About
A sport that pays
people back for life.
Path2Pocket Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity bringing bowling education, equipment, coaching, and scholarships to underserved communities across the Philadelphia tri-state area.
Mission
To open the sport of bowling — and every opportunity inside it — to youth and adults in communities where cost and access have kept the door closed.
The Need
A ladder
nobody points to.
Bowling is unusually generous. It awards college scholarships, it employs people, it builds community, and it can be played from age two to a hundred and beyond. In the neighborhoods we serve, almost none of that is known — and the cost of entry closes the door before anyone finds out.
- Scholarship dollars go unclaimed. Colleges award money to bowlers. Students and families in underserved schools are rarely told the sport is a path to higher education at all.
- Equipment is the first wall. A fitted ball, shoes, drilling, and league fees add up past what many families can absorb, so promising athletes stop after one season.
- Coaching is unevenly distributed. Some centers have certified coaches on staff. The centers serving our communities usually don't.
- Adults are left out entirely. Most youth-sport funding stops at eighteen — even though adults in these communities are the coaches, league organizers, and parents who carry the next generation.
Our Approach
Introduce. Equip. Advance.
A three-stage model, designed so every dollar has a visible next step attached to it rather than ending at a one-time giveaway.
Introduce — put a ball in their hands
Free demo days and clinics inside partner bowling centers, schools, and community organizations. Sponsor-donated equipment lets participants throw a range of gear and learn what it actually does — core types, coverstocks, surface, layouts — instead of guessing.
Equip — remove the cost barrier
Free and reduced-price balls, shoes, and bags, professionally fitted and drilled at our partner pro shop. Fittings are non-negotiable: badly fitted equipment teaches bad habits and causes injury, so every placement is done properly.
Advance — open the doors past the lane
Coaching, competition on sport and championship oil patterns, and scholarships toward private high school, college, and adult training at centers like Kegel and the CTD Education Center. This is where the sport stops being recreation and starts being opportunity.
Track Record
What we've delivered
since January.
We formed in August 2025 and began programming in January 2026. Here is the record to date, stated plainly.
First Demo Day & Clinic
A full day, 10 AM to 5 PM at V&S Elmwood Lanes, led by PBA Hall of Famer Parker Bohn III — hourly ball demos, three-hour coaching clinics, and a package that sent participants home with a performance ball. TODO: attendance figure
Corporate & Association Partnerships Secured
Brunswick Bowling as equipment sponsor, donating retired balls that power our education curriculum and go home with participants — and USBC Southeast PA as our association partner for sanctioned events.
Pro-Am, Clinic & Demo with USBC Southeast PA
A full-day event featuring PBA and PWBA champions Sean Rash, Bill O'Neil, Kelly Kulick, Tim Foy Jr. and Danielle Urbano, plus a multi-brand ball demo day. At least 20 retired Brunswick balls placed with bowlers free of charge.
Standing Center & Pro Shop Partnership
V&S Elmwood Lanes serves as our home center and AceIt Pro Shop as our fitting and drilling partner — giving the Foundation permanent operating infrastructure at no facilities cost.
Partners
Who we build
this with.
We don't own lanes and we don't need to. The Foundation runs on partnerships, which keeps overhead low and puts contributions directly into programming.
- V&S Elmwood Lanes — home center, 7235 Elmwood Ave Suite 900, Philadelphia, PA 19142.
- AceIt Pro Shop — fitting and drilling partner, located inside V&S Elmwood Lanes.
- Brunswick Bowling — equipment sponsor, donating retired product that powers our education program.
- PA Southeastern USBC (SEUSBC) — association partner, co-hosting our September 12 Pro-Am and clinic.
Why Partner With Us
What a sponsor
actually gets.
- Documented placement. Sponsors are told where their product or funding went — which event, how many participants, what was placed.
- Named recognition. On this site, at events, in our annual reporting, and across our education content.
- A community your brand already serves. Philadelphia and the surrounding tri-state area, reaching bowlers who become lifelong customers of the sport.
- Deductible contributions. We are a confirmed 501(c)(3) public charity; gifts are tax-deductible under IRC Section 170.
- A direct line. We're small. You talk to the person running the program, not a development department.
How We're Funded
Earned revenue,
not just asks.
The Foundation is not waiting on grants to operate. Our clinics, demo days and Pro-Am events are ticketed, and that revenue — together with donated equipment — is what pays for the free and reduced-price gear we place with bowlers who can't afford it.
- Program revenue. Ticketed coaching clinics, ball demo days, and Pro-Am events run in partnership with our home center and USBC Southeast PA.
- Corporate equipment donation. Retired product from manufacturers, used first as teaching inventory and then given to participants at no cost.
- Sponsorship. Businesses, pro shops, and centers underwriting specific events, equipment placements, or scholarships.
- Individual giving. Tax-deductible contributions, currently directed toward launching the scholarship fund.
Funding Priorities
Where the next
dollar goes.
We have not yet awarded a scholarship. We're stating that directly rather than implying otherwise, because it is the clearest funding gap we have and the program we most want to launch.
Launch the scholarship fund
Youth awards toward private high school and college, and adult training awards to camps at centers like Kegel and CTD Education Center.
Expand clinics beyond one center
Bring demo days and coaching into additional centers, schools, and community organizations across the tri-state area.
Build the education library
Video and social content on equipment, lane play, and the scholarship path, so the teaching reaches past the people in the building.
Organizational Profile
Due diligence,
up front.
Everything a grantmaker or corporate giving office asks for first. If you need anything not listed here, ask and we'll send it.
- Legal name
- Path2Pocket Foundation
- EIN
- 39-3778792
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity, IRC 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
- Exemption effective
- August 8, 2025
- Incorporated
- Delaware
- Deductibility
- Contributions deductible under IRC Section 170; bequests, devises, transfers and gifts qualify under Sections 2055, 2106 and 2522
- Fiscal year end
- December 31
- Annual filing
- Form 990 series, filed annually
- Programming since
- January 2026
- Service area
- Philadelphia and the surrounding tri-state area
- Populations served
- Underserved youth and adults
- Governance
- Board appointments are in progress; members will be listed here once final
- Documents
- IRS determination letter available on request
Let's talk about
what you can fund.
Equipment, a clinic, an event, or the scholarship fund itself — we'll show you exactly where it lands.