Ways to support skaters | Golden Skate

Ways to support skaters

Joined
Mar 14, 2006
I was going to post this in another thread, but the thread has been closed.

In case people don't know, there is at least one group through which one can make tax-deductible contributions to, if not any skater, than certainly many different skaters. The one I know of is called the New England Amateur Skating Foundation. Unfortunately they don't seem to have a website, but various skaters, such as Nathan Chen and Emmanuel Savary for example, suggest that people who want to support their training do so via the NEASF. I believe that the group is specifically for U.S. skaters for tax reasons but I could be wrong.

I've donated through them twice for a specific skater. Both times, I received a letter confirming that my contribution would be used for that skater's expenses and stating that my donation was tax-deductible. All the money goes to the skater's training costs (they pay the expenses directly) without an administrative fee. The foundation reviews the donation requests and reserves the right to make final decisions about the use of funds, but I have the impression that they generally honor requests. It should also be noted that the skater never learns the identity of the donor, so no donor should expect to get a thank-you note from the skater. It's anonymous support for the skater, which I think is very wise as it keeps the skater from feeling beholden to anyone in particular, which would be a big burden to carry around, and also protects their privacy. Some very kind person or group set this foundation up - it's a labor of love for them to do what they do without charging an administrative fee (speaking as a former non-profit exec).

If you're wealthy :p, you can also sponsor a skater through this group. I'm not quite sure what that entails... a commitment for substantial, regular contributions, I guess.

I'd be interested to know if people have been involved with other ways of helping out individual skaters. Discussions in this forum about even a star like Patrick Chan make it clear that expenses are a huge burden. I guess it takes a village to raise a skater.
 

aemeraldrainc

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 31, 2004
Very interesting. I wonder if non-US skaters can be helped as well. I had never heard of this organization.
I remember reading in Johnny Weir's book how he had this lady that would send him money every so often. And I think she died after a competition where Johnny didn't do so well and he mentioned how he felt indebted to her. Maybe someone who has the book can confirm this? I remember reading it, but I'm hazy on the details.
Michael Weiss' foundation also helps low income skaters. I'm pretty sure you can donate to that. And they have a website through his official site, I believe.

Why was the other thread locked, btw?
 

BackStage Barbie

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 22, 2010
Very interesting. I wonder if non-US skaters can be helped as well. I had never heard of this organization.
I remember reading in Johnny Weir's book how he had this lady that would send him money every so often. And I think she died after a competition where Johnny didn't do so well and he mentioned how he felt indebted to her. Maybe someone who has the book can confirm this? I remember reading it, but I'm hazy on the details.
Michael Weiss' foundation also helps low income skaters. I'm pretty sure you can donate to that. And they have a website through his official site, I believe.

Why was the other thread locked, btw?

This is the site where you can donate to the Michael Weiss Foundation http://michaelweiss.org/donation.htm

This is really a great foundation, he's helped countless skaters like Agnes Zawadzki, Nathan Chen, Ricky Dornbush, and Courtney Hicks just to name a few.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
I second the MW Foundation. They have a great eye for young talent. The difference between the two:

* Weiss Fdn picks the skater vs. you pick with the NEASF.
* Weiss focuses on under-18 vs. any age with NEASF.
* Weiss usually gives relatively small amounts (to many skaters) vs. whatever you wish to give for individual skaters in NEASF.

They're both great. When I gave to Michael Weiss's foundation, I got a handwritten thank-you note from him! :thumbsup:

I wanted to add re NEASF that my last donation was in 2010, to the address that you can find via a web search. It feels a little weird to give to a group that doesn't have a website but it seems like an unstaffed group operating out of someone's home with no other motive than to channel support to skaters. I'm not sure if I should put their address and email address online but you can find it via some searching online and if not, PM me.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I second the MW Foundation. They have a great eye for young talent. The difference between the two:

* Weiss Fdn picks the skater vs. you pick with the NEASF.
* Weiss focuses on under-18 vs. any age with NEASF.
* Weiss usually gives relatively small amounts (to many skaters) vs. whatever you wish to give for individual skaters in NEASF.

They're both great. When I gave to Michael Weiss's foundation, I got a handwritten thank-you note from him! :thumbsup:

I wanted to add re NEASF that my last donation was in 2010, to the address that you can find via a web search. It feels a little weird to give to a group that doesn't have a website but it seems like an unstaffed group operating out of someone's home with no other motive than to channel support to skaters. I'm not sure if I should put their address and email address online but you can find it via some searching online and if not, PM me.

Spun, thanks so much for this information. It's especially useful because you have administrative experience with similar organizations, so you can evaluate things more clearly. I hope this thread stays up so we can refer to it later on.

How nice that Michael Weiss is so active in supporting skating and especially young skaters. What a marvelous citizen of the skating universe he's turned out to be.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
The other thread was closed because posts speculating on a skater's family, finances, and health kept popping up and having to be unapproved by the mods. GS has a policy respecting the privacy of the skaters, particularly in their private lives, in cases where they have not given an interview, making the topics discussed in the interview up for discussion.

If no such speculations about any particular skater appear in this thread, this thread will stay up.

You can, of course, donate to your country's federation, too. Or to your local skating club.
 

ryanbfan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 27, 2011
Most skaters accept funds through the NEASF, but I think some skaters have other options where you can donate to them too, like paypal, etc.
 
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