After-School Athletics Programming (JJ Watt Foundation)

After-School Athletics Programming (JJ Watt Foundation) is sponsored by Justin J. Watt Foundation (JJWF). The Justin J.

Watt Foundation offers grants to middle schools for after-school athletics programming serving students in grades 6-8. Funding supports the acquisition of uniforms and equipment for various sports.

For your after school program For your after school program To provide after-school opportunities for children in the community to become involved in athletics, so that they may learn the basic character traits of accountability, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, and perseverance while in a safe and supervised environment with their peers.

Before submitting an application for funding, ensure that your organization meets the Foundation’s criteria listed below and you’ve read through the entire FAQ section. DOES YOUR SCHOOL'S ATHLETIC PROGRAM: Meet between 3:00-5:30 p. m.

and serve kids in 6th – 8th grades? Operate in a school district where 60% or more of students are eligible for the Free/Reduced Lunch program? Have outdated, worn out uniforms and vital equipment that need to be replaced and will be reused year after year?

Provide staff, transportation, space for the activity, and have a secure place to store uniforms and equipment? If you answered “yes” to all of the questions above, please fill out our funding request application linked below after you have obtained the following items required to complete the application: Official vendor quotes for all requested equipment and uniforms.

Quotes should include applicable specifics such as price, quantity, sizes, colors, and wording, All uniform quotes should include the cost of adding the JJ Watt Foundation logo, or state N/C. Please let your vendor know you’re applying for our funding so the pricing remains valid until our board meets, or wait until 30 days prior to our meeting to apply to ensure pricing does not change.

If requesting football helmets, you must submit the reconditioning report from the vendor. The itemized budget for the after school program for the past two years. Review and approval from your Athletic Director or Principal to make sure your application only contains what your school/district most needs.

If you are applying for more than one school in a district, each school needs it’s own application. Please feel free to contact us directly if you have questions prior to submitting multiple requests for schools in your district. Please use the schedule below to determine when to apply for your particular sport(s).

Winter (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb) * *NOTE: Due to lead time for wrestling mats: Apply during & only considered between Jan 16 – Apr 15, 5pm CST APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE END OF EACH APPLICATION PERIOD ABOVE IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR REVIEW THAT QUARTER. REVIEW MEETINGS TYPICALLY OCCUR ON THE 4 TH MONDAY OF JANUARY, APRIL, AND SEPTEMBER.

Apply for funding for your after-school program We are currently only accepting applications from programs that have not previously received funding from our foundation. Our priority is to help as many different programs as possible, in order to reach as many children as we can. Please prioritize your schools needs with your Athletic Director before applying.

Frequently Asked Questions What are some examples of items for which funding would be approved? Game jerseys & one set of game pants with school name, numbers, & JJWF logo on uniforms tops only. These uniforms cannot be personalized with student names.

Safety equipment like helmets expiring within 2 years (reconditioning report must be submitted with application), pads, and wrestling or cheerleading mats. Balls, bats, nets, and other equipment vital to the sport. Reasonable storage equipment.

For example, we will not fund ball carts, as mesh bags would serve an equal purpose. Due to the high request volume we receive, please prioritize the items being requested in the comment section of the application or attach a separate document. You may be partially funded and this will help expedite the process.

If applicable, please submit photos of your current uniforms and/or equipment that you are applying to replace. What are some examples of items that would not be approved? Video recorders or electronics such as scoreboards or timers.

Warm-ups, socks, shoes, mouth guards, girdles, and other non-essential or non-reusable clothing. Student duffle bags, automatic ball returns, weight room equipment, and other non-essential or non-reusable equipment. Helmets not expiring within 2 years (reconditioning report must be submitted with application).

Coaching fees, transportation, fields, gyms, and storage locations. We only provide essential uniforms and equipment necessary to participate. Equipment that will be used by students in P.

E. or outside of 6 th – 8 th grades. We provide exclusively for 6 th – 8 th after school programs.

Are mats allowed to receive funding? Yes! However, the JJWF only considers the mat to be critical, not any logos or lettering.

Per vendors, the standard size for middle school wrestling to meet requirements is 38′ x 38′ x 1⅝”. Cheer mats 72″ x 48″ x 2⅜” will be considered. We do not fund 42′ mats.

Are there any specific requirements for custom printed items? We request that the JJWF logo be added to all uniforms. We also require that the uniforms not be personalized with student names.

Please ask your uniform vendor to include the cost or list it as N/C to add the JJWF logo before submitting your application . The JJWF logo can be screen printed in one color that matches your school colors. ALL quotes MUST have a total number of uniforms for each size, i.e. 4) Small, 5) Medium, etc. We do not pay for Youth sizes smaller than Youth L as those are typically too small for middle school athletes.

When attaching my vendor quote, can I just take a screenshot of my online shopping cart? No, we must have an actual vendor quote, estimate, or invoice. The quote must show quantities, sizes, school name and numbers if applicable, and total cost.

Please ask the vendor to put a quote number on the quote for our reference. If applying for multiple sports, the vendor can put them all on one quote. Are multiple vendors allowed?

Absolutely! When filling out the application, please make sure you upload all of your vendor quotes and enter each total so that the “Total Funds Requested” box remains correct. After entering all of your vendor quotes, please double-check that the “Total Funds Requested” box matches your total.

Please keep in mind the following for your vendor quotes: Let each vendor know you are working with the JJWF as it can expedite the process & provide lower pricing Quotes must show quantities, sizes, school name and numbers if applicable, and total cost Quotes must also include the JJWF logo on uniform tops only, as well as associated cost or no charge, which most do since we are a non-profit Quotes must each have a quote number for tracking purposes Quotes must have a representative name, email and/or phone number, as well as the company mailing address Shopping carts from online orders are not accepted What needs to be included in the budget?

We require a file showing the amount of funding allocated to your school’s athletics program for the previous two years. In addition, this file should contain the amount of money allocated to each sport for which funding is being requested and a detailed, itemized list of expenditures for each of those sports. What should I do if we do not have a budget?

We require a signed letter from the Principal, on school letterhead, explaining that there is not an allocated budget for after school athletics. This must be attached to your application by way of scanning or other digitization. How will we be notified of our application was approved or not?

Due to the volume of applications we receive, you will only be notified if your request has been approved. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. What happens after we are approved?

The JJWF will email a letter to the contact person listed on your application congratulating you and detailing what was approved. We will also send each vendor a letter and a check payable to each vendor. It is then your responsibility to place the order with the vendor and ensure your equipment and/or uniforms are received.

While growing up, JJ Watt, now #99 for the Houston Texans, was able to participate in track, baseball, soccer, hockey, and football. However, during his junior year at the University of Wisconsin, JJ came to the life-changing realization that many kids are not afforded the same access to after school athletic opportunities that he was given.

In that moment, JJ decided he wanted to do something to fix this problem while he had such an overwhelmingly supportive fan base to assist him. With the help of the University of Wisconsin Law Department Research Team, the Justin J. Watt Foundation was born.

It is with great pride that I, along with a tremendous team of volunteers, help to carry out my son’s mission of providing after school athletic opportunities for middle school aged children. If you meet our criteria, please complete the Funding Request Application linked above, attach the vendor invoices and program budget, and submit it for review. All applications are reviewed quarterly (March, June, September, and December).

I look forward to hearing from you! Connie L. Watt, Vice President Justin J.

Watt Foundation 501(c)(3) Tax ID # 27-3516574