The CHEER For Life Foundation selects a number of beneficiaries for each operating year, partnering with outstanding community-based organizations that provide critical services to people living with life-challenging conditions in our communities.
In addition to simply providing grant dollars, we look to form meaningful partnerships with our beneficiaries – working together over the course of the program year to maximize opportunities for increased awareness and volunteer manpower to support the causes championed by our beneficiaries.
Our grants are typically $1,000 – $25,000. Applications are vetted by a beneficiary selection committee and our Board of Directors, with beneficiaries being selected based on alignment with our organizational priorities, overall program impact and specific plans for the use of grant funds.
While we are open to supporting a variety of organizations, we prioritize grant applicants that meet the following criteria and encourage applicants to make specific note of how their work aligns with these areas.
Direct Service Provider – Does the applicant provide direct services to members of the community?
HIV/AIDS or Other Life-Challenging Conditions – Does the applicant serve people with HIV/AIDS or other life challenging conditions?
LGBTQ+ Focus – Does the applicant serve, support, and/or advocate for the LGBTQ+ community?
San Francisco Bay Area Focus – How does the applicant serve San Francisco and/or greater Bay Area community?
If the work of your organization does not align with the above criteria, it is highly unlikely your beneficiary application will be considered at this time. If you would like to explore other partnership opportunities with our programs (events, fundraising, etc.) please reach out to those teams directly.
We do not offer grants to individual cheerleading teams or programs. We look forward to exploring this opportunity in the future, but the criteria above outline our current funding priorities and should be seen as a clear guide for whether your application will be considered.
As they are supported by the ongoing fundraising efforts of our programs, grants are awarded after the close of our fiscal year in June. The ultimate amount of each grant depends on the needs of the beneficiary organization and the quality of its partnership with the CHEER For Life Foundation.
The CHEER for Life Foundation accepts beneficiary applications year-round — however, in order to be considered as the foundation's primary beneficiary for our upcoming fiscal year (July–June) applications must be submitted by the end of April.
CHEER For Life Foundation Beneficiary Application
Once received, your application will be reviewed and you can expect to hear from a member of our team within 2–4 weeks. If you are selected to move forward in the process, we will also request any additional organizational and project-specific documentation that might be required.
Beneficiary Application Timeline
Application deadline — April 30
Application review period — May
Beneficiary selection — June
If you need additional information, please contact us at grants@cheerforlife.org – we're happy to assist and look forward to learning more about your organization. If you would like to propose an event-specific beneficiary request, please contact us.
BEFORE BEGINNING THIS APPLICATION, PLEASE REVIEW THE ABOVE BENEFICIARY CRITERIA TO ENSURE YOUR ORGANIZATION MEETS OUR APPLICATION CRITERIA.