Key Takeaways
- The 2026 campaign brought in $7.2 million across 4,400 donations, a 38% jump over the previous record set in 2025, according to organizers.
- Matching and incentive pools topped $2 million, including a new $250,000 America250 Fund aimed at donor-advised funds, IRA rollovers and wire transfers.
- Cumulative giving since the 2024 launch now stands at $16.1 million, meaning this year alone accounts for nearly 45% of the total.
- Colorado’s 64.5% participation rate beats the federal 2030 target, yet kids in the lowest-income households play at 46.5% versus 76.8% in the highest.
The third annual Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day raised $7.2 million for 349 nonprofit organizations, the Daniels Fund and Aspen Institute’s Project Play Colorado announced on September 16, 2026. The two-week statewide online fundraising campaign ran Sept. 1 to 15, drew 4,400 donations, and beat last year’s record by 38%, according to the organizers’ release. The participating nonprofits serve more than 500,000 young athletes across Colorado.
How Much Has Colorado Youth Sports Giving Day Raised Since 2024?
Organizers said the campaign has raised $16.1 million since launching in 2024. Based on those figures, the 2026 total of $7.2 million represents nearly 45% of everything the campaign has generated in three years.
The money goes directly to youth sports nonprofits. Per the release, funds help organizations purchase equipment and uniforms, expand programming, provide financial assistance to families, and create new opportunities and facilities.
“For the third year, Coloradans showed up in a big way to get more kids off the sidelines and into the game,” said Hanna Skandera Grady, CEO and President of the Daniels Fund.
The 2026 campaign opened with a Sept. 1 Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field. The online giving platform was hosted and supported by ColoradoGives.org.
A $2 Million Match Pool and a New Channel for Larger Gifts
Community donations were boosted by more than $2 million in matching and incentive funds, the organizers said. That included a dollar-for-dollar match on the first $1 million raised online on Sept. 1, which front-loaded giving onto the campaign’s opening day.
New this year was the America250 Fund, a dedicated $250,000 dollar-for-dollar match for gifts made through donor-advised funds, IRA rollovers and wire transfers. Those are vehicles typically used for larger, planned gifts rather than small online contributions, and the fund gave those donors a match of their own.
The sponsor roster spans banking, energy, health care, philanthropy and professional sports. According to the release, matching and incentive support came from the Daniels Fund, Alpine Bank, The Anschutz Foundation, Bank of Colorado, Boettcher Foundation, Colorado Health Foundation, Colorado Rockies, El Pomar Foundation, Gary Community Ventures, Liberty Gives, Rose Community Foundation, Suncor, UCHealth, The Weld Trust and others.
Colorado Beats the National Participation Goal, but Access Gaps Remain
Colorado’s youth sports participation rate has reached 64.5%, the organizers said, above the national Healthy People 2030 goal of 63%. The statewide average hides wide differences by gender, race, income and disability status.
The release cites the 2023-24 National Survey of Children’s Health for the following Colorado figures:
- Girls participate at 61.2%, compared with 67.5% for boys.
- Youth of color participate at 55%, compared with 72% for white youth.
- Young people in the lowest-income households participate at 46.5%, compared with 76.8% in the highest-income households.
- Youth with disabilities participate at rates roughly 10 percentage points lower than youth without disabilities.
The income gap is the widest of the four at 30.3 percentage points.
“Colorado has made important gains in youth sports participation, but the biggest challenge is making sure those opportunities reach every child,” said Tom Farrey, executive director of Aspen Institute’s Project Play. He added that the gaps for lower-income families, girls and kids with disabilities “make clear that there is still work to do.”
Utah Runs the Colorado Playbook Through Sept. 26
The statewide giving day format is now moving beyond Colorado. Organizers said the campaign helped inspire similar efforts elsewhere, including Utah’s inaugural Youth Sports Giving Day, which runs Sept. 12 to 26.
Colorado’s results give other states a three-year benchmark: a single statewide campaign, a shared online platform, a large opening-day match, and a coalition of corporate and foundation funders. The formula produced a 38% year-over-year increase in its third year, per the organizers. Utah’s first campaign closes Sept. 26, and its total will be the first test of whether the model travels.
Source: PR Newswire via Yahoo Finance, September 16, 2026, https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/colorado-youth-sports-giving-day-204400430.html
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Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
