What is the Women's Sports Foundation?

The Women's Sports Foundation is an educational nonprofit (501(c)(3) charity) organization founded in 1974 by tennis legend Billie Jean King.

What is the Foundation's mission?

To advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity.

What are the results of the Foundation's work?

• One of the top five public grant-giving women's funds in the United States, the Foundation distributes $10,000-20,000 per week from operating dollars to provide opportunities for socioeconomically underprivileged and inactive girls to participate in sports and physical activity.
• The Foundation's advocacy efforts have directly affected the amount of scholarship dollars supporting educational opportunities for female student-athletes in the United States. In 1972, women received only $100,000 but now receive more than $485 million a year.
• In the past 30 years, the Foundation has awarded $8 million in grants to advance participation, research and leadership in sports and physical activity for girls and women.
• The Foundation's support of national laws prohibiting sex discrimination has resulted in an increase in high school girls' varsity sports participation from 1 in 27 in 1972 to 1 in 2.5 girls in 2004.
• In the 2000 and 2002 Olympic Games, 41 of the female athletes competing received Travel and Training grants from the Foundation and 12 medals were earned by the grantees.

Why does the Foundation exist?

The Foundation works for equal opportunity for our daughters to play sports so they too can derive the psychological, physiological and sociological benefits of sports participation.

• High school girls who play sports are less likely to be involved in an unintended pregnancy, more likely to get better grades in school, and more likely to graduate than girls who do not play sports.
• Girls and women who play sports have higher levels of confidence and self-esteem and lower levels of depression.
• Sport is where our children learn about teamwork, goal setting and the pursuit of excellence. In an economic environment where the quality of our life is dependent on two-income families, our daughters cannot be less prepared for the highly competitive workplace than our sons.
• 80% of the female executives at Fortune 500 companies identified themselves as former "tomboys" — having played sports.
• The Foundation works to afford females equal opportunity to work and be volunteer leaders in sports organizations and the sports industry.

Who are the Foundation's leadership?

• The Board of Trustees and Board of Stewards includes corporate executives, Olympic champions, sports industry executives, Hollywood celebrities, research experts and a college president.
• Several Board members and the Chief Executive Officer (or CEO) are ranked among the top 100 most influential people in sports.
• Board members and the CEO serve on numerous prestigious boards including the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic Committee.

Why does the Foundation need to exist today with the multitude of opportunities for girls and women in sports?

• Too many girls, especially those who are economically disadvantaged, are inactive and, as a result, at greater risk for obesity, heart disease, osteoporosis and other serious diseases.
• More than 3/4 of 12th grade girls are unhappy with their bodies, and one in three adolescent girls will experience depression, anxiety or eating disorders. Physical activity has been shown to improve self-image.
• Females have 1.1 million fewer high school and 36% fewer college sports participation opportunities than males and receive $137 million less in athletic scholarship funds each year.
• Women's sports is only 8% of all print and television sports media coverage (just exceeding horses, dogs, and fishing).
• Women represent 44% of coaches of collegiate women's sports, only 2% of coaches of men's sports and 17.9% of athletic director positions.

...For these reasons and many others, there is still much work to be done to get girls active and for those who are active, to experience equal treatment at all levels of sports.

What are some recent honors the Foundation has received?

• The International Olympic Committee's highest award, the Women and Sport Trophy, in 2000 — the first time the award was given
• United Nations Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council, the only nongovernmental sport organization in the world to receive such designation, which permits Foundation representatives to attend United Nations meetings
• Public Relations Society of America Big Apple Award for Cause-Related Marketing
• Golden Dot Award from the Democracy Online Project for www.GeenaTakesAim.com for its interactive civic engagement capabilities
• Women's Funding Network Changing the Face of Philanthropy Award

Is the Foundation a trade association?

No. However, the Foundation is considered to be "the voice" of women's sports — an umbrella organization serving and "speaking for" women in all sports, all ages and all skill levels. The Foundation is a clearinghouse for all research and information on women's sports and physical activity and is quoted regularly in the New York Times, CNN and USA Today; generating 1.5 billion media impressions annually on women's sports and health issues.

What are the sources of financial support for the Foundation?

The Foundation has a $8 million operating budget with funds raised each year from Foundations (20%) individuals (50%) and corporations (30%). The Foundation's endowed and restricted funds total $4 million.

What are funds used for?

The organization spends only 21% of its operating budget on administration/fundraising, with 79 cents of each dollar spent on providing public education programs, educational projects and direct grants to organizations or individual athletes.

Why give to the Foundation?

The Foundation is meeting a critical need. The request for a gift is an invitation to join in an entrepreneurial social change venture, an opportunity to invest in the health, empowerment and success of women through sports. When we expand participation and leadership opportunities for girls and women in sport, these experiences pay dividends in the form of a stronger, healthier society.

For More Information:

Women's Sports Foundation, Eisenhower Park, East Meadow, NY 11554 800-227-3988 or e-mail: wosport@aol.com (p) 516.542.4700 (f) 516.542.4716 Internet Site: www.WomensSportsFoundation.org or AOL Keyword: WSF