Our partner nonprofit
Chicago Adaptive Sports
A Chicagoland nonprofit that envisions a Chicago where every athlete has an opportunity to play. Juan Ortiz, our first ambassador, serves on its board.
Partner nonprofit Chicago, IL
Partner with Adapt To Life
Grow adaptive sports with us.
Partners help us fund athletes and the clubs, organizations and coaches building adaptive sports, starting with wheelchair pickleball in Chicago.
Our partners
With thanks to our partners.
Our partner nonprofit
AMP Adaptive Sports
A Wisconsin nonprofit that gets athletes of all abilities on the water and the snow. Karen Atkinson, on our board, serves on its board too.
Partner nonprofit Elkhorn, WI
Our partner club
ACE Pickleball Club
Court time we fund in Des Plaines, free for every athlete, and memberships for athletes who train to compete.
Partner club Des Plaines, IL
Our partner club
Brick House Pickleball
An Open Court club in Lake Forest, open 24/7/365. Athletes we support play there every week, all four seasons.
Open Court club Lake Forest, IL
Our partner club
The Picklr
Open play with the crew in Mount Prospect, alongside the club’s own players. Clinics, tournaments and fundraisers are on the table.
Partner club Mount Prospect, IL
Across the community
We also support programs beyond our partner clubs with coaching, clinics and volunteers, like the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association (WASA) and the Lincolnway Special Recreation Association (LWSRA) in the south suburbs.
How we partner
The Open Court Model.
Every athlete deserves an open court: a place to train, compete and belong. We open them with clubs, YMCAs, schools and companies, and no host has to give its courts away to be part of it.
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The host
- Brings
- Courts on a regular night, at a club, YMCA, school or park.
- Gets
- Paid court time, new players and their families, and a story that sets the club apart.
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The athlete
- Brings
- Their game, led by ambassadors like Juan Ortiz, with coaching and volunteers from us.
- Gets
- Open courts to train, compete and bring the next athlete in.
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The supporter
- Brings
- Funding, planned at the host’s regular rates.
- Gets
- Results they can see and numbers that add up. See the numbers
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A program that lasts
Run by the host and backed by all of us, season after season.
Open Court clubs today ACE Pickleball Club in Des Plaines, Brick House Pickleball in Lake Forest and The Picklr in Mount Prospect.
Bring your courts. We’ll help with the rest.
What partners get
What partnership gives back.
- Your name, seen by new peopleAbout 334,000 views in 90 days on Instagram and Facebook, and more than 9 in 10 Instagram views come from people who don’t follow us yet.
- ContentVideo and athlete spotlights with your name on them. Our Monster Smash spotlights drew more than 38,000 views.
- A crew with a recordUS Open silver and bronze for Brian Liss, three straight US Opens for Robby Wolf, and six medals at Monster Smash.
- Proof, every monthA short recap with attendance, views and results, so you can see what your support does.
What partnership makes possible
Play. Train. Compete.
Partner support goes to the Hustle & Heart Fund, and we pay clubs and vendors directly or reimburse approved expenses. Right now it funds Chicago Pickleball: Wheelie Big Dills at three levels, each one a line in our budget for the year ahead.
- Play anytimeCourt time, so athletes can drop in and play free.$225 a night for up to 15 athletes
- Train to competeMemberships for athletes who train for tournaments, because one session a week is not enough.$1,548 a year for one athlete
- Compete on the roadEntry fees, travel and accessible rooms for the crew, through the 2027 US Open. Gifts past the road go toward the Chicago Classic, presented by Adapt To Life.$21,000 for the season
Ways to sponsor
Find your place on the team.
Sponsorships go to the Hustle & Heart Fund. Start with the athletes, or pick a level, from one tournament trip to the whole year ahead. Each level includes the recognition of the levels before it.
Start with the athletes
Train to Compete, presented by you
$15,480 a year
A year of unlimited sessions for ten athletes, with your name on the program.
Talk to usPartnership levels
Teammate
$1,000
About one tournament trip for one athlete: entry, travel and a room.
- Your name or logo on our supporters wall
- A thank you across our social channels
Coach
$3,500
About one athlete’s US Open: entry, travel and a room.
- Everything in Teammate
- Logo on our donate page
Our flagship
Captain
$11,700 a year
Your name on court time: 52 nights, up to 15 athletes a night.
- Everything in Coach
- The only sponsor on those 52 nights
- A spotlight on your partnership across our social channels
- Your logo on the Wheelie Big Dills page
Champion
$21,000 a season
Your name on The Road to the US Open: about 21 tournament trips.
- Captain’s spotlight and logo
- The only sponsor on the road
- Your logo on the road page
- Your name in posts from the stops ahead
Limited founding partnerships
Founding Partner
$50,000 and up
Your name on the whole year ahead: court time, Train to Compete and the road, with the rest toward the Chicago Classic.
Talk to us- Everything in Champion
- Your logo beside our goal for the year ahead
- First call on naming the Chicago Classic, presented by Adapt To Life, once it has a date
- Room to plan several seasons together
Naming beyond what a level pays for, and partnerships across several seasons, are worked out individually, not included automatically at a giving level. Equipment, services, a place to play: we welcome those ideas too. Design a custom partnership
Sponsorships go to the Hustle & Heart Fund. If your name goes on it, your money pays for it: Captain pays for court time, Train to Compete for ten memberships, Champion for the road and a Founding Partner for the whole year ahead. Each part carries one sponsor’s name at a time, for its year or season, held by the first sponsor to sign. If a part is already paid for, in full or in part, the money it doesn’t need goes to the rest of the goal, and we tell you where before you give. Other sponsorships and gifts fill every week first, then the road to the US Open. The US Open picks players by lottery.
Adapt To Life is a recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 41-3213344). Sponsorships may be tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and we provide documentation for each partnership. Because some levels include benefits, check with your tax advisor on the deductible portion.
New to sponsoring athletes? Read how sponsoring an athlete in Chicago works.
The more we grow, the more we give.
Tell us what you have in mind. We will shape the partnership together.