The Victory Lap Community Fund was established by the West Michigan Sports Commission to enhance our community through sports programming. This fund focuses on community projects or programs that feature equality, equity, and diversity and ensures access to sports for all.

In alliance with Project Play the WMSC believes that sport helps build a healthy community and helps encourage children to have a play based childhood. We aim to remove barriers and fill gaps in greater Grand Rapids to encourage youth and adults to stay socially active.

The fund has two application cycles. Events occurring between Jan – June is in the first cycle, and events occurring between July-December are in the second cycle. Download the application or complete it online.

Criteria:

Funds are dispersed during your event semester (January-June or July-December).
An organization can only apply once a year.
You do not need to be a 501c3.
Organization/group applying needs to be involved in sports/recreation.
Team/event/facility must be within Kent County.
Must fall into one of the areas of funding as requested on the application (see button below).
Award recipients must provide a recap of the event or group that used the funds. Failure to do so may result in ineligibility for future funds.
First time event awards will not be disbursed until proof is shown that the event/project will take place.

Victory Lap Application

Applicant's Name

First Name

Last Name

Applicant Organization (if applicable)

Applicant Email

Phone

(###)

###

####

Applicant Address

Address 1

Address 2

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

Amount Requested

Semester applying for funds

When event or project will take place.

January-June

July-December

Please provide a brief history and description of your organization or the project/program.

What category does your project/program fall under?

Event

Team/Organization

Other:

If other, please explain:

What are the dates or season of the project or program the grant would be used for?

Please select which category your funding request falls into (at least one category must be selected to be considered for this fund):

Community & Economic Development: Improving local communities for the benefit of low-income individuals and families in the local service area.

Diversity & Inclusion: Fostering the building of relationship and understanding among diverse groups inthe local service area.

Quality of Life: Improving access to recreation and sports experiences for low-income individuals and families within Kent County.

How many individuals are expected to participate and/or be impacted by grant?

Describe how the request fulfilles the category you selected in the section above:

Explain the need of the community fund dollars, how they will be used.

How will the results of these dollars be measured and reported back to the West Michigan Sports Commission?

Will the West Michigan Sports Commission receive any recognition in return for the fund disbursement? If so, please explain.

Previous Recipients

Mary Free Bed Wheelchair and Adaptive Sports

Mary Free Bed Sports helps connect over 2,800 people with disabilities to recreational programs and offers 40+ classes, clinics, events, and teams to participate in.

Urban Youth Summer Basketball League (UYSBL)

The UYSBL has welcomed kids ages 11 to 14 to play for two decades. The league aims to help mold the community's youth into better athletes and people while helping make the community safer.

Southern Little League

Serving the southeast side of Grand Rapids, the Southern Little League provides baseball and softball programming for kids 6 to 16.

Jump Ahead NBA 2K Esports Tournament

The competition brought underserved and low-income communities together at the Four Star Theatre for a free esports competition.

Michigan Golden Gloves

The Michigan Golden Gloves sponsors and promotes amateur boxing for young people from all walks of life. Their objective is to build champions in the ring and good citizens outside the ring.

Whitecaps Community Foundation

The foundation enriches the lives of youth and their families by providing them with access to fun, baseball, team dynamics, leadership, education, and recreational opportunities.

Flexworks Kirk Cousins Football Camp

The West Michigan Sports Commission's support of this camp helped 20 athletes from Grand Rapids Public Schools, Northview Public Schools, and Godwin Heights attend at no cost.