Pitch In For Baseball & Softball

Pitch In For Baseball & Softball (PIFBS) is laser focused and mission driven. PIFBS aims to remove equipment as a barrier to play for economically disadvantaged children around the globe and contribute to the growth of youth baseball/softball by increasing access to the game. All of the organization's activities are centered around equipment and how by providing the necessary gear, PIFBS is helping leagues/schools/organizations opportunities to strengthen and grow their programs.

All of Pitch In For Baseball & Softball's activities are centered on one goal: to provide equipment so that as many children have access to baseball and softball. As an organization, PIFBS is driven by following :\n1) Increase awareness/brand recognition. \n- Integrate awareness building into each partnership - social media, website, press releases - to help elevate PIFBS' visibility and highlight the impact of the work.\n- Strengthen our systems and mechanisms for gathering and communicating the impact stories about children and communities we have helped that best represent our work in order to connect others to our work and provide visual reminders to each of us of our impact. \n\n2) Leverage the necessary resources (both monetary and in-kind) to meet the needs of leagues/schools/organizations that offer baseball and softball programs for under-resourced children. \n- Volunteer engagement - PIFBS is fortunate to have about 200 volunteers who are passionate baseball/softball fans who collect equipment and raise money on our behalf. \n- Establish a formal stewardship and donor recognition program to stay better connected with our donors\n- Diversify revenue through expanded partnerships and fundraising efforts. This includes partnerships with manufacturers as well as companies with a shared passion for the game and for helping children.\n\n3) Measuring and communicating impact more effectively. For all of the School-Based Programs, schools are required to report on the #/% of students who improve their grades/attendance during the season. Over the years, the data has shown how baseball/softball can be an effective vehicle for student engagement in school and reinforces our investment. However, PIFBS has identified other areas of programming that would be worth taking a deeper dive into impact, such as a longitudinal study of the impact of our school-based programming and our Disaster Relief Program. PIFBS is currently working with a school in Tennessee that will be starting their first Varsity baseball team next year. The study will track individual students over a 5 year period. PIFBS is also working to develop system to better assess the impact of our efforts in response to Disaster Relief.\n\n4) Improving efficiency - as a small 6 person office, Pitch In For Baseball & Softball is lean and must operate efficiently in order to maximize donor dollars and meet the needs of the community

Pitch In For Baseball & Softball exists to remove equipment as a barrier to participation, which increases access to the game for economically disadvantaged children. These efforts also help to grow participation. To achieve our mission, partnership and collaboration are essential. Collaboration and cross-sector efforts are key to our success, helping us get the necessary resources and identify the most under-resourced communities. Baseball/softball fans around the globe donate to spread the joy of the game. Manufacturers have a way liquidate inventory while elevating their charitable profile and also provide exclusive pricing on new equipment to help fill the gaps between our inventory and the needs outlined in the equipment grant requests that come in. Industry leaders look to PIFBS to help expand their programming and increase participation numbers cost-effectively. \n\nDuring the past year and a half, there has been a notable shift in the spirit and urgency. The economic impact of pandemic has forced every industry to rethink how they are doing business. It is estimated that MLB alone and their clubs lost billions over the past year as a result, had to do widespread furloughs and layoffs which has significantly changed the structure and capacity of each organization. Little League International and their thousands of leagues around the world will feel the impact on their programming for at least the next three years. Through this global crisis, PIFBS has been fortunate to expand and strengthen existing partnerships as well as forge new high profile relationships aimed at creating opportunities for children. \n\nPIFBS is the official equipment partner of the Youth Development Foundation (a joint effort of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association), Little League International, USA Baseball, MLB's RBI program, New York Mets, the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Manufacturing partners include Wilson Sporting Goods and their family of brands (Louisville Slugger, Demarini, Atec), Rawlings, Diamond Sports, Easton, BWP Bats, and UnderArmour. Additional partners involve a deep discount from UPS (about 75% off retail costs), private foundations, hundred of baseball/softball fans who raise money and collect equipment on our behalf, and board members who connect to the mission of baseball and kids.

Over the past five years, our impact has grown significantly. \n- The # of projects has grown from 200 to more than 600.\n- The # of children helped annually grew from about 35,000 to nearly 100,000 .\n- Revenue has grown more than 100% to nearly $1,300,000\n- Staff has grown from 2 to 6\n- Number of strategic partners has grown from a handful to dozens, including Major League Baseball and Little League International\n\nWhile 2020 was a bit of an anomaly and the world will continue to feel the impact financially as well as socially for years to come, baseball and softball have been viewed as one of the safest, socially distant activities due to the nature of it being outdoors. As states and communities work to reopen, we have had an influx of grant requests that are on average 2-3 times larger than a request in a non-pandemic time. To date this year, Pitch In For Baseball & Softball has already completed 800 projects and is on course to do nearly 1100 this year.