The National Hockey League (NHL), along with the National Hockey League Players Association, provides annual grants to hockey teams and communities. The normal objective is to preserve the game of hockey among youth groups and organizations, but some grants fund efforts with universal significance. In some cases, the NHL partners with other organizations for such efforts.
NHL Assist
The NHL and Hockey Canada created the "NHL Assist" (Assist Skaters and Shooters and Intent on Succeeding Together) program in 1996. It provides financial assistance to youth hockey organizations to help pay for equipment and travel expenses. Organizations may receive a maximum of $10,000, and the program awards a maximum of $100,000 each year. Eligibility is open to any youth organization in the world with a 501(c) nonprofit status and good standing with its local hockey federation.
NHLPA Goals and Dreams Fund
In 1999, the NHL Players Association created the National Hockey League's Goals and Dream Fund. According to its website NHLPA.com, the fund provides equipment grants for grassroots hockey programs but "does not act as a substitute for existing funding or fundraising activities." Interested organizations must submit a two-page introductory letter about the program and its needs. All of the letters are reviewed by the fund's staff, and selected organizations are issued applications.
NHLPA Goals and Dreams Game Changer Award
In November of 2010, the NHL Player's Association created the "NHL Goals and Dreams Game Changer Award" to assist underprivileged youth and communities worldwide who face obstacles in their efforts to continue playing hockey. The award is specifically given to youth whose economic circumstances (parental job loss, divorce or parental death) make it difficult for them to pay for registration fees and equipment. The award also covers arenas in need of emergency repairs.
Hockey Fights Cancer
Since 1998, the NHL and NHLPA have raised money to provide funding to cancer institutions, children's hospitals and other cancer organizations. The program works in conjunction with organizations such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and The Project to End Prostate Cancer. As of 2011, the NHL and NHLPA have raised and issued more than $12 million in funding to the Hockey Fights Cancer program.
NHL Team Grants
All 30 teams have charity programs, and some offer grants. For example, the Vancouver Canucks' "Canucks for Kids Fund" (CFKF) provides financial assistance to charity groups that promote and provide assistance for kids' health and wellness initiatives in British Columbia. Between 1995 and 2011, the fund provided more than $23 million to Canuck Place, a hospice center that provides care for children with life-threatening illnesses. The Minnesota Wild's "Minnesota Wild Foundation" started in 2000 and had raised $6 million by 2010. The foundation is designed to support sick and underprivileged children and hockey organizations.
