About Charlotte Sports Foundation
The mission of CSF is to drive economic impact through large sporting events and to enhance the quality of life for those in the Charlotte region.
Focus Areas
sporting eventscommunity developmenteconomic impactinternship and workforce development
Who They Fund
team members/organized teamsgroup participants (e.g., club or program participants)
Funding Style
support for collaborative/group-based activitiesprogrammatic funding for participation initiativescapacity building for teams
Topics
team participation and engagement
About Charlotte Sports Foundation
Charlotte Sports Foundation’s largest recent grants are multi-million-dollar team participation awards to major collegiate athletics bodies and universities, showing a funder centered on sporting events rather than broad charitable grantmaking. The foundation uses those event-related investments to drive economic impact and support its mission in the Charlotte region. Recent recipients include the Atlantic Coast Conference, the University of Georgia, Clemson University, and Virginia Tech University, all funded through grants tied to team participation. Alongside those large sports-related awards, the foundation also supports community-facing programs in Charlotte through paid fellowships, internships, ticket distribution, and partnerships with local nonprofits and schools. That mix places athletics, workforce development, and community development in the same portfolio. The recent record also shows support for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and the University of South Carolina, indicating a regional grant footprint that reaches beyond Charlotte while staying connected to sports and participation initiatives. Its work is organized around sporting events, community development, economic impact, and internship and workforce development, with beneficiary activity focused on organized teams, group participants, and team-building settings.
What Charlotte Sports Foundation Funds
Sports participation is the clearest funding lane. The foundation gave $4,807,631 to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2025 for Team Participation, and it also made comparable awards to the Southeastern Conference and several universities for the same purpose. Workforce development appears through paid sports-career programming. Charlotte Sports Foundation supported Sports Biz Careers through a fellowship that empowers underrepresented college students and provides placement opportunities in the sports industry. Community programming is another recurring theme. Through the Charlotte Sports Foundation Internship Program, the foundation provides paid post-graduate internship positions with on-the-job training and professional connections. It also uses its Community Giving & Partnerships program for financial contributions, in-kind support, ticket distribution, and partnership funding to local nonprofits, schools, and community initiatives. Arts engagement shows up in event-linked activity as well, including Art with Air, which gives local and Western North Carolina artists platforms and resources during CSF events.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$17.1M
Total Assets
$20.1M
Total Revenue
$29.5M
Total Expenses
$30.1M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $297K and $2.2M, with a median of $506K.
25th Percentile
$297K
Median
$506K
75th Percentile
$2.2M
Geographic Reach
Regional13 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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