Our grants fund deserving organizations, individuals, and teams to promote sailing, racing competition, and maritime education. Most grant applications are submitted for a particular event or a series of related events that last over an extended time period. The primary purpose of our grants is to help fund individuals’ travel expenses related to out-of-town regattas. In some cases we fund coaching or other support. The Foundation spends all donations from individuals on athlete and program grants. It typically supplements that spending with investment income.

It all begins with the St. Francis Sailing Foundation Mission Statement

The St Francis Sailing Foundation (StFSF) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization with the mission to raise and grant money to deserving sailors and organizations that promote sailing, racing competition and maritime education.

The St Francis Sailing Foundation promotes competitive sailing and US Olympic Sailing Team development, with support of serious Olympic athletes, beginning Olympic hopefuls, and junior sailors. We provide grants to the US Olympic Sailing program and co-sponsor high performance youth training clinics.

Additionally, we support organizations that put thousands of underserved youth and disabled sailors on the water in enrichment programs that teach both sailing and life lessons utilizing sailing. Recent programs have also woven science, technology and math into the sailing experience.

How does the Foundation accomplish this worthy mission?

Under the leadership of founder and benefactor Tom Allen and continuing to the present, the Foundation appoints a Grants Committee that reviews every grant application and makes funding recommendations to the Board of Directors. The Grants Committee is comprised of StFSF Directors and Advisors who are active in the sailing community. Their credentials include former members of the US Olympic Team, Collegiate All-Americans, senior leaders of the StFYC, and leaders in the Bay Area sailing community. Not all are active racers. In order to keep appropriate separation between the StFYC and StFSF, non-StFYC members participate in Foundation grant reviews.

Each year the Grants Committee reviews the granting priorities of the prior year, the grants made, and how those grants fit into its priorities. Then the whole Foundation re-weights the priorities for the coming year. Consistent with our mission statement, the Foundation concentrates its grants on Bay Area applicants and young sailors. It judges all new grant requests on their merit, their priority category, and how the grant might contribute to the sailors’ or organization’s future success.

• Active Olympic campaigners at both the highest and development levels
• Serious adult competitors in national and international events, including Match and Team Racing
• Junior sailors, supporting competition at national/international events appropriate for their level
• StFYC Junior programs, including scholarships to its youth programs, high school sailing, outreach, and new programs that require seed money to prove their worth
• Special youth training clinics such as the Nacra 15 clinics at StFYC in partnership with US Sailing
• Organizations which support underprivileged youth sailors
• Disabled sailors and organizations such as Bay Area Disabled Sailors

The Grants Committee seeks ways to support introducing new kids to sailing and then helping them develop. It also supports the most competitive of them to reach their highest goal, including that of an Olympic Medal. The Foundation is Bay Area focused, but not to the exclusion of worthy outside individuals and organizations.

In our discussions about grant applications, we regularly ask what our donors would like us to support. Plus, we think about what our mentor and benefactor Tom Allen would say. He was an altruistic supporter of Bay Area sailing, the man who gave us our start, who helped develop our mission, and added to our endowment.

The Foundation BOD thinks it is on the right track, but appreciates input from all its benefactors.

The Foundation Grants Committee meets in January, April, July and October to consider grant applications that have been received during the preceding three months. To be considered at a meeting, a grant application must be received in our application website on or before the last day of the calendar quarter preceding the meeting. Grant applications that are submitted late, or submitted for events that occurred in past quarters, will not be considered.

Within two weeks of our quarterly meetings, the Grants Committee will respond to each applicant. If a grant is approved, our grant administrator will reply with a proposed grant agreement and a check for the amount of the grant. Other related administrative matters will be handled via email.

Each grant recipient must agree to use the funds only for the purposes described in the application, to return any funds not expended, to submit receipts and/or documentation supporting budgeted expenditures, and to submit a brief report at the beginning AND conclusion of the project, including photos, if available. The Foundation will feature grantees on the website and will include updates as provided by the grantee or as requested by the Foundation.

The grants committee may be reached at grants@stfsf.org. We want to be sure to consider all possible applicants and are happy to answer questions you may have.