Olympic Sports Grants: Mixed Scorecard for 1st Year

In a preliminary assessment of its first year of operation, the foundation distributing the $90-million Southern California share of the 1984 Olympic surplus reported Friday that it has been having more success with grants to established sports organizations than with grants to “organizations that are attempting to enter sport for the first time.”

Amateur Athletic Foundation President Stanton Wheeler expressed satisfaction with grants to the Mt. San Antonio Relays, the Southern California Tennis Assn., the Boys and Girls clubs, the YMCAs and local community-based sports clubs such as the Fillmore Swim Assn., the Saybrook Park Athletic Assn. and Little League groups.

But Wheeler said the foundation, which awarded 79 grants totaling about $4.5 million in its first year, had more difficulty when it gave money to such non-sports-oriented organizations as the Eastside-based Community Youth Gang Services, which received $349,990 to establish sports programs for gang members or those susceptible of becoming gang members.

“Community Youth Gang Services has no specific background in sports,” Wheeler explained in an interview. “It has proved very difficult to structure a program that is aimed at those youths who have already turned away from sports.

“We have been working with them on hiring staff, but it is possible the grant will have to be reorganized.”

Fortunately, he added, the foundation has “a very good working relationship” with the gang services organization.

Steve Valdivia, the gang services executive director, agreed with Wheeler that there have been difficulties.

“We’re dealing with an element here that we both acknowledge is difficult to reach,” he said. “These kids are dropouts. For the first time, we’re going in with a traditional program and trying to replace another tradition--joining gangs. . . . We’re not backing off from that, and I’m glad that the foundation isn’t either.”

Foundation board members who discussed Wheeler’s written assessment, which was given to board members this week, generally agreed that the foundation should continue to engage in some experimental projects.

“If you’re going to do things that are not just run of the mill, you’re going to have some successes and some failures,” said U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt. “It’s going to be harder to do. There’s nothing surprising in that.”

The board meeting was largely given to discussing future options, and only $367,500 in grants were approved this quarter. Most of the money was made contingent on the grantees raising an equal amount on their own.

The latest grants are:

- $200,000 as a challenge grant to the proposed Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena, plus the possibility of another $50,000. A local group has already raised $400,000 and is now challenged to raise $200,000. That money, along with the foundation grant, will be used to build a 50-meter swimming pool with international competitive specifications. Once that is accomplished, the foundation agreed to contribute $50,000 more to the first year of operation.

- $100,000 as a challenge grant to the Pomona Department of Parks and Recreation. Pomona is expected to put up the other $100,000 for construction of a new pool at Ganesha Park to replace a dilapidated one that has had to be closed.

- $2,500 to the Camarillo Soccer Club to upgrade equipment, including the replacement of worn nets and the purchase of new soccer balls.

- $5,000 to the Diamond Bar Ice Skating Club, serving Norwalk and La Habra, for scholarships for needy would-be skaters and for additional instruction.

- $5,000 to the Athletic Congress’ national junior Olympics cross-country championships in December at the University of California, Irvine, to provide race numbers, finish-line banners and T-shirts for the 2,000 participants.

- $5,000 to the Athletic Congress to assist the Southern California Assn. of TAC’s race-walk competition to provide videos and equipment.

Foundation Chairman Paul Ziffren, meanwhile, said he has appointed Reinhardt chairman of a committee that will assess the foundation’s long-range plans, and another board member, attorney John C. Argue, as head of a committee on corporate joint ventures the foundation hopes to develop.

Ziffren said that recent lower interest rates have cut sharply into the foundation’s income and that its grants, other programs and administration cost it “slightly more” than its interest income. He said that if the foundation continues to eat slowly into its principal, as expected, it may have a life of 20 to 25 years.