The Road to Nationals Fund, founded by the William Woods Tate, Jr. Memorial Fund, is designed to help teams who are lacking financial resources attend the high school National Speech & Debate Tournament. In 2024, the NSDA is proud to provide over $100,000 to schools to create a more equitable National Tournament experience.

On average, the Tate 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 2024 National Tournament are eligible to apply. Although others are welcome to help with application responses, we ask that each school submit only one application via a coach on record for the school.

We will announce the first round of grant recipients mid April. 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.