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April 19, 2025, 2:23 pm UTC

Pura Vida BJJ LLC 27-3945388 | Government Grant Application

Pura Vida BJJ LLC | Application Preview

 

Pura Vida BJJ LLC is seeking government grants to support its initiative of providing free summer memberships to Milwaukee Public School district kids, which aims to keep them engaged and safe while providing access to a gym. The program initially anticipated enrolling a dozen children, but enrollment exceeded 100, predominantly from minority communities. Although this outreach was successful, the costs surpassed expectations, prompting the request for funding to continue these scholarships.

Recently, Pura Vida BJJ moved to a larger facility, tripling their training space and better positioning themselves to serve both their existing clients and the troubled youth in the northern Milwaukee suburbs. With the increased space, they plan to enhance marketing efforts for their memberships.

The organization has a solid reputation within the Milwaukee community for its commitment to mentorship, particularly for young black men. Their focus extends beyond martial arts training to provide positive role models and guidance, contributing to the development of future leaders in the community.

In terms of competition, Pura Vida BJJ faces other MMA and BJJ gyms but emphasizes its unique approach of fostering personal growth and mentorship. The success stories of individuals like Nelly Thompson-Aniakudo and Andrew Foss highlight the transformative impact Pura Vida BJJ has had on its members, showcasing the deeper values the organization instills beyond just training in combat sports. This dedication to youth development makes Pura Vida BJJ a worthy investment for grant funders.

  • General Information

    Business Registration Number: 27-3945388

    Location: Milwaukee, WI, United States

    Length of Operation: 10

    Number of Employees:

    Annual Gross Income:

    Annual Gross Expense:

    Open to Loans: NO

  • Funding Usage

    The last two summers we offered Milwaukee Public School district kids free memberships for the summer, to keep them off the street and give them access to a gym they typically cannot afford. We expected a dozen kids. We ended up with well over 100, and the majority of them came from the minority communities we wanted to reach. We honored the program's offer, but our expenses were much higher than anticipated. We'd like to apply for grants to cover these costs so we can continue to offer these membership scholarships to Milwaukee's kids.

  • Business Plan

    Last October we moved out of our second location and into a building we purchased that tripled our training space. We moved closer to the northern Milwaukee suburbs many of our client base comes from, and closer to Milwaukee's north side, where most of the troubled youth we serve reside. Space was maxed out at our old location, and we will be able to aggressively market memberships with our new location. We're an established presence in the Milwaukee community with a proven track record of giving back to the city. We mentor young kids, and specifically young, black men as a part of our operation. We train fighters, but we also offer the male role modeling that many of them never grew up with. We are worth investing in because we are helping build tomorrow's black leadership in Milwaukee.

  • Self Identified Competition

    Roufusport MMA. Red Schafer MMA. Neutral Ground BJJ. What sets us apart is our commitment to building our young fighters into men. Rather than tell you the negatives about our competitors, I'd rather focus on the quality of student I have had the pleasure of helping and a couple of their success stories. Nelly Thompson-Aniakudo grew up homeless and spent his senior year of high school living out of his car. All he needed was a gentle push toward home ownership, and today he is raising his daughter (by himself) in the house he bought. Andrew Foss was a literal orphan. His parents sadly died when he was quite young. He grew up in the foster system and lacked that comfort of family. Today he is a member of the United States Marines Corps on active duty, and we look forward to his next visit to the gym. These are just two of the young men who came in to our gym to learn to fight, but who we've been blessed to teach so much more.

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