USPK End-of-Year Fundraiser
Thanks for supporting USPK
From the entire board of directors – a heartfelt thank you so much for choosing to support USPK!
Our mission as a non-profit is to advance the growth and development of parkour in the United States through advocacy, education, community, and governance. USPK was founded by active members of the parkour community, and active community members continue to run USPK. We train, compete, and coach… just like you.
Without your support, activities like these would not be possible. Help us continue to forward our mission.
2023 was our biggest year yet.
Here are some of the highlights:
Hosted the first USPK National Competition
We established a national parkour competition circuit:
- Created foundational pipelines for athletes to go from the
Locals → Regionals → USPK Nationals → International Championship - Six different regions ran 25+ events, filtered into the national competition in Denver, CO
- Partnered with Sport Parkour League (SPL) as the premiere international competition circuit (16 USPK athletes qualified)
At the USPK national championships:
- Over seventy unique individuals competed:
- 14 women, 22 men in speed
- 11 women, 20 men in skill
- 11 women, 21 men in style
- Improved women’s participation (USPK National = 28% women and 72% men)
- Athletes and Judges Advisory Committees formed to put decision-making directly in athletes and stakeholders hands
Began offering Individual and Event Insurance
We secured a partnership with Spot Insurance to provide worldwide coverage of personal injury insurance for parkour athletes;
- Over 50 individual athletes were covered in 2023, including competitors of ESPN’s World Chase Tag
- Spot Insurance has already covered a few of our member’s personal deductibles for injuries that have occurred at parkour events and competitions
- Provided event insurance for 300+ participants across the United States through events such as American Rendezvous and USPK Nationals
Hired our first Communications Director
We’re excited to have Jess Chan as our first staff member! We prioritized hiring this role so that we could:
- Educate on the the importance of NGBs, collect and distribute data around parkour, and relay current initiatives & future goals for the org and parkour as a sport
- Establish trust and transparency within the community by creating multiple avenues for people to engage with USPK (IG, website, feedback forms, YouTube, blogs etc.) and by empowering community members to be involved in the change they would like to see
- Connect physical communities as well as subsets of parkour across the country by creating flexible competition, safety, and certification standards to raise general level of practitioners & business owners, and sharing resources & knowledge to create more opportunities for all
- Highlight communities, events, initiatives within the community we want to see more of including athletes, leaders, and organizations
- Document history to demonstrate the progress of a sport through multiple lenses
How your support can help
USPK looks to develop a self-sustaining parkour economy where parkour businesses support one another, there are multiple professional paths to make a living working in parkour, and outside funding from ethical sources can be allowed to flow into the sport.
Looking forward to 2024; We have much to do to make this vision a reality. Funds raised are critical to this cause, helping us make exponential impact year over year.
Continue to grow the National Competition Circuit
After 2023’s resounding success, we are looking forward to continued growth! The USPK National Competition Circuit unites six separate regional (NE, SE, MD, SC, MW, WC) competitive parkour leagues across the US under one banner and provides a platform for parkour athletes to go from a local level all the way to an international stage (SPL). USPK deeply values feedback and community-driven leadership. In 2024 our volunteer base will expand to include:
- Volunteer Coordinator position
- Splitting the Judges & Athletes committee into two
- Six regional coordinators
We will also be doing outreach to corporate sponsorship, to continue to grow outside funding into the sport.
Offer General Liability Insurance to USPK Members
Obtaining general liability insurance for parkour gyms is no walk in the park. We’re working to change the insurance industry’s risk standards around parkour, to lessen pain points for business owners, and to create accessible and comprehensive high-quality insurance options for our community.
In 2023 we made big progress towards setting up a nationwide group general liability insurance policy, and are excited to launch this offering to our members in 2024.
Our goal is to create a long term solution by collecting more data to fight back on high premiums, and shift parkour’s impact around safety. Parkour is safer than most traditional sports, and the insurance industry is a numbers game – through a nationwide group plan, we can collectively obtain a more sustainable insurance plan.
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- Provide competitive premiums for parkour organizations with reasonable rates
- Allow flexibility/add-ons for trampolines, foam pits, silks, etc
- Introduce Safesport and SAM protections as a standard for child sexual abuse prevention
- Abolish one-size fits-all model for instructor certification through our certification approval process, allowing gyms to submit their own in-house certifications for review, or choose from any of USPK’s already approved certifications
- Provide equipment and build best practices support for gyms
Offer Fiscal Sponsorship for parkour events
Non-competitive events are the backbone of parkour culture. As the national governing body, USPK seeks to provide resources to support the leadership of jams and events.
Fiscal sponsorship is an agreement between USPK, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and event organizers that allows us to extend our nonprofit arm over your event. We fiscally sponsor events that help further our mission, and in turn we help expand the event’s reach and support it to thrive.
Run our first Business Conference
With the rapid growth of the parkour industry, we’ve listened to feedback from community leaders with the overwhelming interest of creating a conference solely dedicated to business professionals.
In fall 2024, we will run our first conference online. Presentations will cover a wide array of topics including business finances, coaching best practices, and business management. We will be inviting the nation’s top industry leaders as keynote speakers.
The Goal
Our goal is to raise $2,000 by 11:59 pm on Sunday, December 31, 2023.
Our board of directors have pledged to match every donation up to $1,000 With your support, we’ll start 2024 with an addition of $2,000 total.
Together we can strengthen our community, raise awareness, educate the general public, protect the integrity of the sport, guide and represent parkour in the United States. Our work wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support from donors like you.
Donation FAQ
Is my donation tax deductible?
Yes! USPK is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. All donations are tax deductible.
Do you accept corporate matching gifts?
Absolutely! Many employers offer matching gifts for your donations. Contact your employer to learn about their philanthropy program.
How can I increase my impact?
If your employer does not offer a matching program, you can share this campaign, ask your friends and family to contribute, or create a Facebook or Instagram fundraising campaign.
What if I have other questions?
If you have any other questions before you donate, please email contact@uspk.org
Thank you for your support!