The MidwayUSA Foundation announced on Feb. 19 that it has concluded its most recent grant cycle, paying out more than $7.5 million to 995 youth shooting teams and organizations across the country. The payout covers programs in 46 states and spans every shooting discipline the Foundation supports, from trap and skeet to rifle, pistol, sporting clays and action shooting. Since its inception, the Foundation has now distributed more than $80.4 million in cash grants to youth shooting sports programs nationwide.
Money flows through the MidwayUSA Foundation’s team endowment model, which works differently from a traditional one-time grant. Each youth team or organization establishes a permanent endowment with the Foundation. The team can then draw 5% of its total endowment balance annually, providing a recurring source of funding that does not depend on year-to-year fundraising alone. The Foundation also matches dollar-for-dollar any local fundraiser a team deposits into its endowment, effectively doubling the return on community-level efforts like benefit shoots and sponsor drives. To date, the Foundation holds more than $465 million in endowed funds dedicated to youth shooting sports.
The grants cover the operational costs that most school budgets do not: targets, ammunition, travel to regional and national championships, range fees and equipment. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin led the country in both the number of recipient teams and the total dollars paid in this cycle. Individual team grants ranged from a few hundred dollars for smaller programs to five-figure payouts for teams with well-established endowments. Rio Salado Target Terminators in Arizona received the largest single team grant at $79,093, followed by Gaston Young Guns in North Carolina at $65,662 and Murray State University’s rifle team in Kentucky at $63,226.
The Foundation runs two grant cycles per year. The next application window opens April 15, with payouts scheduled for August. Every team with a MidwayUSA Foundation endowment is entitled to a cash grant every year in perpetuity. Teams that do not yet have an endowment can start one at no cost through the Foundation’s website.
In addition, the MidwayUSA Foundation is accepting applications through April 1 for its annual range development grants, which fund infrastructure improvements at facilities used by youth shooting programs. Individual grants are capped at $75,000 or 50% of the project budget (whichever is less), and awarded facilities must be utilized by a Foundation endowment holder. Since the program’s inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $8 million in range development grants. Awards for the 2026 cycle will be announced in June.
For more information, visit midwayusafoundation.org.
