San Jose Sharks’ Community Assist Grants

The Sharks Foundation Community Assist Program is the philanthropic arm of the San Jose Sharks, supporting Bay Area non-profit organizations that align with specific community-focused initiatives. Founded as part of the NHL team’s broader social responsibility efforts, the program provides Community Assist Grants to non-profits serving youth through wellness, education, and hockey development. These grants are allocated throughout the NHL season to ensure targeted impact within designated focus areas. Each month from November through April, a specific thematic priority is addressed, ranging from cancer care and holiday support to education and environmental stewardship. For example, November is dedicated to youth cancer-related services under the Hockey Fights Cancer initiative, while February focuses on TK-12 STEAM and literacy programs. March emphasizes youth fitness and mental health, with preference given to hockey and ice sports initiatives. Each application must fit within one of these monthly themes and demonstrate how the proposed program will support youth in the Bay Area. To be eligible, applying organizations must be 501(c)(3) public non-profits with a minimum five-year track record of tax compliance and programming. Applicants must serve Bay Area counties exclusively—Santa Clara, Alameda, San Mateo, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz—and their proposed programs must have operated for at least three years. Programs must also exclusively benefit youth (ages 0-18) and use grant funding for specified programming elements, not general operations. Faith-based organizations are eligible if the activities are secular and inclusive. Applications must adhere to a detailed submission process, which includes completing a grant worksheet, narrative template, and uploading all required documents. Only one application may be submitted per organization per cycle, and all materials must be finalized and submitted by the deadline. Applications that are incomplete, late, or incorrectly formatted will be disqualified. A unique aspect of the grant is the required activation component, a collaborative initiative between the Sharks Foundation and the non-profit to amplify community impact. The 2025-26 grant cycle opens on May 22, 2025, with final submissions due by 5:00 p.m. PST on June 22, 2025. The selection process spans July through September, with notifications issued in October. Fund disbursements and community activations occur from November 2025 to April 2026. Non-profits can email the Sharks Foundation for application-specific questions, though meetings during the grant cycle are not permitted to ensure fairness in the review process.