SHE FLIES Community Grant
The 2024 Grant Cycle Closed On April 5
SHE FLIES is an initiative under the Sport Oregon Foundation umbrella to support, engage, and celebrate girls and women’s participation in sports across Oregon.
At Sport Oregon, we believe sport is for all - all body types, all races, all ages, all income levels. Our Oregon state motto is “She Flies With Her Own Wings”, and through SHE FLIES we want to foster safe community spaces where all who identify as girls and women have an opportunity to use sports to take flight into the many positive benefits of sports participation. We also want to feed communities of encouragement and support to get active or stay active, and grow spaces to connect with like-minded peers to build an even more inclusive and impactful sports community across Oregon.
The SHE FLIES Community Grant, an initiative of the Sport Oregon Foundation, supports nonprofits registered as a 501(c)(3) with tax-exempt status from the IRS, that are located in Oregon or are serving communities in Oregon.
Grant seeking organizations must align with one of the following focus areas to be considered:
Keeping Girls in the Game
Girls are twice as likely than boys to drop out of sports participation by age 14.
SHE FLIES supports community programs that are specifically working to keep girls ages 10-16 active (i.e. a summer camp, sports tournament, after school clinic).
Empowering Women Coaches
Coaches have the power to keep girls in the game. Less than 30% of youth sports coaches are women.
SHE FLIES supports community programs that are specifically working to educate and empower a community of coaches or officials that work with girls and women (i.e. professional development, trainings, workshops).
Fit for Life
Fitness is a lifelong journey. Among adults, men are twice as likely as women to report that they “play sports.”
SHE FLIES supports community programs that specifically work to keep women of all ages engaged in healthy physical and mental wellness activities and to help them re-discover the positive benefits of activity later on in life (i.e. Zumba classes for seniors, wellness series for incarcerated women, running club for mothers).
Grant Guidelines
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Applicant Eligibility
An Oregon based and/or serving organization that is certified as tax exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and is not a private foundation as defined in section 509(a) of that Code is eligible for consideration. 2024 recipients of SHE FLIES Community Grants are not eligible to apply in 2025 and must wait one year before reapplying in 2026.
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Grants are Specifically Not Made:
To organizations that discriminate against certain groups or individuals in the delivery of programs and services on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability
To individuals, individual schools, or PTO/PTA organizations
For endowment funds
For Political organizations
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Grant Amount and Frequency
You may apply for one grant type (Keeping Girls in the Game, Empowering Women Coaches, Fit for Life) per year. Grant recipients must wait one year before reapplying.
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2025 Grant Timeline
Application Opens: January 2025
Application Closes: March 2025
Grant Applicants Notified: Early May 2025
Fuel the Future Grantee Recognition: TBD May 2025
Grantee Funds Disbursed: By July 1, 2025
Grantee Impact Reports Due: May 1, 2026
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Required Documentation
Organization budget for the most recently completed fiscal year
Project or program budget related to the grant request
Most recent annual report
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Grantee Expectations
Grantees are expected to use the funds within one year of receiving the funds (i.e. between June 2025 and May 2026). All grant recipients will be invited to accept an award at the annual SHE FLIES Celebration event. Recipients will be expected to complete a short impact report at the end of the year. Grantees must have one (1) leadership representative attend the awards and celebration ceremony on TBD date in May 2025.
SHE FLIES Community Grant FAQ
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Grant applicants may apply for one grant type (Keeping Girls in the Game, Empowering Women Coaches, Fit for Life) per year.
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Grant funding is limited to programmatic support.
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All applications will be reviewed and selected by the SHE FLIES Community Grant Review Committee. The committee will be made up of a diverse group of individuals such as Sport Oregon employees, board members, sponsors, and local community leaders.
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Grant recipients must wait one year before reapplying. For example, if an organization receives a grant in 2024, the next time it can apply is in 2026.
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Yes, although the SHE FLIES Community Grant Review Committee will be looking for a strengthened application.
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Yes. You can include a Form 990 in place of an annual report. You can also attach existing materials that explain the program you are seeking funding for and/or the impact.
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As long as there is an intentional focus on engaging female-identifying athletes within the program you’re seeking funding for, and you’re able to provide specifics around that in your submission, you are encouraged to apply.
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Yes. The SHE FLIES Community Grants are increasingly competitive. In 2023, they saw a 35% increase in applications year over year, thus making it an extremely competitive grant cycle with high-caliber grant submissions. Organizations are encouraged to reapply.