The Surf Cup’s motto is the “Best of the Best” in youth soccer, but oftentimes deserving teams cannot afford to come to the Surf Cup. Enter: the Surf Cup Foundation, which was founded in 2010 as a subsidiary to San Diego Surf Cup, Inc.

As a non-profit, Surf Cup donates its excess revenue to other non-profit organizations at the end of each year—and has donated a whopping $2,173,239 of cash and in-kind goods and services over the past 17 years.

In 2009, Surf Cup Director of Operations Rob Haskell approached the Board of Directors with the idea to do more than simply make donations, and the idea for the Surf Cup Foundation was born. “The foundation was set up to be a ‘charity within a charity’ to support underprivileged teams and kids who otherwise would not be able to afford to participate,” Rob explains. “It was created to give every qualified team the opportunity to have the college exposure they deserve by displaying their abilities in front of 350+ college coaches who attend each event, and to have the competitive experience of a lifetime on one of the greatest proving grounds in amateur soccer.”

Although Surf Cup continues to make donations with excess revenue, the Foundation’s main purpose is to assist teams that qualify on the basis of ability but fall short on finances. In 2010, Surf Cup gave worthy teams either a greatly reduced entry fee or a free entry fee. This year, Surf Cup has given a 50% discount to three teams from Texas, and has plans to help out talented teams in need at the Surf College Cup held over Thanksgiving weekend as well.

“Surf Cup Foundation means a great opportunity and ‘Le abren la puerta a muchas oportunidades,’ which means, “Another door is opened for them for several opportunities” for our players, as this permits them to participate in a prestigious soccer tournament where they can demonstrate their abilities even when their parents have encountered a hardship,” says Ramon, one of the coaches whose team benefitted from the Foundation. “Our players have excelled as they are united, talented and determined to success … Although many parents may not travel along with their players due to low income resources, being a single-parent or loss of employment, they continue to strive to support their young ones so that they can realize their own dream.”