IGL Foundation
"Bridging the gap between esports STEM initiative"
The IGL Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, whose mission is to bring people together to learn, compete and play. We provide educational opportunities for students in areas of Technology, Gaming and Digital Arts that are not only enriching but also entertaining. As a non-profit organization, we raise money by hosting events and tournaments to provide affordable STEM/Digital Arts education programs for students year-round.
Mission Statement
Programs
Our mission with the Digital Arts Training Academy (D.A.T.A.) is to introduce students to software, digital arts and technology through educational exposure and project base learning. The main focus of Digital Arts Training Academy’s (D.A.T.A.) program is to improve prospects and career paths.
D.A.T.A. stands by providing a friendly environment and staff that are committed to the creative learning process while equipping students with a skill sets that may guide them to career opportunities that are in high demand.
The Independent Gaming League was created by the IGL Foundation to provide events for gamers of all ages to compete both online and live, as well as an environment where gamers can learn more about the industry as a whole. During these live events, of various sizes and scope, we are able to link local gaming communities to industry professionals with panels, keynotes, and both online and live gaming competitions.
Through these events we raise funding for the IGL Foundation so as to strengthen the overall gaming community as well as for all our educational programs.
Digital Arts Training Academy League
The DATA League, similar to a science fair, is open to all local schools currently partnered with the Kiwanis Key Clubs. Students competing could have the potential to earn scholarship prizes and job opportunities with companies within the field. School groups that win the overall competition receive a trophy of their own as well as a donation to program to keep program going!
Video Gaming Leagues
Our College League is only only to current college students. In collaboration with Kiwanis Circle K & other college gaming clubs we are able produce a series of tournaments for students to compete for scholarships and other funding opportunities.
Our High School League is open only to affiliated high school students. Students have the opportunity to compete against other students from their school as well as from other local schools in their area for scholarships.
Our Youth League is open to all students grades K-12th. In collaboration with local schools and organization like Kiwanis Key Clubs we are able to partner with local youth programs and high schools otherwise outside of our network.
Our Amateur Leagues are open to gamers of all ages and playing level. We connect already established communities in a joint tournament series. We currently have over 2,800 users competing within this system from all around the world.
The IGL Foundation hosts over 100 events yearly : 60% of these events are geared for students grades K-12th and 40% of these events are for people of all ages.
Our largest event, NOLA Gaming Fest, is our annual fundraiser. It brings in roughly 1,000 to 3,000 competitors and gaming enthusiasts to New Orleans annually.
Our other events throughout the year across Louisiana and other local areas are of various sizes and scopes. By producing programs, seminars, conventions and workshops that are both fun and educational, our goal is to better prepare students and their communities to be apart of today’s technology-driven workforce. At these events we feature panels, keynotes speakers from industry professionals, and competitive gaming tournaments.
Events
Annual Event Rental Projections
Estimated Monthly Revenue
Public Events
Tier 1- $1,000 20 events
Tier 2 - $2500 20 events
Tier 3- $7500 10 events
Estimated Revenue- $145,000
High Schools
Tier 1- $100 25 events
Tier 2 - $150 15 events
Tier 3 - $250 10 events
Estimated Revenue- $50, 000
The events we host throughout the year are our strongest method of fundraising.
We provide equipment and our service to schools, businesses, organizations, as well as the general public.
For schools we accept monthly billing for multiple events throughout the school year.
For school to not only have sanction League events by working with us but to avoid having to spend so much on equipment and extra staffing.
Workshops Summer Camps & After School Programs
Throughout the year students have the opportunity to learn different forms of Digital Arts as well as participate in competitive project based competitions. Collectively our educational programs work with 500-1000 students per year.
After school programs: Weekly classes of digital arts training.
Camps & Workshops: These programs are normally anywhere from 3 to 5 days long at a time.
Annual estimated STEM & Digital Arts Programing Projections
Our STEM programing target is from 3rd grade students to 12th grade students. We work with local high school & middle schools to send class groups of students out throughout the day to our school for training, which intern the school uses us as their elective course or extra curricular for the year. We work with different home school students throughout the day both online and onsite from 9am- 3:00pm, which normally can be a group or just individual student. We also work with different non-profit youth organizations to send groups of students or conduct classes onsite at their facilities.
Outside of all the organizations we work with, any Students grade 4th-12th are open to join our after school programs, workshops and summer camp at anytime.
Estimated DATA Program Projections
After School Per Month ( 8 months) $150 (per Student) 25 Students
After School Per Semester ( 2 Semesters) $500 (per Student) 5 Students
School Workshops Per Semester ( 2 Semesters) $25,000(Per School) 5 Schools
Mini Camps ( 4 weeks) $150 (Per Students) 30 Students
Business Partnership/Job training Program (12 months) $100(Per Business) 10 Business'
Estimated Revenue: $315,000
Community
Eezers is where we store and track data throughout each of our leagues, seasons and tournament series.
The site allows us to not only run our events and rank our players, it also provides an environment where we can safely communicate to all of our community members.
With roughly 3000 users and 147 communities site-wide, Eezers gives us a space where we are able to easily access and merge all of our partnering communities into one central hub.
Player and fans can easily access each communities upcoming events, live streams, content, social media links as well as access all of our general tour info.
Current Operating Funds
Independent Gaming League: Event proceeds 2018 - $36, 000
Fundraising comes from hosting many different types of events throughout the years. In hosting an event we charge for renting our equipment, streaming, advertising, concession and producing event content. Prices per event can range from $200-$600 depending on our involvement.
Digital Arts Training Program: Program proceeds 2018 - $65,000
This programing includes after school program, summer camps, daily workshops and school contracts.
Partnership Program: Partnership proceeds 2018 - $12,000
Through our partnership programs we are given discounts to software and goods, and then able to generate funds by acting as reseller. Working with other companies and developing an infrastructure is beneficial for both parties. The core companies that currently partner with IGL are EzLeague Gaming (Eezers), GameHedz and Dish Delish.
Current Expenses
Month to month recurring expenses- $3,600
Workshop/event space rent, storage facility, main staffing and other general operating expenses.
Additional annual expenses: $8,500
Replacement and updated gaming equipment: Recent games, consoles, controllers, updates, network passes and display monitors.
Replacement, repairs and updates for Digital Arts equipment: Laptops, accessories and software.
We currently have not received any type of long term sponsorship support, so we are forced to fund expenses through raised donations, part-time work and payday loans. We also seek-out ways to lower our incumbent costs by taking advantage of used and refurbished equipment.
Investing in IGL Foundation
Based on our expansion plans, plus given the current state of our platforms and equipment, we anticipate that our annual expenses will rise roughly 50% from 2019 to 2020. Raising funds in excess of $500,000 in 2019 will allow us to add additional support staff members, and begin much needed equipment maintenance and expansion. Our two year goal is to expand our programs beyond the state of Louisiana, into our neighboring states along the Gulf Coast and in the South. Every dollar raised past our budgeted expenses, plus equipment and staffing needs will goes toward expanding our footprint to surrounding states and traditionally underserved communities.
Thank You for your Time!
Derek Thomas
Founder/Program Director
Email- derek@igl.gg
Phone- (504) 473-9690
