The Road to Nationals Fund (formerly the William Woods Tate, Jr. Memorial Fund) is designed to help students attend the high school National Speech & Debate Tournament. The Road to Nationals Fund provides financial assistance to schools who are lacking financial resources to attend the National Tournament. In 2023, the NSDA is proud to provide over $100,000 to schools to create a more equitable National Tournament experience.

On average, the Road to Nationals Fund will provide grants ranging from $250-$1,000 with $1,000 being the maximum grant amount. We anticipate that the average grant amount will be around $500 per school.

Only schools with high school students competing in the 2023 National Tournament are eligible to apply. We will announce the first round of grant recipients on April 15, 2023. Please only submit one application per school. Please apply early as we anticipate funding will go quickly. 

Thank you to the generosity of NSDA donors including The Julia Burke Foundation for making this possible.