After receiving nearly 200 applications, Little League® International is pleased to announce more than $229,000 in funding has been distributed to a total of 54 local Little League programs as part of the 2024 Girls with Game® 50 Grant Program. The grant program was launched in coordination with the year-long #GWG50 Celebration that honors 50 years of girls and women within the Little League program along with the organization’s continued commitment to female inclusion.
“As an organization, we understand the ever-growing need that our local leagues have as they try and add, develop, and enhance their softball programs in order to provide more opportunities to the girls within their communities,” said Liz DiLullo Brown, Little League Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Business Relationship Officer. “We hope the funds provided to these 54 leagues will help towards the growth of our program and serve as an inspiration to other leagues around the world. With a continued focus on female inclusion, as well as providing improved access and opportunities, our organization is committed to continuing to find additional resources to support all our local league programs through our philanthropic efforts moving forward.”
The #GWG50 Grant Program kicked off in February, in coordination with the celebration of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, and focused on providing local leagues and volunteers with financial resources needed to enhance the Little League experience at the grassroots level and provides opportunities in two key areas – League Enhancements and Volunteer Development.
As part of the application process, local leagues had the opportunity to apply for a league enhancement grant within three areas of focus:
- Currently Chartered Baseball Programs Adding Softball: Existing local Little League programs that are currently only offering baseball opportunities are eligible to apply to add softball to their offerings.
- Newly Affiliated Little League Softball Programs: Softball Program Grants are available for leagues, not currently affiliated with Little League in any way, that are looking to start their operations of Little League’s Softball Program. Leagues must charter Softball teams to be eligible to receive this grant.
- Current Softball Program Enhancement Opportunities: Existing Little League Softball programs are encouraged to apply to enhance and grow their programs through innovative marketing efforts or establishment in additional divisions of play in LLS.
After a thorough review of all the applications by Little League International and Region Staff members, below are the 54 leagues that were selected to receive a #GWG50 League Enhancement Grant in 2024, totaling more than $229,000 in funding support:
- Amherst (Mass.) LL
- Bangor (Maine) West Side LL
- Baxter Springs (Kan.) LL
- Beaumont Softball LL (Portland, Ore.)
- Bend (Ore.) North LL
- Bradford (Pa.) Regional LL
- Brownsburg (Ind.) Girls Softball LL
- Continental Ranch LL (Marana, Ariz.)
- Copper City Softball LL (Butte Silver Bow, Mont.)
- Deer Creek LL (Edmond, Okla.)
- East Chatham LL (Pittsboro, N.C.)
- East Greenwich (R.I.) LL
- Fairport (N.Y.) Perinton LL
- Fargo (N.D.) LL
- Fishkill (N.Y.) LL
- Gateway LL (Mt. Sterling, Ky.)
- Goodyear (Ariz.) LL
- Hagerstown (Md.) Federal LL
- High Plains LL (Peyton, Colo.)
- Highlands LL (Jacksonville, Fla.)
- Interbay LL (Tampa, Fla.)
- Irmo (S.C.) LL
- Kennedy American LL (Madison, Wis.)
- Kent (Wash.) LL
- Keystone LL (Omaha, Neb.)
- Lake Placid (Fla.) Youth Baseball LL
- Lewisburg (Pa.) LL
- Lincoln County (W.V.) LL
- Martin County (Fla.) North LL
- Mathews County (Va.) LL
- Morgan County LL (Berkeley Springs, W.V.)
- North Houston (Texas) American LL
- North Tahoe LL (Incline, Nev.)
- Orono-Veazie (Maine) LL
- Osolo LL (Elkhart, Ind.)
- Pelham Bay LL (Bronx, N.Y.)
- Plymouth-Canton (Mich.) LL
- Sabine Jarvis LL (Fort Worth, Texas)
- Somers Point (N.J.) Softball LL
- South Baltimore (Md.) LL
- South County LL (Lorton, Va.)
- South Durham (N.C.) LL
- South Kingstown (R.I.) American LL
- South Knox LL (Monroe City, Ind.)
- Suncook LL (Pembroke, N.H.)
- Taylor (Mich.) North LL
- Tualatin City (Ore.) LL
- Utica (N.Y.) LL
- West Seattle (Wash.) LL
- Westbrook (Maine) LL
- Westchester Del Rey LL (Los Angeles, Calif.)
- Willits (Calif.) Redwood LL
- Wilsonville (Ore.) LL
- Yellow Jackets LL (Tampa, Fla.)
Along with the league grants provided above, Little League also awarded thousands of dollars in scholarship support to help its female volunteers with individual coaching and umpire development opportunities as part of this program. Additionally, Little League is committing a portion of the total grant funding to support scholarship opportunities at their own female-focused events, including the Maria Pepe Little League Baseball Legacy Series in June and the Girls with Game Experience in October.
Through its newly launched Philanthropy and Social Impact initiatives, Little League plans to continue grant making opportunities like this in the future to provide additional needed support its local leagues, volunteers, and communities. To learn more about these initiatives, including how you can help support one of the four philanthropic programs already established, visit LittleLeague.org/Impact.
For more information about the Girls with Game 50 Celebration and Little League’s commitment to furthering its female inclusion efforts, visit LittleLeague.org/GWG50. The #GWG50 celebration is proudly supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, a long-time Little League partner that is committed to creating opportunities for girls and women in sports and will be activating around key events and milestones this year.