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These are difficult times for all sports-based youth development nonprofits (SBYD) with schools, fields and recreational facilities closed. This means teachers, mentors and coaches are unable to engage in-person with the children they are teaching and supporting. However, programs are starting to adapt by delivering programs and staying in touch virtually - see the variety of approaches being adopted in our Virtual Youth Engagement section below. However, as of mid May discussions have begun on the return to play and Aspen Institute's Project Play Program provides thoughtful advice and resources on this important topic in the Operations/Fund Raising section below. Further, many states have put into place continued access to meals that students in need had been getting while in school. More detail can be found in Government Resources below. Soccer Without Borders (Posted 5/4/20) In response to COVID-19 and the state of isolation it has put many youth into, Soccer Without Borders has launched its first nationwide Stay Home Spring Season, in which 119 youth soccer teams across the United States compete against each other through virtual training sessions led by the teams’ coaches and by completing weekly league-wide Social Impact Challenges provided by SWB. Furthermore, SWB has launched the Smile Together YouTube Series to provide free inclusive training sessions and skill challenges from SWB coaches. This video content is all about our culture of belonging, especially in this isolated time. Click here to learn more about Soccer Without Borders’ response to COVID-19. A reminder that SWB released in March its Beats that Move the Cleats, a Spotify playlist with song recommendations from its participants and coaches around the world. Song samples are at the link or go to Spotify to hear songs in their entirety. Doc Wayne (Posted 5/1/20) uses the power of sports to address the need for mental health services among youth. They have launched a new webinar series, Kids and COVID-19 to share tips, tricks and resources to better support youth through this pandemic. Watch their first Webinar hosted in partnership with U. S. Soccer Foundation on Mental Health for Youth Sports Organizations. Doc Wayne is also available as a resource for mental health programming or interventions. Contact them at [email protected]. U. S. Center for Safe Sport (Posted 5/1/20) has created important safety guidelines for coaches connecting virtually with their program's youth along with other helpful resources for keeping kids safe online. LA84 Foundation's (Posted 5/1/20) Play Equity Fund features instructional videos from LA Dodgers Kike Hernandez, LA Chargers Austin Ekeler, and U.S. Hockey Olympian Molly Schaus. This is part of #StayActvieStayStrong program to encourage kids to stay active while at home. In addition, the Fund is distributing balls, jump rope and other equipment at LA Unified School District meal centers. This program is part of their May 5th Giving Tuesday fund raising effort. America SCORES (Updated 5/1/20) The Soccer Coaches Summit from April 13 - 25 is over, but you can still get access to the 116 different speakers on 38 different categories by purchasing for $129 the life time Donor Pass. Starting May 5th there will be new free sessions, with several for the Hispanic community. Full Schedule, Registration & Pass Purchase. PeacePlayers (Posted 4/21/20) is an international nonprofit whose mission is to unite divided communities through the sport of basketball. Phone calls were initially made to players to check-in and find out what capabilities they have to connect virtually. Based on youth access, virtual programming was set up using the social media platforms players use to keep communication and programs going (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc) PeacePlayers recently began implementing a curriculum across international sites that will build up towards their Friendship Games that was to take place in Israel, but instead will happen on the virtual platforms. More Info Give N' Grow Basketball (Posted 4/21/21) is offering free 25 minute video call that combines mental health training with fundamental basketball drills promoting physical fitness. Youth age K-5th, but 6-8th graders will benefit. Every Tuesday and Friday at 12 noon eastern. More Info U. S. Soccer Foundation (Posted 4/14/20) Each week, the Foundation releases new flyers with different activities and resources around: physical activity, health & wellness, mentoring, community engagement, and safe spaces. The flyers are available in English and Spanish. We also release videos of short soccer sessions. All of the materials can be found at www.soccerforsuccess.org/athome. Page is updatedfrequently so all the materials will always live there. Chicago Run (Posted 4/14/20) serves the full continuum school age (PreK-High School) with youth running and physical fitness programs. They have started a free, 6-week virtual program that is open to the whole family to exercise together on a daily basis without any equipment and includes weekly virtual meetups. They are also posting follow along exercise videos every weekday at 1pm central on Facebook and posting fitness tips and challenges for all ages on their website. Harlem Lacrosse (Posted 4/13/20) The inequities Harlem Lacrosse (HL) participants are facing are intensified in the current environment. Accordingly, Harlem Lacrosse is able to mobilize their Program Directors and staff to innovate and advocate on behalf of the students they serve by pivoting its program model as follows:
HL has a Virtual Programming Calendar for every weekday:
Click Here to see the ways HL virtual programming is making an impact 60 Minute Online Course for Teen-age Athletes (Posted 4/8/20) is available for free until April 30 from the Positive Coaching Alliance. Course teaches student-athletes how to Improve Oneself, Improve Teammates and Improving the Sport. Up2Us (Posted 4/1/20) has created the Up2UsSportsAtHome to provide free resources, videos and virtual training opportunities to help coaches keep their teams physically, socially and emotionally healthy. Up2Us will include daily posts on their network of social media channels using the hashtag #Up2UsSportsAtHome. America SCORES (Updated 4/14/20) has pivoted to 100% online daily free afterschool programming, and content is accessible for anyone. Like #SCORESATHOME, content often has a series of Soccer and Writing Activities to keep youth fit in mind and body. Further, SCORES has been experimenting with different content and delivery mechanisms, including offline, at several of their local programs. Click on the following city links to view where the content is being generated -- Chicago, Cleveland, DC, LA - currently just re-purposing DC content, NYC and San Francisco Bay area
The Play Sports Coalition has gathered information from a variety of organizations to publish Return to Play Considerations. Document discusses considerations for returning to play, Liability considerations, operational considerations, and sport specific considerations. Download the Report Aspen Institute's Project Play (5/15/20) It has been 2 month and counting since the U.S. shuttering in place, and discussion has begun when and how to loosen restrictions. Aspen's Project Play webinar, How Should Youth Sports Return to Play, provides thoughtful explanation on the health and legal issues and solutions to consider when making such a decision. Webinar Replay Written Recap America SCORES (Posted 5/4/20) April Soccer Coaches Summit attracted nearly 8,000 attendees and tens of thousands of dollars in program donations. Further replays of the Summit can be accessed anytime by purchasing a donor pass for $129.00. DC SCORES (Posted 5/4/20) held on April 30, Our Words Our City LIVE, a video performance of their poet-athletes, alumni and professional spoken word artists. Viewing was free, but had $20,000 commitments to match donations made that night. There were 2,100 viewers, 150 individual donors, over $50,000 raised. Can still see the video for free. Good Sports (Posted 5/1/20) is committed to restoring play as quickly as possible once sports come back on line. As a national nonprofit that donates brand-new sports equipment, apparel, and footwear, Good Sports is encouraging programs to apply now for equipment needs. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Since its inception in 2003, Good Sports has supported more than seven million kids in all 50 states with more than $50 million in equipment. Volunteer Engagement During COVID-19 (Posted 4/13/20) Sterling Volunteers has made available its webinar on demand providing examples and tips for volunteer engagement practices during COVID-19. Sterling provides background checks on nonprofit volunteers and staff and is a YSCN partner providing preferred pricing for YSCN members. To learn more about Sterling's services go to Sterling Screening. Holding a Virtual Silent Auction (Updated Post 4/13/20) - Community Brands has made available research and webinars on conducting silent auctions. Research on silent auctions is broken down by regions such as Northwest and Northeast on what type of auction items are most popular and which time of year based on dollars raised. We also wanted to send along some supporting resources:
Data Collection/Analysis Tools (Posted 4/8/20) UpMetrics is offering nonprofits free access to its analytics platform through the end of the year. Nonprofits can sign up here, view a quick video for more details, and see an example of impact + fundraising profile. Platform tracks key data points, visualize data and then seamlessly share program impact with key stakeholders. Professional Development for Staff (Posted 3/31/20) Buffalo City Swim Racers is using this time separated from their kids to focus on professional development of their staff. Goal is to strengthen their staff's base knowledge and professionalism upon returning from the crisis. They are working toward offering the following and paying staff half salary:
Managing Fund Raising in a Pandemic (Posted 3/24/20) - This blog posting comes from accounting and financial advisory firm Marcum LLP. Government Resources The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act (6/9/20) revised key terms of the previously passed PPP. To have the PPP loan forgiven, the program extended the spending period of the PPP loan to 24 weeks, instead of 8 weeks, from the date the loan is received. Further, the percentage of loan proceeds that must be used for payroll was reduced from 75% to 60%. Both revisions if met along with other requirements allow the loan to be forgiven. Loan recipient must submit the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application issued by the Small Business Administration. To learn more go to PPPFA. You can download slides from a June 12th webinar by Marcom, a public accounting and advisory firm, on these recent changes to the Paycheck Protection Program. It is reported that there remains approximately $130 billion still available for this program. So nonprofits that have not submitted an application for the loan before should do so soon. Youth Sports Recovery & Relief Request (Updated 5/15/20) Following an initial April letter to the Senate and House leadership to provide funding for youth sports by over 400 youth sports organizations, several thousand youth sports nonprofits joined the Play Sports Coalition including the Youth Sports Collaborative Network, America SCORES, Girls on the Run, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and Up2Us. The letter calls upon Congress to:
A copy of the letter which lists current signatory organizations is available for review -- Youth Sports Relief and Recovery Sign On Letter 4.20.2020 Senate final.pdf. The letter stresses the benefits of youth sports and the disparity of participation among youth based on family income -- a suggestion by YSCN. It also recommends "Priority consideration in the disbursement of these funds will be given to the programs serving underserved communities." In May four members of the House, 2 Republicans and 2 Democrats, agreed to author a letter subsequently co-signed by 23 other House members. The letter was sent May 9 to the House and Senate Leadership requesting that 4th stimulus package include youth sports. The letter at the end commits "to ensure priority consideration in the disbursement of these funds will be given to programs focusing on underserved communities." Read the Letter by scrolling down the linked web page to Our Solution. Federal COVID-19 Relief Bill (CARES) (Updated 4/22/20) was passed by Congress and signed by the President on March 28th. The new law has several sections providing financial relief through loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for nonprofits with less than 500 employees. One of these programs includes the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a lending program to cover 8 weeks of payroll expenses. On April 15th the SBA announced it was no longer accepting applications as it use up all of the $349 billion that Congress Allocated. On April 21st, the Senate passed new legislation that authorized another $310 billion. The House is expected to pass this legislation on Thursday, the 23rd. You should check the SBA website to see if it will be accepting new applications. The new authorized money may be going to the applications already accepted but not approved. NOTE: On April 15, SBA announced all money had been allocated to PPP applications. No more applications are being accepted. However, Congress is working on appropriating new funding. This section will be updated if that happens. NOTE: Effective April 10 self employed/independent contractors getting 1099s can now file directly for the Paycheck Protection Program as well. Go here for details. SBA started accepting applications for nonprofits and small businesses on April 3rd. Here is a core list of requirements for PPP:
Go to the Maryland Nonprofits web site for more detail. Don't Delay Applying!! The program is for small businesses and nonprofits. Once the $349 billion is loaned out, there is no more money. State Sites to Access Meals (Posted 4/3/20) - Though schools are closed, there is a growing list of states with their locations and hours that are continuing school meal programs. These two resources provide updated locations in all states where meals are being offered:
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