OVERVIEW: This pro soccer team funder is devoted to at-risk children and youth in Los Angeles communities. Funding interests are education, health, and soccer programs for youth.
IP TAKE: There is no clear way to apply for an LA Galaxy grant, so reach out to the foundation with a youth-focused idea to introduce your local organization.
PROFILE: The LA Galaxy Foundation is the grantmaking arm of the LA Galaxy professional soccer team in Los Angeles. It seeks to support “programs and non-profit organizations through event programming and community outreach initiatives, in hope of providing vital resources to at-risk Los Angeles communities while growing the game of soccer.” Like many sports team funders, this foundation prioritizes children and youth. It makes grants and provides other forms of support to groups that help children through health, education, and soccer-based programs and initiatives. Ultimately, this team funder wants to educate, encourage, and empower children and youth in the Los Angeles area.
The LA Galaxy foundation raises money through donations, game night auctions, poster purchases, putting up messages in lights on GalaxyTV, and through a competitive tournament called the Community Cup. The bulk of funding is limited to at-risk Los Angeles communities and to encouraging interest in soccer through community outreach. Recent partnerships have involved Special Olympics Southern California, American Heart Association, and corporate partners for youth soccer clinics. LAGF has also partnered with Whole Foods Market in Torrance, Calif., to donate five percent of sales to support the foundation.
One previous foundation program was the LA Galaxy Kick Start Reading Challenge, but additional educational-based programming is expected to be announced soon. For information on new opportunities, email galaxycommdev@lagalaxy.com.
Community Partner of the Match is a program that features charitable organizations in Los Angeles with exclusive in-game programming. Partners have included the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Los Angeles Unified School District, and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. The foundation supports and participates in monthly community service projects in the city for events like L.A. Kitchen Thanksgiving Preparation Volunteer Day and the GRID Alternatives Solar Volunteer Day.
LAGF has partnered with Beyond the Bell and the U.S. Soccer Foundation to install mini soccer pitches at local middle schools. It has worked with Brotherhood Crusade, the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, the Cal South Foundation, and the California Endowment to build new soccer fields in Los Angeles. More recently, the foundation has worked with STEAM efforts to link soccer to science for middle school students. Protect the Pitch is an LA Galaxy sustainability program to reduce the team's environmental impact and support environmental projects in the community.
The foundation can be reached at 310-630-2153 or by mail at 18400 Avalon Boulevard, Suite 200, Carson, California 90746. Keep up with foundation news and events here.
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