The IGNITE Fund

Passion deserves real investment.

We support young people ages 17-25 who are relentlessly driven by their craft — and fund them the way great mentors do: based on who they are, not what their transcript says.

Apply for a Grant Our Story

We invest in drive, not transcripts.

Most scholarships reward the past. We fund what comes next.

Any Discipline

Science, art, mechanics, coding, theater, athletics — if you're obsessed with it, it counts.

No Prerequisites

We don't ask for grades, test scores, or proof of financial need. Just evidence of deep commitment.

Flexible Funding

Grants designed to help recipients take their work to the next level — on their own terms.

Built around one question.

The fund was started by someone shaped by an exceptional coach and teacher — someone who believed, more than anything, that passion was the most reliable signal of a person's potential.

Not grades. Not connections. Not polish. Just the kind of commitment that shows up before anyone's watching and stays long after everyone else has gone home.

That belief is the foundation of this fund. We're not looking for perfect records. We're looking for the people who can't stop.

Read the full story

"Are you fired up?"

The question that started it all

Who it's for

If any of these sound like you, we want to hear from you.

Deep commitment to a craft

You've been at this for a while. It's not a hobby — it's a calling.

Ages 17-25

Students, creators, and builders at a formative stage of their development.

Any path

Traditional academic track, trade school, self-taught, or something entirely your own.

Ready to level up

You have a clear sense of where you want to go and what this funding would help you do.