Takedown Youth Wrestling

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Executive Summary

Takedown Youth Wrestling is a nonprofit in Ohio that provides free wrestling instruction and competitive development to young people ages 6 to 16 in underserved communities. Wrestling teaches discipline, accountability and the lifelong understanding that you can get back up after being knocked down.

Many young people have no way to learn the sport. Clubs charge fees, gear is costly and school seasons are short. A clean mat, a certified coach and borrowed gear can open the door.

With this grant we will serve about 75 young people in Year 1 at 2 recreation centers. We do not promise that any wrestler will win a title or earn a scholarship. We promise safe practice, good coaching and a team to belong to.

Our Year 1 budget is about $126,000, growing to about $148,000 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 5 staff in Year 1 (an Executive Director, a part-time Program Coordinator and two part-time coaches) and 6 by Year 4.

We are asking the Buckeye Youth Wrestling Foundation for $38,000 for coach stipends, loaner wrestling gear and tournament entry fees. 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

Takedown Youth Wrestling is a nonprofit organization in Ohio. 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. To give young people in underserved communities free wrestling instruction and the lifelong understanding that you can get back up after being knocked down.

What we do.
- Run free wrestling instruction twice a week at two recreation centers.
- Lend headgear, shoes and singlets to every wrestler who needs them.
- Teach technique, conditioning, safe falls and sportsmanship by age and weight.
- Pay tournament entry fees for qualifying wrestlers.
- Host a friendly club meet for families and neighbors.
- Train and pay part-time coaches certified through USA Wrestling.

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. We do not allow wrestlers with an untreated skin condition or a head injury to practice until a doctor says it is safe. We do not promise any wrestler a title, a scholarship or a college roster spot. 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 offering free wrestling practices in a recreation center gym after the school season ended. Boys and girls kept coming, and many asked about tournaments. We kept simple records of who came and how they did in school. This proposal asks for support to move from off-season practices to a steady program with paid, trained coaches and the equipment to match.

Problem & Opportunity

Wrestling teaches discipline, accountability and resilience, and many young people in underserved neighborhoods have no way to learn it.

Cost. Club fees, headgear, shoes and singlets cost more than many families can pay. Tournaments add entry fees and travel.

Access. School seasons are short and school teams begin late. Clubs are often far away and practice at times that do not fit working parents.

Safety and trust. Parents want to know that coaches are trained, mats are clean, wrestlers are matched by size and age and no one is hurt by rough handling.

Missed benefits. Young people who never wrestle miss a sport that rewards effort over size and builds confidence and friendships.

What we hear.
- A mother says her son is small and wants a sport where size is not everything.
- A coach says many kids come to the first practice in borrowed shoes.
- A teacher says a student on the wrestling team learned to lose without quitting.
- A father says he cannot afford the club fee and the gear.

We do not claim that a sports program can solve every challenge. We believe that a clean mat, a good coach and a team can teach a young person to get back up.

Products & Services

Takedown Youth Wrestling gives youth ages 6 to 16 in underserved communities a safe, welcoming place to learn and compete in wrestling.

How the program works.
1. Sites. We partner with two recreation centers that provide mat space, and we bring coaches and equipment.
2. Seasons. Fall through spring, with two practices a week and tournaments for qualifying wrestlers.
3. Groups. Wrestlers are grouped by age, weight and experience.
4. Equipment. Every wrestler who needs them borrows headgear and shoes, and receives a practice singlet.
5. Coaching. Coaches teach stance, takedowns, escapes, safe falls and conditioning.
6. Health checks. A coach checks for skin conditions and injuries before every practice.
7. Tournaments. Qualifying wrestlers enter a few local tournaments, with fees paid.

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 Wrestling, pass a background check, complete our training and are paid a stipend.

Access and fairness. Programs are free. We welcome boys and girls of every size and experience, and we match wrestlers carefully so everyone can learn.

Market Analysis

Who we serve. Youth ages 6 to 16 from underserved communities who live near our partner recreation centers and want to wrestle. 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 off-season practices we served full mats and kept a waiting list. Schools and recreation staff told us that many more young people want to wrestle than we can serve. For Year 1 we plan to serve about 75 young people at 2 recreation centers. By Year 5, with more coaches and sites, we plan to serve about 175.

Where participants come from.
- Schools, 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 wrestlers who train year-round. Recreation centers gain steady use of their gyms.

What the numbers mean. Every number here is a young wrestler getting back up. 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 wrestling programs. Strong coaching and fees many families cannot pay. We offer a free alternative.

2. School teams. Good, with a short season and limited roster spots.

3. Recreation department programs. Few offer wrestling.

4. Martial arts schools. Excellent, and a different sport.

5. Private coaching. Effective and costly.

What makes us different.
- Free to every wrestler.
- Certified coaches and age and weight groups.
- Headgear, shoes and singlets provided.
- Daily health and skin checks.
- A path to school teams and local tournaments.

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 school coaches, recreation centers 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 mat days.
- Families. We will hold a short information night at each site before the season.
- Churches and neighborhood centers. We will talk with leaders who know families.
- Word of mouth. Many wrestlers 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 wrestlers through schools and wrestling 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, skills learned, 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 recreation centers.
- Months 4 to 10: Run practices twice a week with tournaments for qualifying wrestlers.
- Months 11 and 12: Host a club meet, survey wrestlers and families, report to funders and plan Year 2.

Space. Practices are held in recreation center gyms, provided at no or low cost. Mats are cleaned daily and stored in the center.

Safety and privacy.
- Mats are cleaned every day and wrestlers are checked for skin conditions before practice.
- Wrestlers with a head injury sit out until a doctor says it is safe.
- 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 wrestling mats ($6,000), scale and weigh-in equipment ($1,000), first aid kits and mat storage ($1,000), timers and a portable sound system ($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 $22,000 a year, handles schedules and sign-ups. Two part-time certified coaches, each paid a stipend of $13,000 a year, lead practices. We add a coach in Year 4.

Management & Organization

Dale Kowalski, 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 wrestling coach who saw how many young people had no place to wrestle after the school season ended. 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 tournaments, and each is certified through USA Wrestling and passes a background check. These stipends are part of our grant request.

Board of directors. Our volunteer board includes a wrestling coach, a teacher, a parent, a banker who serves as treasurer, an attorney and a former wrestler. 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 sports medicine nurse give guidance twice a year.

Staffing and pay in this plan: Executive Director, paid $44,000 a year; program Coordinator (part-time), paid $22,000 a year; uSA Wrestling Certified Coach (part-time stipend), paid $13,000 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 75 young people at 2 recreation centers.
- 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 100 young people at 2 recreation centers.
- Year 3: About 125 young people at 3 recreation centers.
- Year 4: About 150 young people at 3 recreation centers.
- Year 5: About 175 young people at 4 recreation centers.

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 31 percent of our budget, down from about 60 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: $38,000 from the Buckeye Youth Wrestling Foundation for coach stipends, loaner wrestling gear and tournament entry fees, for July 2027 through June 2028.

The request is spread across these budget lines:
- Personnel: USA Wrestling certified coach stipends, two sites, part time, $26,000.
- Supplies: Loaner headgear, shoes and practice singlets for 75 youth, $8,000 (other funds add $2,000).
- Other: Tournament entry fees for qualifying wrestlers, $4,000.

Other money in the program. This request is about 50% of our Year 1 grant income. Other grants and the income lines below pay for everything it does not cover.

Year 1 budget: about $126,000, planned to balance with a small surplus (about $5,200 after the yearly wear on equipment). Year 1 money coming in: Grant Revenue $76,000; city Recreation Department Partnership $25,000; local Business Sponsors $10,000; individual Donors $15,000. Year 1 costs: executive Director $44,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $22,000; uSA Wrestling Certified Coach (part-time stipend) $13,000; loaner Headgear, Shoes and Singlets about $5,000; mat Cleaning and Maintenance about $3,000; tournament Fees and Travel about $5,000; recreation Center Space about $4,000; coach Training about $3,000; administration and Insurance about $7,000; 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: $6,000 for portable wrestling mats; $1,000 for scale and weigh-in equipment; $1,000 for first aid kits and mat storage; $1,000 for timers and a portable sound system; $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 $29,800, which is about three months of Year 1 costs. In all, that comes to $46,500. We start with $6,000 from our founding board and $43,000 in startup support from a community foundation and a local athletic supply company, $49,000 in all, which covers that amount with room to spare.

The next five years. Our budget grows from about $126,000 in Year 1 to about $148,000 in Year 5. Grants are planned at $76,000, $65,000, $54,000, $57,000 and $46,000 in Years 1 to 5. Other income grows: city Recreation Department Partnership from $25,000 to $45,000; local Business Sponsors from $10,000 to $26,000; individual Donors from $15,000 to $31,000. Our surplus is planned at about $5,200 in Year 1, about $5,600 in Year 2, about $5,900 in Year 3, about $7,100 in Year 4 and about $7,200 in Year 5. We grow from 2 recreation centers 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 $42,000, at the end of Year 1. Some grant payments and partner payments arrive after we bill, so we plan for about $5,040 owed to us at the end of Year 1.

Cost per wrestler. In Year 1, our total costs are about $1,611 per wrestler served, which includes setting up the program. By Year 5, with more wrestler served and a trained team in place, that falls to about $805 per wrestler.

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 wrestling 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 wrestlers 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: $76,000 in Year 1, growing to $46,000 in Year 5.
- City Recreation Department Partnership: $25,000 in Year 1, growing to $45,000 in Year 5.
- Local Business Sponsors: $10,000 in Year 1, growing to $26,000 in Year 5.
- Individual Donors: $15,000 in Year 1, growing to $31,000 in Year 5.
- Pay (a full year, per person, including payroll taxes and workers' compensation): executive Director $44,000; program Coordinator (part-time) $22,000; uSA Wrestling Certified Coach (part-time stipend) $13,000.
- Other yearly costs in Year 1: loaner Headgear, Shoes and Singlets $5,000; mat Cleaning and Maintenance $3,000; tournament Fees and Travel $5,000; recreation Center Space $4,000; coach Training $3,000; administration and Insurance $7,000. 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 $49,000 in startup money.
- Young people served: about 75 in Year 1, growing to about 175 in Year 5. Sites: 2 in Year 1, growing to 4 by Year 5. Practices run fall through spring, twice a week, with tournaments for qualifying wrestlers.
- 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