Cathy Bradley

The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) is a joint initiative between Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association that was established in 1999 through a $10 million commitment by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of BTF since 2000, is responsible for overseeing the Fund including reviewing and recommending grant applications to a nine-person Board of Directors, which meets quarterly. Chaired by Roland W. Betts, Chairman of Chelsea Piers in New York City, the BTF Board of Directors is comprised of senior executives from MLB and the Players Association. During the 1999 World Series, Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Players Association Executive Director Donald Fehr and the Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken Jr. were on hand to introduce this new grant program for youth baseball and softball.

The mission of BTF is to promote and enhance the growth of youth participation in baseball and softball throughout the world by funding programs, fields, coaches' training, and the purchase of uniforms and equipment to encourage and maintain youth participation in the game. Grants are designed to be sufficiently flexible to enable applicants to address needs unique to their communities. The funds are intended to finance a new program, expand or improve an existing program, undertake a new collaborative effort, or obtain facilities or equipment. BTF provides grants to non-profit and tax-exempt organizations in both rural and urban communities. BTF awards an average of 30 grants per year totaling more than $1.5 million. The average grant amount is $51,000. BTF is now funded annually by MLB and the Players Association.