The William E. Simon Olympic Endowment for the Support of Athletes was established in 1998 by Mr. William E. Simon, Sr., former U.S. Olympic Committee President and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. For over two decades, these grants have supported high performing Team USA athletes who demonstrate financial need to help offset travel and training expenses. By creating this fund, Mr. Simon recognized the importance and many personal benefits of participating in sports.

Next application period Spring/Summer 2023

Overview and Timeline

Team USA athletes who are actively in training and competitions to compete for the United States in Paris 2024 or Milan-Cortina 2026 are encouraged to apply to receive a $5,000-$10,000 travel and training grant. This is a very competitive grant, so we recommend you view the Simon Grant preparation file to help prepare your application materials prior to completing the online application.

  • Application Open: 8:00 a.m. MT on May 26, 2022
  • Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MT on June 26, 2022
  • Award Notifications and Payments: August 2022

Eligibility Criteria

  • U.S. citizens and eligible/intend to compete for the United States
  • Currently training and competing with performance achievements that indicate they are in contention to compete for the U.S. in Paris or Milan-Cortina
  • Not under a suspension or period of ineligibility—temporarily or otherwise—from USADA, WADA, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the USOPC, an NGB, an HPMO or International Federation
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to the essay prompts to (1) indicate how receiving a $5,000-$10,000 grant will help you achieve your athletic goals and (2) demonstrate a commitment to advancing the Olympic and Paralympic values in the United States

Grant Details

Team USA athletes who are actively in training and competitions to compete for the United States in Paris 2024 or Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic or Paralympic Games are encouraged to apply to receive a $5,000-$10,000 travel and training grant.

Team USA Athlete Eligibility Criteria

  • U.S. citizens and eligible/intend to compete for the United States
  • Currently training and competing with performance achievements that indicate they are in contention to compete for the U.S. in Paris or Milan-Cortina
  • Not under a suspension or period of ineligibility—temporarily or otherwise—from USADA, WADA, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the USOPC, an NGB, an HPMO or International Federation
  • Demonstrate financial need
  • Respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to the essay prompts to (1) indicate how receiving a $5,000-$10,000 grant will help you achieve your athletic goals and (2) demonstrate a commitment to advancing the Olympic and Paralympic values in the United States
  • Application Opens: 8:00 a.m. MT on May 26, 2022
  • Application Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MT on June 26, 2022
  • Award Notifications and Payments: August 2022

The application is divided into the following four sections and should take approximately one hour to complete.  

  • Athletic Achievements 
  • Income and Earnings – you will be asked to share information about your earnings in 2021. Please have your 2021 Tax returns, 1099-Misc, 1099-NEC, and other income documentation readily available to complete this section
  • Expenses – You will be asked to report your 2021 athletic and living expenses. Please have your budget, expense receipts, 2021 Schedule C, and any other expense documentation readily available 
  • Short Answers – two 500-word responses

Please note - We recommend completing the online application in one sitting. If you choose to exit the application, your answers will be saved only if you return to the form on the same computer and do not clear your browser history of cache. To ensure you don't accidentally lose your responses while completing the online application, you may download this Simon Grant preparation file to help prepare your application materials prior to completing this electronic form.

Grants are intended for training and competition expenses. Example expenses may include:

  • Purchase new equipment
  • Offset training expenses to gain/maintain a competitive advantage (e.g. massage therapist, new gym membership, hire a coach)
  • Offset travel and lodging expenses to attend upcoming competitions to gain/maintain a competitive advantage
Because training and competition costs vary widely, these grants are intended to provide only partial support.

While this is possible, multiple grants to a single individual would be rare.

This is a very competitive grant. The chances of receiving a grant depend on the number and quality of applications; however, the Trustees have discretion in approving final grant recipients and award amounts.

During the review process, information included in each application may be verified by a variety of different sources if necessary. If information is found to be missing, misleading or inaccurate, the application will be rejected and will jeopardize future consideration.

The endowment does not have a set grant amount. The endowment funds are invested, and a portion of the earnings is used for awards. Amounts will vary depending on available funds each year, the number of qualified applicants, and the meritorious circumstances of an applicant. Note: There have been years where the grant was not awarded due to declines in the value of the endowment.

This year, we anticipate grant amounts to range from $5,000-$10,000.

The USOPC’s Athlete Services team handles the distribution and processing of the application information, as well as the program implementation and management. Funds are invested by the U.S. Olympic Endowment. General responsibility for management of the endowment, including final award decisions, resides with a Board of Trustees. Awards are made once a year.

Contact

If you have general questions about the Simon Grant, contact Athlete Services at athleteservices@usopc.org.