New York · Nonprofit
PLAY RUGBY INC
PLAY RUGBY INC (New York) receives grants from 34 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,703,176 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($529,250). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- Revenue FY2024
- $1.2M
- Funders on record
- 34
- Grants received
- $1.7M
- Net assets
- $116k
What Play Rugby Inc does
Mission
To create "a better world through rugby" by providing young people, primarily from underserved backgrounds, with a vitality for life both on and off the rugby field.
As stated on its FY2024 Form 990.
Programs
Play rugby academy program: our highest impact program, the play rugby academy, is built around an innovative curriculum and coaching methodology that combines rugby and character education, designed to address the unique needs of youth growing up in under-resourced communities; who are at significantly higher risk for obesity and other chronic health issues, are far less likely to have access to an affordable sports program, and often have weak attachment to their school and wider community. Through complementary on and off field activities, youth development and educational supplements, our participants learn skills that extend into their day-to-day lives, become career and/or college ready and are equipped to make positive life choices. Year-over-year 100% of our high school seniors have graduated on-time and enrolled in college or trade school. Our goal is to increase the number of participants in the program, lift up the economic security of their families and ultimately, the community overall. In 2023, the academy served 25 middle school students and 85 high school students,combining rugby practices and league-based competition with life skills workshops and college…
$423,911 spent$51,963 earned by the program90% of program spendingAfter-school enrichment programs: through our after-school enrichment programs, we partner with schools and community-based organizations to deliver our unique values-based flag rugby curriculum to middle and high school students throughout the bronx and harlem. Our certified youth development mentors create vital connections with participants, teaching the sport of rugby while helping them navigate the challenges they face at school, at home and in the community. Programs run year-round with sessions twice per week for two hours each session. Participants have the opportunity to participate in flag rugby tournaments throughout the year and our dynamic and engaging tournament. Culture is focused on providing opportunities for growth not only as student-athletes, but also as young people exploring their strengths and comfort zones, competitiveness and physicality. Each tournament is focused on our values- in-action and our culture of celebrating participant success, not just the typical mvp. In 2023 we served 150 young people through four different enrichment partnerships.
$41,074 spent9% of program spendingThrough our train-the-trainer programs: we train teachers and coaches to deliver both flag and tackle rugby programs themselves through a structured training and support system. Through these partnerships, students from across all five boroughs have the opportunity to participate in tournaments throughout the year, run by play rugby staff and featuring the play rugby values-in-action. In 2023 we supported partners to bring our flag rugby curriculum to 500 girls and our tackle rugby curriculum to 125 boys/girls throughout new york city, and we hosted a total of 8 tournaments for these student- athletes.
$6,101 spent1% of program spending
The 3 programs described on its FY2023 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $471,086.
The organization over time
Each line starts at 100 in 2017, so what you read is the shape rather than the size: 150 means half as much again as 2017, 50 means half. The number beside each label in the key is where it ended. The shaded band is where the middle 50% of its peers' revenue would sit, given their growth.
Balance sheet
Total assets and total liabilities at each year end, in dollars. The largest one-year move in total assets was 2022 to 2023, from $205k to $364k (+78%).
How it's funded, over time
Each bar is one year's revenue split into where it came from, and every bar is the same height — these are shares, not amounts, so a year that raised twice as much looks the same size. Hover a bar for the split.
Government-grant reliance: 2017 1% · 2018 14% · 2019 12% · 2020 2%. Grants only. Government contracts and fees sit inside program revenue.
75% of PLAY RUGBY INC’s revenue is contributions — more reliant on donations than three-quarters of its peers (13% for the typical peer).
Surplus & reserves
Operating surplus or deficit each year, and months of liquidity in hand. 6 of the last 8 reported years ran a deficit.
reserve
Leadership and staff
The officers, directors, trustees and key employees listed on each return. Joined and no longer listed compare each filing with the year before, matching people by surname and first initial; a year after a gap, or a roster under three people, has no comparison.
Board chair
Vito Sperduto
Chairman
As listed on its FY2024 Form 990.
The chief executive listed changed between the FY2018 and FY2019 filings.
Who funds it, year by year
2017 → 2023: the base broadened from 7 funders to 10 funders, grant income fell $173k → $141k.
10 of 34 of your funders are donor-advised or pass-through sponsors (tagged DAF) — 50% of grant dollars received. That money is really individual donors directing a sponsor; the institutions to cultivate are the non-DAF funders.
From the IRS filings of PLAY RUGBY INC’s funders (the co-funder graph). Top 30 of 34 funders by total. Association, not causation. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How concentrated its funding is
PLAY RUGBY INC has a broad base — no single funder exceeds 31% of grant income, and it takes 3 funders to reach half.
the vertical line marks half of all grant income — 3 funders to its left
87% of the income these shares are computed over arrives through pass-through sponsors or from payers whose filings do not say what kind of payment it is. Concentration is still measured over all of it, because the money is real; what it does not support is a claim about how many institutions have chosen to fund PLAY RUGBY INC.
Largest funder’s share by year: 2017 79% · 2018 30% · 2019 36% · 2020 58% · 2021 48% · 2022 57% · 2023 48% — diversifying over time.
“Effective funders” = inverse Herfindahl index (1 / Σ shareᵢ²) — the number of equal-sized funders that would give the same concentration. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
How long its funders stay
35% of PLAY RUGBY INC's funders are still giving 3 years after their first grant; 44% give in more than one year at all.
Share of funders still giving k years after their first recorded grant, pooled across every acquisition cohort. A funder counts as retained in a year only if it made a grant that year. Measured to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving — a funder cannot be counted as lapsed in a year most filers have not reached.
Where its funders are
77% of PLAY RUGBY INC's grant income comes from New York funders.
In-state vs out-of-state, by year
Funder states come from each funder’s own filing. $848k arriving through sponsors registered in 9 states is excluded from the map and the split above: a sponsor holds money on a donor’s behalf, so its registered address would place those dollars somewhere no donor need ever have been. Trends are read to FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving. FY2024–FY2026 are still being filed and are shown unshaded; they do not move any figure on this page.
Against its field
PLAY RUGBY INC's revenue fell 31% between 2017 and 2024.
this organization peer median middle 50% of peers· 2,732 recreation & sports nonprofits $1M–$10M, FY2024
Organizations like PLAY RUGBY INC
Organizations whose mission and program text most resemble this one, by semantic similarity over every organization in the US filings — the closest peers, and often the clearest route to shared or prospective funders.
In New York
Nationally
Read directly from this organization’s own Form 990, as neutral context.
Where the money goes
53% of spending goes to programs.
Governance
Public support
97%
Share of support from the public (Schedule A) — the basis for its public-charity status.
Footprint & structure
Files a return copy in 2 states
Screen this organization
A dated, signed PDF of the compliance screen for PLAY RUGBY INC: IRS status (Business Master File, Publication 78, auto-revocation), the OFAC sanctions lists, the Internal Revenue Bulletin, and California registration, with the Rev. Proc. 2018-32 §8.01 reliance elements stated element by element. Generated from the current files at the moment you download it.
Screens are triage, not determinations; a source that cannot be read reports not screened, never clear. Screen this nonprofit · How the screen works · on the API as GET /api/screening/{ein}?format=pdf
Questions and answers
- Who funds PLAY RUGBY INC?
- PLAY RUGBY INC (New York) receives grants from 34 organizations whose IRS filings report $1,703,176 to it, the largest being FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND ($529,250). 15 of them have funded it in more than one year.
- How many funders does PLAY RUGBY INC have?
- IRS filings report 34 organizations giving $1,703,176 in grants to PLAY RUGBY INC, 15 of which have funded it in more than one year.
- Who is the largest funder of PLAY RUGBY INC?
- FIDELITY INVESTMENTS CHARITABLE GIFT FUND is the largest funder on record, with $529,250 in grants. The full list of funders is on this page.
- How can an organization like PLAY RUGBY INC find more funders?
- Start with the funders already giving here, then look at the foundations that back similar organizations in New York. The funding by cause and by state pages list the largest funders for a given area and how to approach them.
These figures are read directly from IRS Form 990 / 990-PF e-file XML: this organization’s own return for FY2024 (financials across 2017–2024), and the filings of 34 funders that report grants to it. “On record” means captured in the filings we have parsed — a funder that does not e-file, or whose grant detail is not itemized, will not appear. Filings run roughly 12–24 months behind. Trends on this page end at FY2023, the last fiscal year that has finished arriving; later years are shown and marked, and move no figure. Data on this page was exported October 22, 2026. What this page cannot tell you · view filing