The Team USA Service & Hope Award in partnership with Comcast recognizes Olympic and Paralympic athletes on a yearly basis for their commitment to serving and bettering their communities through nonprofit work. The award honors athletes who embody the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship and the Paralympic values of Determination, Inspiration, Equality and Courage, as well as charitable organizations whose missions focus on youth sport, physical activity, or health and well-being. Through this award program, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation and Comcast are proud to celebrate athletes not only as members of Team USA, but as citizens who have the unique ability to inspire positive change through meaningful service and engagement.

The award is funded in part by Comcast and will be disbursed annually by the USOPF through 2028.

The 2022 application is now closed. Award recipients will be announced on or after Dec. 9.

FAQ For Athletes & NGBs

An annual grant awarded to both Team USA athletes who embody the Olympic values of Excellence, Respect, Friendship and the Paralympic values of Determination, Inspiration, Equality and Courage, as well as charitable organizations whose missions are focused on youth sport, physical activity, or health and well-being.

Organizations selected by the athletes must be tax-exempt United States organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The 2022 application period is now open and will close at 11:59 p.m. MT on Sept. 7. CLICK TO APPLY.

The application will include: 

    • Basic demographic and contact information for both the athlete and organization
    • Multiple short answers from the submitting athlete describing how their work furthers the Olympic and Paralympic ideals, and how they serve and inspire their community 
    • A letter of recommendation from the organization detailing the impact of the athlete’s work on the organization and the population it serves
After the nomination deadline, a selection committee will review each application and determine the athlete finalists who, in the nomination form, best demonstrate how their individual charitable commitment reinforces the Olympic and Paralympic ideals while inspiring hope within their community. 
 
Award finalists will undergo SafeSport, WADA and USADA checks prior to the selection committee’s final award determination. In addition, each nonprofit organization will be screened to ensure it meets eligibility requirements and is in good standing to receive the award funding.

 

Aug. 9, 2022 – application opens

Sept. 14, 2022 – application closes

October through November 2022 – review period

Dec. 9, 2022 – recipients announced

Up to four $25,000 grants will be awarded on a yearly basis, with half of each award being directed to the award recipient’s nonprofit of choice. The remaining half will be awarded to the selected athlete to support their continued pursuit of excellence as they represent the Olympic and Paralympic ideals.

The Team USA Service & Hope Award in partnership with Comcast is funded in part by Comcast as well as USOPF donors.

Elite, internationally competitive Team USA athletes—both currently competing and retired—who have contributed a significant number of volunteer or working hours to a single organization focused on youth sport, physical activity, or health and well-being in the past 18 months are eligible to apply.

Specifically, athlete eligibility includes:

    • All Olympians or Paralympians
    • All "10 Year Athletes" as defined in Section 1.3 of the USOPC Bylaws
    • Current, elite Team USA athletes who—in 2020, 2021 or 222—have represented the U.S. at an elite competition and in an event or discipline included on the Olympic, Paralympic, Pan American or Parapan American Games program. This includes:
    • World championships or highest level of competition(s) of a given sport
    • World cup, grand prix or equivalent elite international competition
    • Pan American or Parapan American Games
    • Continental championships
    • National team
In addition, athletes shall not be under a suspension or period of ineligibility—temporarily or otherwise—from WADA, USADA, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the USOPC, a National Governing Body (NGB), a high-performance management organization (HPMO), or International Federation. Applicants must not be employed by or otherwise directly benefit from any funds awarded to the organization they nominate, and employees of the USOPC are not eligible to apply. 

 

A selection committee will convene each year for meetings throughout the year to review applications, make determinations on grant award recipients, and announcement of such award recipients. This selection committee will consist of the following:

 

• One (1) NGB representative, to be selected by the NGB Council

• Two (2) AAC athlete representatives, to be selected by AAC leadership

• One (1) USOPA athlete representative, to be selected by USOPA leadership

• No more than five (5) USOPF Directors or Trustees

• One (1) Comcast representative, to be selected by Comcast

• At least one (1) non-voting USOPF staff liaison

 

*The committee will be chaired by at least one USOPF Director or Trustee and the total number of voting committee members shall not exceed ten (10).

Contact

If you have general questions about the Team USA Service & Hope Award in partnership with Comcast, contact serviceandhope@usopc.org.