup support cover the rest. These numbers are estimates based on the assumptions listed at the end of this proposal, and we do not promise any result beyond what we describe.

Company Description

Spike It Forward Volleyball Program is a nonprofit organization in Texas. We are a registered charity with a volunteer board of directors, a written conflict-of-interest policy and a yearly budget the board reviews.

Our mission. Every girl should have the chance to play club volleyball, whatever her family's income.

What we do.
- Run free club volleyball training twice a week at two gyms, with matches on weekends.
- Provide uniforms, volleyballs and practice gear to every player.
- Pay tournament entry fees and travel so every player can compete.
- Teach serving, passing, setting, hitting and the teamwork behind them.
- Track grades each quarter and connect players with tutoring.
- Train and pay part-time coaches certified through USA Volleyball.

Our values. Respect for every participant, honesty with families, safety before winning and a place for every young person who wants to belong.

What we do not do. We do not charge families, and we never give cash to families. We do not promise any player a varsity spot, a scholarship or a college roster place. We do not give medical advice. We follow the rules of our partner sites and our insurer.

How we got here. A group of coaches and parents began running free open gym nights for middle school girls in a rented gym. The nights filled up and girls asked about teams. We kept simple records of who came and how they did in school. This proposal asks for support to move from open gym nights to a steady program with paid, trained coaches and the equipment to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Volleyball is the second most popular girls' sport in high school, and the club pathway is the main route to varsity and college play.

Cost. Club fees of $1,500 to $3,000 a season, plus uniforms, tournaments and travel, put club volleyball out of reach for most of the girls who would benefit.

Access. Many clubs practice far from the neighborhoods our families live in, at times when parents are at work. Tryouts happen early and reward girls who already trained.

Safety and trust. Families want to know that coaches are certified, courts are safe and their daughters will get fair playing time.

Missed benefits. Girls who miss club volleyball also miss the discipline, friendships and confidence that come from a team and, for some, a path to college.

What we hear.
- A mother says her daughter practices serving against a garage door.
- A coach says several of his best middle school players never made a club team because of cost.
- A counselor says girls on a team show up to school more often.
- A father says he works nights so his daughter can play and still falls short of the fee.

We do not claim that a sports program can solve every challenge. We believe that a coach, a court and a team can change a girl's year and sometimes her future.

Products & Services

Spike It Forward Volleyball Program gives girls ages 9 to 17 from low-income families a safe, welcoming place to learn and play volleyball.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with two gyms, at a school and a recreation center, that provide courts at low or no cost.
2. Seasons. Two practices a week and weekend matches in the club season, plus a summer clinic.
3. Teams. Players are placed on teams by age and skill, and every player plays in every match.
4. Equipment. Every player receives a uniform, knee pads and a ball for practice.
5. Coaching. Certified coaches teach fundamentals, positions and strategy.
6. Tournaments. Teams enter three or four tournaments, with fees and travel paid.
7. Grades. We check grades every quarter and offer tutoring to players who need it.

What a typical session looks like. Participants arrive and check in with a coach, warm up together, work on skills in small groups, play a short game or drill and finish with a talk about what went well. Coaches praise effort, correct mistakes kindly and make sure no one sits out.

Coaches. Our coaches are certified through USA Volleyball, pass a background check, complete our training and are paid a stipend.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. We welcome every girl, whatever her experience, and we place players by skill so all can improve.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Girls ages 9 to 17 from low-income families who live near our partner gyms and want to play club volleyball. Eligibility is based on school lunch status or income guidelines our board sets, and no young person is turned away for lack of skill.

How we estimate need. We cannot count every young person who could benefit, so we plan from what we can see. In our open gym nights we served full courts and kept a waiting list. Coaches and counselors told us that many more girls want to play than we can place. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 90 young people at 2 sites. By Year 5, with more coaches and sites, we plan to serve about 210.

Where participants come from.
- Middle and high school coaches and counselors.
- Recreation center staff.
- Churches and neighborhood centers.
- Families who tell a friend.

Who else benefits. Families gain a safe, free activity. Schools gain players who stay engaged. High school teams gain players who already know the game.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a girl with a ball in her hands. We keep our early counts modest and honest so we can do the work well.

Competitive Landscape

What young people can find today, and how we are different.

1. Club volleyball. Strong programs for families that can pay. We offer a free alternative.

2. School teams. Good, with limited roster spots and a short season. We prepare younger players.

3. Recreation leagues. Affordable, with limited coaching and few tournaments.

4. Private lessons. Effective and costly.

5. Open gym nights. Fun, without a team or a season.

What makes us different.
- Free to every player.
- Certified coaches and small groups.
- Uniforms, equipment and tournament fees included.
- Grade checks and tutoring support.
- A path to school teams and club tryouts.

Why this gap matters. Existing programs do good work, and most serve families who can already pay or who live close to them. The young people we serve are the ones left over: they live in the wrong neighborhood, have the wrong schedule or have no one to ask. We are built to reach them.

We have spoken with club directors, school coaches and other youth programs to make sure we are filling a gap and not duplicating services. Their letters of support are in the attachments.

Marketing & Sales Strategy

How young people and partners will find us.

Reaching young people.
- Schools. We will work with coaches and counselors to share a one-page sign-up form in English and Spanish.
- Recreation centers. We will post flyers and hold open court days.
- Families. We will hold a short information night at each site before a season.
- Churches and neighborhood centers. We will talk with leaders who know families.
- Word of mouth. Many players will find us through a friend.
- A simple website and a phone line with a text option.

Reaching coaches and sponsors.
- Invite certified coaches, teachers and former players through clubs, schools and volleyball groups.
- Offer an orientation, a background check and training in safety and in working with young people.
- Give partners a short report each quarter with counts of participants and what families said.

How we decide who joins. We use a simple sign-up form and enroll participants in the order received, with priority for families with the greatest need and for young people new to the sport. We keep a waiting list when teams are full.

What we watch. Sign-ups, attendance, grades, tournaments entered and how many participants return for a second season.

Operations Plan

How the program will be carried out.

Timeline for Year 1:
- Months 1 and 2 (July and August): Hire the coaches and coordinator, buy equipment, finalize the waiver, consent form and privacy policy with our attorney and sign site agreements.
- Month 3 (September): Begin the fall season at both gyms.
- Months 4 to 10: Run the club season with two practices a week, weekend matches and tournaments.
- Months 11 and 12: Run a summer clinic, survey players and families, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Practices and matches are held in a school gym and a recreation center, provided at low or no cost. Equipment is stored in locked carts.

Safety and privacy.
- Courts are checked before each practice and players warm up and stretch.
- Every coach and volunteer passes a background check and completes safety training.
- Two adults are present at every session, and no adult is ever alone with a young person.
- We keep an emergency plan and a first aid kit at every site, and families complete an emergency contact form.
- We keep records private, share them only with a family's permission and follow a written policy.

Equipment. We buy about $9,000 of equipment once at the start: portable nets and posts ($4,000), ball carts and volleyballs ($2,500), training equipment ($1,500), first aid kits and locking storage ($1,000). Later years replace or add a few items.

Staffing. In Year 1 I serve as Executive Director. A part-time Program Coordinator, paid $26,000 a year, handles schedules and sign-ups. Two part-time certified coaches, each paid $19,000 a year, lead practices and matches. We add a coach for every new site.

Management & Organization

Keisha Brown, Executive Director. I lead the organization, report to the board and am responsible for budgets, partnerships and reporting. I came to this work as a volleyball coach who watched girls leave the sport because of cost. I will complete the training we require of our coaches so I understand the program from the inside. (Replace this paragraph with your own background.)

Coaches. Part-time coaches lead practices and matches, and each is certified through USA Volleyball and passes a background check. These stipends are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a high school coach, a counselor, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a former player. The board meets every other month, approves our budget and reviews our safety plan. No board member is paid, and members with a conflict of interest step out of related decisions.

Advisory partners. A school athletic director, a recreation center manager and a club director give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $46,000 a year; program Coordinator (part-time), paid $26,000 a year; uSA Volleyball Certified Coach (part-time), paid $19,000 a year.

Milestones Narrative

Our goals, how we will measure them and when we plan to reach them.

Year 1 outcomes (July 2027 through June 2028):
- Serve about 90 young people at 2 sites.
- Run at least two full seasons and a summer session.
- Have at least 85 percent of participants attend most sessions.
- Have at least 80 percent of participants return for a second season.
- Receive positive feedback from at least 90 percent of families who answer our short survey.

What we count and how.
- Participants enrolled, sessions and games attended, from our records.
- Skills learned and goals met, from the coach's checklist.
- Equipment issued and returned, from our log.
- Participant and family feedback, from a short, confidential form.
We report what we find, including what did not work, and use it to improve.

Growth over five years.
- Year 2: About 120 young people at 2 sites.
- Year 3: About 150 young people at 3 sites.
- Year 4: About 180 young people at 3 sites.
- Year 5: About 210 young people at 4 sites.

Learning along the way. At the end of each quarter, the director and the board review the numbers and decide whether we are on track. If we are behind, we will adjust our outreach, our sites or our schedule before asking for more money.

After the grant. By Year 5, grants make up about 37 percent of our budget, down from about 54 percent in Year 1, as partners and donors give more. We will keep building those relationships every year.

Funding Request

What we are asking for, and how the money will be used. Our request: $55,000 from the Lone Star Girls Sports Foundation for certified coach stipends, uniforms and equipment and tournament travel, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: USA Volleyball certified coach stipends, two sites, $38,000.
- Supplies: Uniforms, volleyballs and tournament entry fees for 90 girls, $12,000 (other funds add $3,000).
- Travel: Transportation to away tournaments, $5,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 64% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $159,500, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $6,700 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $86,500; city Recreation Department Grants $40,000; corporate Sponsors $25,000; individual Donors $8,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $46,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $26,000; uSA Volleyball Certified Coach (part-time) $19,000; uniforms, Volleyballs and Nets about $9,000; tournament Entry Fees about $7,000; transportation to Away Tournaments about $6,000; court Rental about $8,000; coach Certification and Training about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $8,000; about $3,800 a year for the wear on equipment.

One-time startup costs. Startup costs of $16,300 are paid once from startup money, not from the yearly budget: $4,000 for portable nets and posts; $2,500 for ball carts and volleyballs; $1,500 for training equipment; $1,000 for first aid kits and locking storage; $2,000 for attorney review of the waiver, consent and privacy policy; $1,800 for banners, bilingual flyers and a simple website; $1,500 for background checks and coach certification for the first season; $2,000 for first insurance payment.

How we got our startup number. The Funding Need Calculator in this plan adds the startup costs ($16,300), the cash the program uses before it balances (about $0) and a cash cushion of about $37,800, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $54,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $51,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a sporting goods retailer, $57,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $159,500 in Year 1 to about $211,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $86,500, $75,000, $83,000, $71,000 and $79,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: city Recreation Department Grants from $40,000 to $60,000; corporate Sponsors from $25,000 to $48,000; individual Donors from $8,000 to $24,000. Our surplus is planned at about $6,700 in Year 1, about $6,900 in Year 2, about $8,500 in Year 3, about $9,000 in Year 4 and about $10,200 in Year 5. We grow from 2 sites to 4 by Year 5, adding a part-time coach for each new site.

Savings. We plan to keep several months of costs in savings. The lowest year-end balance in the plan is about $50,100, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $6,380 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per player. In Year 1, our total costs are about $1,698 per player served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more player served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $956 per player.

After the grant. City recreation funding, corporate sponsors and individual donors grow every year, so grants become a smaller share of our budget. Participants and families share their stories, and businesses can sponsor a team or a season by name. We will look for partnerships with schools and the city that want a safe, free volleyball option for every child.

Risks and how we will handle them:
- An injury. Certified coaches, proper equipment, groups matched by age and skill, a written emergency plan and insurance.
- A site is no longer available. We keep agreements with more than one site and a plan for bad weather.
- A coach leaves. We keep a list of trained backup coaches and share lesson plans.
- Low attendance. We adjust sites, times and rides based on family feedback.
- A privacy problem. We follow a written policy, use secure systems and train every staff member and volunteer.
- A grant ends. We keep savings and grow partner and donor support each year.

If you are just starting. A new organization can begin before it has its own 501(c)(3) status through a fiscal sponsor: an established nonprofit that receives grants for you and passes them to your program, usually for a fee (commonly around 5% to 10% of the grant, sometimes more; ask before you agree). Another way is to start smaller: one neighborhood, a handful of players and a small team, tracked carefully. Strong results from a small start make larger grants easier to win.

Appendix Notes

Documents to attach with this proposal:

- Your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, or your fiscal sponsor agreement.
- Your most recent financial statements and your current year budget.
- A list of your board members and what each one does.
- Signed letters of support from partner schools, agencies and sites.
- Your site agreements and your insurance certificate.
- Your consent, waiver and privacy policy.
- Your safety plan and background check policy.
- Your program outline and schedule.
- Quotes for equipment and materials.
- Resumes for your Executive Director and key staff.
If you don't have any of this yet, no worries - let's continue.

The assumptions behind our numbers (change them in the Financials section to match your own):
- Grant Revenue: $86,500 in Year 1, growing to $79,000 in Year 5.
- City Recreation Department Grants: $40,000 in Year 1, growing to $60,000 in Year 5.
- Corporate Sponsors: $25,000 in Year 1, growing to $48,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $8,000 in Year 1, growing to $24,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $46,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $26,000; uSA Volleyball Certified Coach (part-time) $19,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: uniforms, Volleyballs and Nets $9,000; tournament Entry Fees $7,000; transportation to Away Tournaments $6,000; court Rental $8,000; coach Certification and Training $3,000; administration and Insurance $8,000. These grow between 4% and 5% a year.
- Equipment: $9,000 at the start, then $2,000 to $3,000 a year.
- Startup costs: $16,300, paid once from $57,000 in startup money.
- Young people served: about 90 in Year 1, growing to about 210 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. The club season runs fall through spring with two practices a week and weekend matches.
- About 4% of each year's income is still owed to us at year end.
- Tax: none, as a nonprofit.
- Every dollar amount is an estimate. Replace them with your own quotes and real budget.

Startup Costs