In celebration of National Shooting Sports Month, MidwayUSA Foundation is excited to announce the payout of over $2.4 million in cash grants to 547 youth shooting teams. These teams are made up of approximately 27,000 youth shooting athletes across the country, and the funds will assist them with expenses, including ammunition, targets, travel, entry fees, team gear, and more. Bernie Till, Head Coach of Mid Carolina 4H in Orangeburg, SC, talked about the importance of his team’s recent cash grant, "Frankly, it is difficult to put into words how much the MidwayUSA Foundation grant means to the Mid Carolina Youth Shooting Team. We take our grant in the fall, which helps us start our new season with much needed funds. This year, that was especially the case as we just received an invoice for ammo that we were able to pay only because we received our grant check." This latest grant cycle has an average team payout of $4,434.
Since MidwayUSA Foundation’s inception, cash grants paid to support youth shooting teams have increased every year, totaling over $45 Million. In 2022 alone, MidwayUSA Foundation has given over $8 million in cash grants through their team and organization endowment programs, as well as coach training and range development grant programs. Providing more funds to shooting programs provides more opportunities to the youth of local communities across the country. Over 54,000 athletes are impacted by the cash grants distributed in 2022, and the Foundation aims to grow this number every year.
Each shooting team's grant is 5% of their MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment balance, so as a team's endowment grows, so does their annual cash grant. The Foundation offers various resources to help shooting teams increase their endowment. Every youth shooting team can receive donations directly to their endowment through the MidwayUSA Foundation website. Those tax-deductible donations are also matched, thanks to Larry and Brenda Potterfield, owners of MidwayUSA, who fund the Foundation's Matching Program. Those wanting to support a local youth shooting team during National Shooting Sports Month can do so by visiting MidwayUSAFoundation.org/donate.