About The Oregon Youth Soccer Foundation

Who Are We? | Why Help? | Goals | How Can I Help? | Donate

Introduction

Every weekend across Oregon, families set out for neighborhood fields to watch their children play soccer. Participation in the Oregon Youth Soccer program enables children to grow physically, mentally and socially, developing the invaluable tools of character, discipline, teamwork, leadership, and self-esteem. It is the goal of the Oregon Youth Soccer Foundation to foster these values for the years to come, providing children with healthy, exciting and rewarding adult-supervised activity.

Who are we?

The Oregon Youth Soccer Foundation was established in 1996 as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation to advance the work of the Oregon Youth Soccer Association. The Oregon Youth Soccer Association was established in 1974 to promote, develop and administer the game of soccer among Oregon's youth from ages five to nineteen.

The Foundation supports the mission, programs and services of the Oregon Youth Soccer Association through fundraising, donations, gifts and grants. In fact, the Foundation has awarded nearly $250,000 in grants since 1998. The Foundation manages financial assets obtained through its own fund development efforts and also carries out marketing and sponsorship programs.

With support from the Foundation over 60,000 members statewide play for one of over 100 clubs. We believe that soccer is great for kids and we need your help to keep the fun alive.

Why help?

When you help the Foundation, you help kids play soccer. There are a number of ways you can assist the young soccer players in your community. A gift to the Endowment Fund can help kids develop important life skills and friendships through their local soccer programs. These donations accrue to the Endowment Fund and the interest from the Fund is used to foster youth soccer programs around the state. Examples are special programs for kids with disabilities, medical/accident insurance, an Olympic Development Program, soccer leagues and tournaments, organizational support to clubs, background checks, liability insurance, coaching clinics, Regional and National representation and a bi-monthly newsletter.

What's not to like about this Foundation? Everything we do is for the betterment of kids through soccer. We want to see kids develop their skills as people and players, while having a fun and rewarding experience. Soccer is an amazing and challenging sport but even better than this sport are the kids that play it. Help us, help the kids of Oregon Youth Soccer.

Goals

The OYS Foundation is an independent organization that exists to raise and receive donations, gifts and grants to support the programs, activities and services of Oregon Youth Soccer Association. Its main mission is to support the Association to enable OregonÍs youth to play soccer and provide successful experiences for soccer clubs and coaches.

An important part of the Foundation is the Endowment Fund which receives donations that remain in perpetuity, and only a portion of the earnings of the Fund is available for the programs and needs of OYSA.

The Foundation Board has established the following goals and projects to promote and raise funds for during the 2003-04 year. The three areas of emphasis are:

I. College Scholarships:
Seeks donations to establish a pool of at least $12,000 to be used to provide at least one $500 scholarship to an Oregon Youth Soccer Club high school member who has been accepted to a college and demonstrates financial need.

II. Outreach Programs:
Promote opportunities for targeted populations where there are no current program to participate in organized Soccer Programs. These populations and outreach programs are:

A. Soccer Start - To initiate programs particularly in communities such as the inner-city and rural areas;

B. Culturally Diverse Communities - to encourage populations and cultures representing Hispanic, Asian, or Eastern Europe communities to participate in either existing or new clubs. Assistance would include "scholarships" for club dues, translation of materials into native languages and hiring bilingual staff to meet with the community to market the club's programs.

C. TOPSoccer - provides soccer related activities for kids with physical, emotional and mental challenges.

III. Field Complex:
A premier soccer facility in the state of Oregon is a must. Such a facility would literally be a magnet, drawing events and games with state-wide, region-wide and even national impact. The demand for quality soccer fields is high throughout the youth soccer world.

This complex would include multiple fields that could accommodate both large and small tournaments. It would also contain a stadium-type field capable of accommodating national class events and the crowds which pay to seem them.

Since Oregon currently has no such facility, it is vital that attention be given to funding and constructing a first-class soccer complex of this magnitude. This would give the Oregon soccer community and the entire of state both immediate and dramatic benefits.

How can I help?

The Oregon Youth Soccer Foundation welcomes your tax-deductible donations by any of these methods:

• Writing a check (make checks payable to the Oregon Youth Soccer Foundation),
• Gifting shares of stock to the Foundation,
• Naming the Foundation as the whole or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy, IRA or 401K pension plan, or,
• Making a charitable bequest in your will or estate plan.

The Foundation's tax ID number is 91-1797053. Please contact your legal or financial advisor for assistance in making a gift of stock, insurance, retirement or estate plan.

For more information about making your tax-deductible donation:
Please contact Chuck Keers, Executive Director at 503-626-4625, 1-800-275-7353, or by email at: info@oysf.org.

Make a Donation

Our Make a Gift page has two easy to use donation forms.