A breakaway is one of the most electrifying moments in hockey. It’s a turning point, the moment when a player or individual charges ahead, unimpeded, nothing but opportunity between them and the goal. With the Breakaway Fund, we’re bringing that same momentum of possibility to our local community.

This fund provides unrestricted, easy-to-access capital that helps you and your team barrel past the usual obstacles, giving you the best possible advantage for achieving your goals. No red tape. No onerous applications. Just the support you need, when you need it most.

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Timeline

  • Breakaway Fund application on the Samueli Foundation portal opens: May 1, 2025

  • Breakaway Fund application on the Samueli Foundation portal closes: Friday, June 13, 2025 at 5:00pm PT

  • Breakaway Fund grant awards announcements: By October 2025

  • Breakaway Fund grant payments processed: By December 31, 2025

Breakaway Fund

Guidelines

According to our Orange County Nonprofit Needs Assessment, nonprofits serving Orange County face significant challenges in securing unrestricted funds to support staffing and leadership development, enhance their infrastructure, and engage in meaningful inter-organizational collaboration. The Breakaway Fund will provide one year grant awards of $50,000-$100,000 for projects in the following categories:

Every professional hockey team invests in coaches, trainers, nutritionists and other people who help their players thrive. Why should nonprofit organizations go without the same types of support? We will consider requests that cover investments in human capital to improve employee recruitment, professional development, organizational culture, and retention other than personnel salaries.

  • Examples include:

    • Professional development classes, executive coaching, and conference registration fees

    • Employee perks or discounts (lunches)

Hockey players rely on having abundant equipment including skates, sticks, pads, helmets, and mouth guards. Their coaches use sophisticated technology to assess game play and plan team logistics. Nonprofits also need to purchase new equipment to support their missions. We will consider requests that cover capital expenses or physical assets that improve your organization’s ability to deliver its mission.

  • Examples include:

    • Technology upgrades (hardware or software)

    • Facility or equipment upgrades

Behind every great team are experts that help with complex legal issues, human resources, financial planning, and other work that requires specific contracted expertise. We will consider requests that cover third party technical assistance to augment your current team with the right experts at the right time.

  • Examples include:

    • Specialized legal support

    • Accounting assistance

Not everything you dream of fits into neat boxes. If you have a unique funding request that falls outside of the above categories, please describe your request and we will consider it.

Breakaway Fund

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for the Breakaway Fund, your organization:

  • Must be able to receive charitable dollars

  • Must serve communities in Orange County, California

  • Must be aligned with the Samueli Foundation's mission and values

  • Must submit the application request through the Samueli Foundation portal

The following organizations are not eligible for funding:

  • We do not provide funding to any organization that discriminates based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran status. This also includes organizations that espouse hate and discrimination towards any group

  • Individuals, including those seeking scholarships or fellowship assistance

  • International organizations

  • Political, labor, or fraternal organizations involved in partisan work

Breakaway Fund

Selection Criteria

Eligible projects will be selected for funding based on the following criteria:

  • Organization: The organization helps to advance well-being and opportunity for all individuals and families living in Orange County

  • Project: The proposed activities are realistic and feasible and will enable the organization to better deliver its mission

  • Funding: “Right resources” for the project (would allow the organization to cover 100% of the requested expense)

Breakaway Fund

How to Apply

We designed this application to be simple, requiring no more than 20 minutes of your time. The request process includes the following steps:

  1. Visit the Samueli Foundation portal using the button below

  2. Create a new user account or use your existing account (for previously registered portal account users)

  3. Start your Breakaway Fund application with our eligibility quiz

  4. Complete and submit your Breakaway Fund application

All applications must be submitted through the Samueli Foundation portal. Once in the application portal, you will be able to save and return to your application and print your application. We have created a number of resources to help you create your account, familiarize yourself with the application questions, and suggestions on how to get started below.

Breakaway Fund

Resources

We have created a few key resources that will help you through the application process:

Questions

We tried to anticipate all your questions in the Resources section, including Frequently Asked Questions and supporting guides. If you can’t answer your question using these resources, our team is available to help. You can reach them at breakaway@samueli.org.

The Samueli Foundation intends to use AI tools to help us manage the Breakaway Fund application process.