Key Takeaways
- The Luka Dončić Foundation will award grants of up to $25,000 each to 77 athletes aged 12-15 over three years, covering the costs that push kids out of sports.
- Applications opened June 24 and run through August 20, 2026, across 10 countries and 176 sports.
- The program targets ages 12-15, the window when youth sports dropout rates peak, often for financial rather than competitive reasons.
- Grants are flexible by design, covering equipment, coaching, travel, and registration fees based on each athlete’s stated need.
- Stay in Play builds on prior foundation work including the Inside Youth Basketball report and the Total Hoops coaching curriculum.
A Direct Cash Intervention at the Dropout Cliff
The Luka Dončić Foundation opened applications today for Stay in Play, a three-year grant program aimed at the financial barriers that force young athletes to quit. Over the program’s run, the foundation will distribute grants of up to $25,000 to 77 athletes between the ages of 12 and 15.
The model is notable for its directness. Rather than funding a facility or a single sport, the foundation is putting cash toward individual athletes and letting them define how it is used. Funds can cover equipment and gear, coaching and training fees, travel to competitions or training facilities, and league registration or tournament entries.
“Every athlete knows what they need better than we do,” said Lara Beth Seager, CEO of the Luka Dončić Foundation. “We’re trusting them to tell us, and we’re committed to making it possible.”
Targeting the 12-15 Window
The foundation is concentrating its grants on ages 12 to 15, which it identifies as the point where dropout rates peak. According to the announcement, most young athletes quit by age 12, often because of financial strain rather than lost interest or talent.
That focus reflects a specific theory of impact. By stepping in during these years, the program aims to keep athletes developing skills and confidence through the period when many families decide the costs no longer pencil out. Seager framed the effort as broad rather than elite, noting it is not about identifying future professionals but about athletes whose participation is at risk because of money.
For operators across the youth sports economy, the program is a reminder of how often participation decisions come down to household budgets rather than ability or commitment.
Global Reach Across 10 Countries and 176 Sports
Stay in Play is open to athletes in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, and Serbia. The country list spans Dončić’s home region in the Balkans and the major Western European and US markets.
The program covers 176 sports, from basketball and soccer to gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. Athletes apply directly with support from a parent or guardian. The first cohort of recipients will be announced this winter.
The announcement follows Dončić’s acquisition of Vanoli Cremona as part of an ownership group that relocated the professional basketball club to Rome, signaling activity on both the business and philanthropic sides of his off-court portfolio.
Part of a Growing Research and Programming Footprint
Stay in Play is the latest addition to a foundation that has moved quickly since launching in December 2024. Its earlier work includes Inside Youth Basketball, a research report comparing the US and Balkan youth basketball ecosystems, and Total Hoops, a coaching curriculum developed with the Search Institute. The foundation has also partnered with the Aspen Institute’s Project Play to study structural barriers in North American youth basketball.
Seager positioned the grant program as the near-term complement to that longer research agenda. “Stay in Play represents immediate action while we work on long-term systemic change,” she said.
Where This Fits in the Access Conversation
Stay in Play puts a concrete dollar figure on a problem the youth sports industry has studied for years. By routing flexible grants directly to families during the highest-risk age window, the foundation is testing whether targeted cash, rather than program subsidies or scholarships tied to a single provider, can keep more kids playing. The winter announcement of the first cohort will offer an early read on who applies and which costs prove most common across markets.
Source: Luka Dončić Foundation, June 24, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com
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