Washington, D.C., September 26, 2013 –The Corporation for National and Community Service announced today that the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States, will be awarded $2.6 million in continuation funding over two years under its Social Innovation Fund (SIF), bringing the Foundation’s total multi-year award amount to $4.6 million. The Foundation, which first received a SIF award in 2011, will use the additional funding to support the expansion and replication of its Soccer for Success program.
Soccer for Success, the Foundation’s free, afterschool, youth development program, uses soccer as a tool to combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles for children in underserved communities. Through a network of community-based partners and organizations, Soccer for Success will serve approximately 18,000 children in 24 cities across the country during the 2013-2014 program year. With the additional funding from the Social Innovation Fund, the program will expand to serve approximately 2,000 additional children starting in fall 2014.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to continue bringing Soccer for Success to thousands of children in the coming years,” said Wylie Chen, Director of Programs & Grants at the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “Our program is proven to deliver positive health and social outcomes and the continued support of the Social Innovation Fund is a testimony to the impact our program is making in the lives of youth across the country.”
The Social Innovation Fund is an innovative federal initiative that uses public and private resources to grow promising community-based programs in under-resourced communities. Leveraging a 3:1 private-public match for every government dollar invested, the Social Innovation Fund requires that federal funding be matched by the intermediaries and again by the organizations selected for sub-grants.
“The Social Innovation Fund is serious about scaling and testing evidence-based innovations, and lifting up successful models and lessons learned,” said Michael Smith, director of the SIF. “Along with our grantees we’re looking forward to openly sharing our successes and challenges, in hopes to inform and enrich our network and the broader social sector. Through our unique approach, partnerships with grantmakers and diverse funding portfolio, we are excited to help accelerate the pace and efficacy of transformative solutions nationwide.”
About the U.S. Soccer Foundation
The U.S. Soccer Foundation is a recognized leader in sports-based youth development programs for children in underserved, urban communities. Since its founding in 1994, the organization has provided more than $59 million in funding to create and sustain innovative programs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Proven to deliver positive health and social outcomes, the Foundation’s affordable initiatives offer safe environments in which both boys and girls thrive. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. the U.S. Soccer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Visit www.ussoccerfoundation.org to learn more.
Editor Note: For your understanding, we are a separate entity from USSF/US/U.S. Soccer. When referring to the U.S. Soccer Foundation, please refer to it by its proper name.
About the Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service and champions community solutions through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund, and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit NationalService.gov.
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