NEW YORK – The NBA Foundation today announced 38 new grants totalling $11 million – the most-awarded grant round to date – to help create employment opportunities, further career advancement and drive greater economic empowerment for Black youth.
The recipients were named as part of the NBA Foundation’s fourth grant round during the league’s Season of Giving (Nov. 22 – Dec. 25), a five-week celebration during the holiday season when NBA family gives back by supporting and uplifting youth, families and organizations across the country.
Created in August 2020 with a 10-year, $300 million commitment by the 30 NBA team governors, the NBA Foundation is the league’s first-ever charitable foundation.
The grants will help enhance the impactful work of these national and local organizations in alignment with the NBA Foundation’s mission to provide skills training, mentorship, coaching and pipeline development for high school, college-aged, job-ready and mid-career individuals, focusing in team markets throughout the United States and Canada.
The full list of the 38 grantees and their efforts can be viewed below.
“As we near the conclusion of the NBA Foundation’s first year of grant-making, we’re excited to announce our latest round of awards to 38 new, deserving non-profit organizations,” said Greg Taylor, NBA Foundation Executive Director. “We are confident that our support will create short- and long-term advancement opportunities for these organizations and the communities that they serve.”
To date, the Foundation has awarded 78 grants, totalling $22 million to non-profit organizations. The NBA Foundation, created by the 30 NBA teams, works in partnership with the teams’ affiliated charitable organizations and the NBPA to support national and local organizations with a specific focus on team markets, utilizing the collective $30 million annual commitment from the NBA Board of Governors as well as additional funding sources.
To learn more about the NBA Foundation or apply for a grant, please visit www.nbafoundation.com or follow @NBAFoundation.
NBA Foundation Fourth Grant Round – December 2021
Total Grant Docket: $11 Million
Number of Grantees: 38
Below is a full list of the grant recipients:
A Call to Men (National)
A Call to Men is a national organization that works to create a world where all men and boys are loving and respectful and all women, girls, and those at the margins of the margins are valued and safe. To achieve this, A Call to Men focuses on educating men all over the world on healthy, respectful manhood which prevents all forms of gender-based violence.
Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation (New York)
Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation’s mission is to further the pioneering vision of the choreographer, dancer and cultural leader Alvin Ailey by building an extended cultural community which provides dance performances, training and education, and community programs for all people. The performing arts community plays a crucial social role, using the beauty and humanity of the African-American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages and backgrounds.
Anti-Recidivism Coalition (Los Angeles)
The Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) works to end mass incarceration. To ensure communities are safe, healthy and whole, ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change.
BMe (National)
BMe is a community of extraordinary Black leaders and their allies who first define Black people by their aspirations and contributions rather than their challenges, then work to fulfill those Black aspirations to “Live Own Vote and Excel” in America on their own terms.
Brothers@ (New York)
Brothers@ is a dual-beneficiary high-school retention and college persistence organization with the mission of improving the academic and social-emotional outcomes of young men of colour in both secondary and post-secondary education.
Children’s Defense Fund (National)
The Children’s Defense Fund envisions a nation where marginalized children flourish, leaders prioritize their well-being and communities wield the power to ensure they thrive. CDF’s Leave No Child Behind mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
Civic Works (Baltimore and Washington D.C.)
Civic Works strengthens Baltimore’s communities through education, job skills development and community service. The YouthBuild program prepares young adults for careers in construction and healthcare, supports them in achieving academic goals and empowers them to be leaders.
Coded by Kids (Philadelphia)
Coded by Kids is a Philadelphia-based nonprofit fighting inequity by preparing under-represented young people to succeed as tech and innovation leaders. Coded by Kids programs are designed to provide young people with beginner to advanced level software development, data science and user experience design skills.
Digital Girl, Inc. (Brooklyn)
The mission of Digital Girl is to encourage inner-city youth, especially girls, to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Digital Girl is motivated to improve the United States’ lack of STEM professionals and the underrepresentation of women and people of colour in STEM-related roles.
ELMCOR (New York)
The mission of Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities, Inc., a non-profit, multi-service organization in New York, is to foster positive life changes for individuals and families through skill development leading to self-sufficiency, a sense of accountability, and a strong, empowered community.
Hack the Hood (San Francisco)
Hack the Hood trains early career youth and communities of colour through tech skill-building programs grounded in justice and career navigation support that ensures economic mobility. Equipped with data science and tech knowledge and skills, our learners become positioned to continue to upskill for long-term career opportunities in the most in-demand job areas across industries.
Improve Your Tomorrow (Sacramento)
Improve Your Tomorrow is a non-profit organization focused on increasing the number of young men of colour to attend and graduate from colleges and universities by providing transformational mentorship, college advising and workforce development opportunities. They envision a world where young men of colour are overrepresented in higher education, underrepresented in the criminal justice system and leaders in their communities.
Lawrence Hall (Chicago)
Lawrence Hall is a community-based social agency focused on addressing the effects of childhood trauma and promoting long-term healing and opportunities for Chicago’s youth, families and communities.
Legal Outreach (New York)
Legal Outreach is a college preparatory and pipeline-to-diversity workforce non-profit whose mission is to change educational and career outcomes for BIPOC high school youth from under-resourced communities in New York City. The organization implements a coordinated series of educational, career prep and career exposure programs to prepare minority high school youth for success in college, graduate school and professional industries.
Memphis Music Initiative (Memphis)
Memphis Music Initiative (MMI) invests in youth through transformative music engagement, creating equitable opportunities for Black and brown youth in Memphis. MMI invests in two ways: through direct programs that connect youth to high-quality in-school, after-school and summertime music engagement opportunities, and by providing critical resources to community music organizations serving Black and brown youth.
Museum of the African Diaspora (San Francisco)
Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) is a contemporary art museum in San Francisco that celebrates Black cultures, ignites challenging conversations and inspires learning through the global lens of the African Diaspora.
National Black MBA Association (National)
The mission of the National Black MBA Association® is to lead in the creation of educational, wealth building, and growth opportunities for those historically underrepresented throughout their careers as students, entrepreneurs and professionals. The NBMBAA is the premier business organization serving Black professionals.
National Center for Children and Families (Washington D.C.)
National Center for Children and Families (NCCF) century-old mission is to empower the larger community to ensure that all of its children, youth and families receive the resources they need to become successful and contributing members. With 22 programs throughout the National Capital Region, the Center envisions a society in which children and youth live in sustained, supportive communities, which reinforce the integrity and unity of the family.
National Urban League (National)
The mission of the National Urban League (NUL) is to help African Americans and others in underserved communities achieve their highest true social parity, economic self-reliance, power and civil rights. The League promotes economic empowerment through education and job training, housing and community development, workforce development, entrepreneurship, health and quality of life.
Network for Young Adult Success (Chicago)
The Network for Young Adult Success, and its signature program UtmostU, empowers young adults from under-resourced communities to realize their professional aspirations by supporting their successful degree attainment and career preparation.
New Orleans Youth Alliance (New Orleans)
Grounded in racial equity and youth leadership, New Orleans Youth Alliance fosters youth-centred policies and cultivates a system of high-quality, well-resourced youth development organizations.
NPower (National)
NPower is a national non-profit organization rooted in community that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry. Through 100% free skills training, professional development, real world experience, support and mentorship, NPower graduates launch burgeoning careers and a pathway to financial freedom for themselves and their families.
Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (Minnesota)
The Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (PWCC) provides comprehensive quality programs in life-long learning, child development and family support to the diverse greater Twin Cities community. With a mission and programming built upon a rich legacy of community building, PWCC focuses on addressing opportunity and achievement gaps in the African American community.
Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (Portland)
Across eight service locations, Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center and Rosemary Anderson High School (POIC + RAHS) provides the highest quality services in alternative education, mentoring, family outreach and employment training and placement in Portland, Oregon. POIC + RAHS support the success of 3,000 underserved youth and adults each year.
SMASH (Atlanta and Detroit)
SMASH is a tuition-free, multi-year STEM-intensive program that takes a long-term and holistic approach to developing low-income, first-generation college students who will not only thrive in STEM careers but use their skills to effectuate change in their communities. Its mission is to build a strong, diverse, and socially conscious workforce by levelling the playing field through academic learning, mentorship, and social justice.
SOME (Washington D.C.)
SOME (So Others Might Eat) provides material aid and comfort to vulnerable populations in Washington D.C., helping break the cycle of poverty and homelessness through programs and services that save, improve and help transform lives of individuals, families, communities and the systems and structures that affect them.
Social Justice Learning Institute (Houston and Los Angeles)
The Social Justice Learning Institute (SJLI) is dedicated to improving the education, health and well-being of youth and communities of colour by empowering them to enact social change through research, training and community mobilization.
Son of a Saint (New Orleans)
Son of a Saint exists to transform the lives of fatherless boys in Greater New Orleans through mentorship, emotional support, development of life skills, exposure to constructive experiences and formation of positive, lasting peer-to-peer relationships.
The Brotherhood Sister Sol (New York)
For more than 25 years, The Brotherhood Sister Sol has been at the forefront of social justice, educating, organizing and training to challenge inequity and champion opportunity for all. With a focus on Black and Latinx youth, BroSis is where young people claim the power of their history, identity and community to build the future they want to see.
The Skills Center (Toronto)
The Skills Center (TSC) is a sports-based youth development and education non-profit that intentionally utilizes the power of sports as the mechanism for young people ages 3-21 to achieve academic success, build life and leadership skills and to help level the playing field in education, health and workforce training.
Thunder Fellows (Oklahoma)
The Thunder Fellows Program – developed by the Oklahoma City Thunder and Creative Arts Agency (CAA) – aims to unlock new opportunities in sports, entertainment, and technology for Black high school and college students in the Tulsa area.
Ujamaa Place (Minnesota)
Ujamaa Place, in its advocacy mission for social justice, disrupts poverty by preparing formerly incarcerated young African American men for successful employment while combatting racist systems threatening the health and welfare of enrollees. Ujamaa Place serves Twin Cities (Minnesota) young Black men experiencing inequity at the intersection of race and poverty by delivering transformative wrap around services including housing, education, workforce training and chemical/mental health ultimately achieving brotherhood, stability and personal success.
Urban Alliance (National)
Urban Alliance works with young people ages 14-24 from under-resourced communities in four regions: Greater DC; Baltimore; Chicago; and Detroit. Through a flagship High School Internship Program, Urban Alliance targets high school seniors who are on track to graduate from high school and have potential for post-secondary success but lack concrete plans for college or career.
Urban Enrichment Institute (Houston)
The Urban Enrichment Institute (UEI) is a leadership and development program for at-risk youth ages 12-19 located in one of Houston’s most economically under-resourced neighbourhoods. UEI develops, empowers, and nurtures resilient and self-reliant young boys to become responsible men and productive members of their families and community.
VestedIn (Philadelphia)
Since 1997, the mission of VestedIn has been to serve as an economic engine that facilitates empowerment and wealth building through investment in communities. The WesGold Fellows program is VestedIn’s investment in youth by providing paid internships for high school students focused on financial literacy, real estate, and entrepreneurship to empower the next generation of leaders who will engage, impact, and grow their communities.
WestCare Foundation (San Antonio)
Founded in 1973, WestCare is dedicated to empowering everyone with whom they come into contact with to engage in a process of healing, growth, and change benefiting themselves, their families, co-workers and communities. WestCare devotes their best efforts towards uplifting the human spirit through their commitment of delivering high-quality services to everyone who enters through their doors.
Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. (National)
Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) Inc. is a high impact, national social justice non-profit that provides community-based alternatives to youth incarceration, group homes, congregate care/treatment facilities and other out of home placements disproportionately impacting children of colour. YAP’s community-based, culturally competent employees are trained to help program participants see their strengths and connect them with economic, educational and emotional tools to achieve their goals.
Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (Philadelphia)
The Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP) uses direct service and policy advocacy to transform the experiences of children in the adult criminal justice system and to ensure fair and thoughtful resentencing and reentry for individuals who were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole as children (“Juvenile Lifers”). YSRP’s goal is to keep children out of adult jails and prisons.
