SparkWheel lands $250,000 FIFA grant to expand local student support

A Lawrence nonprofit won a $250,000 FIFA-linked grant that could deepen the school-based supports it already provides to more than 30,000 students across Kansas and Missouri. For SparkWheel, the money is poised to do more than add cash to the ledger: it could expand the services that keep students fed, healthy and in class.

FIFA and Global Citizen announced the first round of grants on May 11, selecting 27 grassroots organizations from 10 countries for awards ranging from $50,000 to $250,000. The fund says it aims to raise $100 million by the end of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to expand access to education and football for children worldwide. SparkWheel was among the organizations chosen for the top end of the range.

The nonprofit, which began operating under the SparkWheel name on July 1, 2023 after disaffiliating from Communities In Schools, built its model around full-time student support coordinators placed in partner schools. Those staff members connect students with clothes closets, food, hygiene products and help for family social and emotional concerns, a set of services that often falls outside what school budgets or taxpayers can fully cover.

In practical terms, the new award is expected to help SparkWheel expand its Kansas City footprint into more K-12 schools. It also supports the organization’s separate work running 37 food pantries in Kansas City with Harvesters, extending the impact beyond classrooms to the basic needs that affect attendance, concentration and health. If a child is hungry, lacks clean clothes or is dealing with stress at home, the academic consequences can show up fast.

SparkWheel says it serves more than 30,000 students in Kansas and Missouri, while other organizational materials describe a footprint of more than 60 schools across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Iowa and support for more than 36,000 students. Its Lawrence office is at 1919 Delaware St., tying the global award back to a local base that has become part of the region’s safety net.

Malissa Martin, SparkWheel’s president and CEO, said the award will make a big difference for the students the organization serves and could also strengthen future fundraising by validating the model on a global stage. For Douglas County, the takeaway is straightforward: a Lawrence-rooted nonprofit just landed outside money that could translate into more staff, more supplies and more direct support for students who need help before school problems become life problems.