The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) awarded 68 grants in an effort to promote youth access to sports experiences. Through the Youth Sports in Parks and Recreation initiative and partnerships with leaders, like ESPN, Musco Lighting, Nike and the Susan Crown Exchange, these opportunities are possible.

 

The grants were awarded to 68 agencies, totaling nearly $1 million across 33 states. The funding goes towards implementation strategies based on the association's new Youth Sports Framework. Each sponsor funded a specific style of project like Nike is supporting organizations in testing and piloting activities that increase access to sports for girls, Susan Crown Exchange is providing no-cost training for youth serving professionals through the Million Coaches Challenge, and ESPN is contributing to the efforts with the youth sports initiative, Take Back Sports.

This comes with NRPA's launch of their Jan. 2025 strategic plan which will guide the work over the next five years.