A Florida nonprofit with one purpose: raise money and use it to put youth in martial arts gyms they couldn’t otherwise afford.
FightState Foundation is not a martial arts gym. We don’t have coaches, classes, or a training floor. What we have is a mission: raise money, find worthy young people, and pay for them to train at established martial arts gyms in their community.
FightState Foundation was built around a truth that too many families in Florida know firsthand: martial arts can change a young person’s life — but only if they can afford to walk through the door.
We partner with gyms. We accept video applications from youth who can’t afford to train. We raise money from the community. And we use our donations to fund as many one-year memberships as we can — after covering the costs that keep the foundation running.
Martial arts doesn’t just teach kids to fight. It teaches them to show up, respect others, set goals, endure failure, and push through. These are life skills — and they’re being built every day at gyms across Florida. We want more kids to have access to that. Period.
Research consistently shows structured martial arts training improves focus, reduces impulsive behavior, builds emotional regulation, and increases self-esteem in youth. Every donation to FightState Foundation is an investment in a young person’s full development.
FightState Foundation was created after watching deserving young people sit on the sidelines of martial arts — not because they weren’t motivated, not because they weren’t talented, but because the monthly membership fee was just out of reach for their family.
Rather than build a new program from scratch, we built something smarter: a scholarship fund that directs donations toward gym memberships for qualifying youth, using a simple video application process that puts the power in the hands of the kids themselves.
FightState Foundation is lean by design. No classes. No staff of coaches. Just a bridge between generous donors, real gyms, and real kids who want a shot.
“Every kid who submits a video is already fighting for their future. We just give them the gym to do it in.”
— Founder, FightState Foundation
Every decision we make — which gyms to partner with, how we select recipients, how we spend donations — is guided by these principles.
We are open about how donations are used — from scholarships awarded to the operational costs that keep this foundation running. We make responsible decisions with every dollar entrusted to us.
Financial means should never determine whether a young person gets to train. We exist to remove that barrier — for as many youth as our funding allows.
We ask youth to share their stories, and we take that trust seriously. Every video and every piece of content we share represents a real young person who deserves to be treated with respect.
Donors, gyms, families, and youth — we’re all one ecosystem working toward the same goal. We celebrate our gym partners, honor our donors, and champion our scholars publicly.
Our model is simple by design. We keep overhead responsible so the majority of donations go toward changing kids’ lives.
We are stewards of donated dollars and of young people’s futures. We answer to our donors, our scholars, and our community — always.
To raise funds and award one-year martial arts gym memberships to Florida youth who cannot afford to train — connecting them with registered partner gyms through a video scholarship application process.
See How It Works →