Est. 2026

Leveling
The
Playing Field.

Every year, thousands of talented young soccer players never get their chance. Not because they are not good enough. Because their family cannot afford the flight. ScoreFund is changing that.

Why ScoreFund Exists
$10K
Max annual cost for a family in elite youth soccer
19%
Low-income kids who play team sports vs. 41% for high income
$120
Annual youth soccer cost in Italy. The system doesn't have to be this way.

"There's no team we can play and get better by playing them. We just can't. We need to travel to play these teams."

Adam Jones, Director of Soccer, Club Ohio

Baldi, The Guardian (2024)  ·  Gregory, Time (2017)  ·  SoccerGearForKids (2025)

501(c)(3)
Registered Nonprofit
$0
Cost to Families
100%
Transparent Fund Distribution
The Model

Simple. Transparent.
Effective.

Corporate sponsors fund athletes directly through our platform. No family ever handles money. No bureaucracy. Just talent getting the shot it deserves.

01
Sponsors

Sponsors Commit

Companies with CSR budgets partner with ScoreFund. They choose their impact level and receive transparent reporting on exactly who they're supporting.

02
Clubs

Clubs Identify Athletes

Partner clubs flag players at financial risk of leaving the sport. ScoreFund vets each application to ensure funds reach those with genuine need.

03
Athletes

Athletes Compete

Funding goes directly to airlines, hotels, and tournaments and never through families. Athletes compete. Sponsors see the impact. Everyone wins.

"It's bigger than just, hey, can we win a game this weekend. That's not our purpose."

Scott Bower, Director of Soccer, Cincinnati United Premier · 20 Years in Youth Soccer

More Than A Sport.

Research consistently shows that competitive soccer builds executive function, emotional resilience, social competence, and academic motivation in young athletes. When we price a kid out of that experience because of money, we lose more than a player. We lose a developmental environment that science says matters.

Equity Over Privilege

Athletic ability should determine who gets to compete, full stop.

Dignity First

Financial support should never come with stigma. Funds go directly to travel vendors, never through families.

Full Transparency

Sponsors see exactly where every dollar goes. Annual impact reports published for all stakeholders.

Community Driven

Built on real relationships with club directors, coaches, and families in the youth soccer community.

Get Involved

The Field Is Open.

Whether you're a family, a corporation, or a club and there's a role for you in leveling the playing field.

Our Story

Built From
The Inside.

ScoreFund was founded by someone who grew up in elite youth soccer and and watched talented teammates disappear from the sport one by one, because their families could no longer keep up with the bills.

The Founder
Grant Schafer
Grant Schafer

Grant Schafer

Founder, ScoreFund | UofSC Honors College, 2026

University of South Carolina, Finance and Management. Incoming MSc Sports Business at Loughborough University London. Former academy player in Cincinnati, OH.

Youth soccer
Grant Schafer FC Cincinnati
Team photo
IFC team photo

I grew up playing academy level football. It was the sport that shaped me, the community that grounded me, and eventually the lens through which I came to understand one of the most persistent inequities in American youth sports.

When I arrived at the University of South Carolina more than eight hours from home, I turned back to football to find my community and build relationships. I joined the International Football Club, a student organization built around bringing international students together through the game. Within three months I was captain. Within seven, I was President. Over the next two years, membership grew by 200%, the club rebranded, and we reached our first ever league finals. What started as a way to find community became something I cared about deeply building culture, empowering people, and creating something that mattered beyond the result on the pitch.

That experience changed how I thought about sport. Sport is something that builds you. Research backs this up. Studies show competitive soccer develops executive function, emotional resilience, and social competence in young athletes at measurable levels. When a family is priced out of the sport, they lose a developmental environment that science says matters.

"It's bigger than just, hey, can we win a game this weekend. That's not our purpose." Scott Bower, Director of Soccer, Cincinnati United Premier

The summer before my final year, I moved to London to intern with Buzzers Academies, a youth sports development organization. Working inside a sports business gave me the professional context to match what I had built instinctively through IFC. It also reinforced something I had felt for years but never had the framework to articulate: access to quality sport is unequally distributed, and the organizations that close that gap are doing some of the most important work in the industry.

I came back to South Carolina and built ScoreFund as my undergraduate honors thesis. I conducted structured interviews with Scott Bower of Cincinnati United Premier and Adam Jones of Club Ohio, two directors with a combined 32 years in elite youth soccer. Both said the same thing independently: travel is the barrier families cannot recover from.

Baldi (2024) found that competitive youth soccer costs families between $1,000 and $10,000 per year. Gregory (2017) found that 41% of high income kids play team sports versus 19% of low income kids. In Italy, the annual fee is about $120. We built a $15 billion industry and forgot to leave a door open.

ScoreFund is the door. A nonprofit platform connecting corporate CSR budgets directly with athletes on the verge of leaving the sport because their family cannot cover another season of travel. Funds go directly to airlines and hotels, never through families. No stigma. No bureaucracy. Just opportunity.

This started as a thesis in Columbia, SC. It became a conviction. Some things are too important to stay on paper.

Ready to Get Involved?

The Model

How
ScoreFund
Works.

A straightforward, transparent pipeline from corporate CSR budgets to the athletes who need them most and with dignity and accountability at every step.

1

Corporate Sponsors Partner with ScoreFund

Companies with CSR budgets commit to annual or per season funding agreements. Sponsors choose a giving tier, define their impact focus (age group, league level, or region), and receive a complete onboarding package. We handle everything from there.

For Sponsors
2

Partner Clubs Identify At Risk Athletes

ScoreFund partners with MLS Next and ECNL clubs across the country to identify players who are at financial risk of leaving the sport. Coaches and directors and who know their athletes best and flag candidates early, before attrition happens. This is how the right athletes get found.

Club Partners
3

Families Apply Through a Confidential Process

Families complete a straightforward, confidential application covering financial need, competitive level, and specific travel costs. Applications are reviewed by ScoreFund staff and no club director sees your financial information. Privacy is protected at every stage.

For Families
4

ScoreFund Vets and Approves Applications

Our team reviews every application against our eligibility criteria: demonstrated financial need, competitive level (MLS Next or equivalent), and specific travel costs requested. Approvals are made within two weeks of a complete application.

ScoreFund Review
5

Funds Go Directly to Travel Vendors

Approved funding is distributed directly to airlines, hotel vendors, or clubs on behalf of the family. Families never handle money. This removes stigma, ensures accountability, and gives sponsors clear documentation of exactly how their contribution was used.

For Families
6

Sponsors Receive Impact Reports

Every sponsor receives a detailed impact report showing the athletes supported, travel covered, and competitive outcomes. Reports include anonymized athlete stories, photos (with consent), and data on retention rates. This is the documentation sponsors need for their own CSR reporting.

For Sponsors
The Problem
Domestically
The Benchmark
Internationally
Annual Cost
$10,000
per family, per year
Annual Cost
$120
Italy, per family, per year
Low Income Participation
19%
vs. 41% for high income families
Youth Participation
76%
of boys aged 7 to 14 in Germany
Industry Size
$15.3B
commercial industry, revenue over access
Funding Source
Clubs, UEFA
and Governments
community funded, ability driven
Biggest Barrier
Travel Costs
the #1 reason athletes leave the sport
Selection Criteria
Ability Alone
talent pipeline open to everyone
The Bottom Line

ScoreFund can't restructure the American youth soccer system, but we can make sure the best athletes are not priced out of it.

Travel Funding

Apply For
Support.

ScoreFund covers travel costs and flights, hotels, and tournament fees and for athletes competing at the MLS Next or ECNL level who demonstrate financial need. Applications are confidential and reviewed within two weeks.

Completely Confidential
No Family Handles Money
2 Week Review Process
No Cost To Apply

Funding covers travel costs only: flights, hotel stays, and tournament registration fees. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the season. Families who have received funding before are eligible to reapply.

Funding Application

Your information is kept strictly confidential. ScoreFund will never share your financial details with your club, other families, or sponsors without your explicit consent.

Application received! We'll review your submission and follow up within two weeks. Thank you for trusting ScoreFund.

Corporate Partnership

Invest In
The Next Generation.

ScoreFund gives companies with CSR budgets a direct, measurable way to invest in youth development. Every dollar you contribute goes straight to travel costs for athletes who need it.

Get In Touch

Let's Talk.

Whether you're a family, a corporation, a club director, or just someone who believes in what we're building and we'd love to hear from you.

We're Building
Something Real.

ScoreFund is in its founding phase, building nationally with primary research rooted in the Midwest. If you want to be part of that from the ground floor and as a sponsor, club partner, or supporter and now is the time.

@

Email

grantschafer11@gmail.com

USC

Academic Affiliation

UofSC, Honors College

Send a Message

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