Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation

What Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation does

The Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation is a privately held U.S. non-profit organization founded in 2006 and based in Chicago, Illinois. It is led by former U.S. Women's National Team soccer captain Julie Foudy and operates with a small team of 1–10 employees. Its stated mission is to empower girls and young women from all socioeconomic backgrounds to become leaders who positively impact their communities, using sports and fitness as the foundational engagement mechanism.

The foundation's core programmatic offering is the JFSLA (Julie Foudy Soccer Leadership Academy), a leadership academy that develops participants' confidence and capabilities through sports-based empowerment, community service projects, and mentorship. It is supplemented by a leadership mentoring program that matches aspiring young female leaders with experienced mentors, and a mentor database currently being built to support JFSLA alumni in executing their leadership projects. Julie Foudy's published book "Choose to Matter: Being Courageously and Fabulously YOU" is distributed on Amazon and Audible and serves as both a thought-leadership asset and an indirect donor/participant acquisition channel.

The foundation's revenue model is donation-based, with contributions processed through a single PayPal portal on its Squarespace-hosted website. It does not sell products or services directly. For 2025, the organization has publicly stated a strategic pivot toward supporting other female-empowerment organizations rather than running direct programming, while still operating alumni and mentor-related initiatives. Operational partnerships include US Soccer Federation (for memorabilia auction requests) and The Montag Group (for Julie Foudy's talent representation); Sideline Sports Photography supplies media content. No AI/ML, proprietary technology platform, or institutional funding rounds are disclosed.

Name

Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation

Legal name

The Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation

Website

https://foudyleadershipfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation is a Chicago-based U.S. non-profit that empowers girls and young women to become community leaders through sports-based programs, a mentoring network, and the JFSLA leadership academy, funded primarily by donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Leadership, Civic Education & Service-Learning Nonprofits (BPAGADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• Girls empowerment programs
• Sports-based mentorship
• Female leadership training
• Nonprofit leadership foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation is a nonprofit that empowers girls and young women from all socioeconomic backgrounds to become community leaders through sports- and fitness-based programs. Its core offerings include the JFSLA (Julie Foudy Soccer Leadership Academy), a mentorship matching program that pairs students with experienced mentors to execute leadership projects, a mentor database supporting JFSLA alumni, and the published book "Choose to Matter" as a leadership development resource. The foundation operates without selling commercial products and is funded via charitable donations.

Product overview

The Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation operates as a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of leadership development programs primarily focused on empowering girls and young women. The core offerings include JFSLA (Julie Foudy Soccer Leadership Academy), a leadership mentoring program connecting students with mentors, and a supporting mentor database. Additionally, the foundation offers Julie Foudy's published book 'Choose to Matter' as a resource for leadership development. The foundation focuses on supporting girls and women in becoming leaders through sports and fitness foundations, with emphasis on building confidence, courage, and community impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JFSLA: Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy - a program referenced as supporting alumni of the foundation's leadership initiatives.

Products and services

• JFSLA (Julie Foudy Soccer Leadership Academy)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• US Soccer FederationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe foundation works with US Soccer Federation for handling auction requests for Julie Foudy memorabilia and items. Written requests for auction items are submitted to US Soccer Federation at their Chicago address.
• Sideline Sports Photography, LLCminorOthers
• The Montag GroupminorOthersJulie Foudy's representation agency managed by Susan Lipton. Handles all appearance requests for Julie Foudy. The foundation directs appearance and auction requests to this agency rather than handling them internally.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• YWCA USA: YWCA is a large, established national organization focused on women's empowerment, safety, and leadership — operating in the same mission space as JFLF but at a much larger scale and broader scope.
• Dress for Success: Dress for Success is a global nonprofit that empowers women to achieve economic independence, sharing JFLF's focus on women's advancement but with a workforce-entry orientation.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America: Big Brothers Big Sisters is a large youth mentoring nonprofit, comparable to JFLF's mentor-matching model but with a broader demographic scope and far greater institutional scale.

Direct peers

• Girl Up: Girl Up, a UN Foundation initiative, develops leadership skills in adolescent girls globally — sharing JFLF's mission of building a pipeline of young female leaders through structured programs.
• Women's Sports Foundation: Founded by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation advances women's leadership through sports — a structural replica of JFLF's athlete-led, sports-as-leadership thesis.
• Girls on the Run: Girls on the Run is a nonprofit that empowers girls through running-based programs that integrate life skills and leadership development — directly comparable to JFLF's sports-and-leadership model for young girls.
• Play Like a Girl: Play Like a Girl leverages sports to empower girls and young women academically and professionally, closely mirroring JFLF's sports-to-leadership value proposition.
• Strong Women Strong Girls: Strong Women Strong Girls is a mentoring nonprofit that connects college women with elementary and middle school girls, paralleling JFLF's mentorship-driven leadership programming for young women.

Emerging players

• She Should Run: She Should Run is a nonpartisan nonprofit encouraging women to run for elected office, overlapping with JFLF's leadership development mission for a focused civic-leadership audience.

Regional players

• EYH (Aspiring Youth): Aspiring Youth is a smaller nonprofit providing mentorship and leadership programming for young people, structurally similar to JFLF but operating in a different geographic footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/julie-foudy-leadership-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Julie Foudy Leadership Foundation