NBA launches first-ever NBA Foundation to support black communities

It will Contribute $300 Million towards the economic empowerment.

The NBA has announced that it will contribute $300 million in initial funding to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community. The Foundation is being launched in partnership with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).

Over the next 10 years, the 30 team owners will collectively contribute $30 million annually to establish a new leaguewide charitable foundation. Through its mission to drive economic empowerment for black communities through employment and career advancement, the NBA Foundation will seek to increase access and support for high school, college-aged and career-ready black men and women.

It will assist national and local organizations that provide skills training, mentorship, coaching and pipeline development in NBA markets and communities across the United States and Canada. As a public charity, the Foundation will also aim to work strategically with marketing and media partners to develop additional programming and funding sources that deepen the NBA family’s commitment to racial equality and social justice.

It will focus on three critical employment transition points: obtaining a first job, securing employment following high school or college, and career advancement once employed. Through contributions, the NBA Foundation will enhance and grow the work of national and local organizations dedicated to education and employment, including through investment in youth employment and internship programs, STEM fields, job shadows and apprenticeships, development pathways outside of traditional higher education, career placement, professional mentorship, networking and specific partnerships with historically black colleges and universities.

"On behalf of the NBA Board of Governors, I am thrilled to announce the creation of the NBA Foundation. All NBA team governors recognize our unique position to effect change and we are committed to supporting and empowering young black men and women in each of our team markets as well as communities across the U.S. and Canada," said NBA Board of Governors Chairman and Toronto Raptors Governor Larry Tanenbaum.

"The creation of this foundation is an important step in developing more opportunities for the Black community,” said NBPA President Chris Paul. “I am proud of our league and our players for their commitment to this long-term fight for equality and justice, and I know we will continue to find ways to keep pushing for meaningful institutional change."

The Foundation will work directly with all 30 teams, their affiliated charitable organizations and the NBPA to support national organizations and their local affiliates as well as local grassroots organizations to facilitate sustainable programming and create change in team markets.

"We are dedicated to using the collective resources of the 30 teams, the players and the league to drive meaningful economic opportunities for black Americans. We believe that through focused programs in our team markets and nationally, together with clear and specific performance measures, we can advance our shared goals of creating substantial economic mobility within the black community," said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

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The 30 NBA teams will be members of the NBA Foundation with its eight Board of Directors comprised of representatives from the NBA Board of Governors (four board seats), players and executives from the NBPA (three board seats) and the league office (one board seat). The Foundation’s board will oversee all business affairs and provide strategic direction with respect to programming and grantmaking.