Request funding

For your after school program

Request funding

For your after school program

Our

Mission

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Have outdated, worn out uniforms and vital equipment that need to be replaced and will be reused year after year?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.
1. 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.
2. 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).

Sports Starting in:

Winter (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb)*

Spring (Mar, Apr, May)

Fall (Aug, Sep, Oct)

Apply during:

Apr 16 – Sep 15, 5pm CST

Sep 16 – Jan 15, 5pm CST

Jan 16 – Apr 15, 5pm CST

*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, 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.

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 1⅜” will be considered. We do not fund 42′ mats.

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.

Why this is

IMPORTANT TO US

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

Request funding

Request funding

Our

Mission

DOES YOUR SCHOOL'S ATHLETIC PROGRAM:

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:

Please use the schedule below to determine when to apply for your particular sport(s).

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 4TH MONDAY OF JANUARY, APRIL, AND SEPTEMBER.

What are some examples of items for which funding would be approved?

What are some examples of items that would not be approved?

Are mats allowed to receive funding?

What needs to be included in the budget?

What should I do if we do not have a budget?

How will we be notified of our application was approved or not?

Why this is

IMPORTANT TO US

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REVIEW MEETINGS TYPICALLY OCCUR ON THE 4^TH MONDAY OF JANUARY, APRIL, AND SEPTEMBER.