NEW YORK -- As part of the NFL's Inspire Change initiative, the league today announced grant renewals for 10 nonprofit partners who are working to enact positive change in communities across the country. These grants are awarded to organizations creating measurable change and reducing barriers to opportunity across the four pillars of Inspire Change: education, economic advancement, police-community relations and criminal justice reform.
This total financial commitment to partners amounts to nearly $2.5 million in funding. Since 2017, the NFL Family has provided more than $460 million to dozens of Inspire Change grant partners and hundreds of grassroots organizations helping to create meaningful change that benefits communities in need.
"The NFL is honored to support this group of impactful organizations through our Inspire Change initiative," said Anna Isaacson, NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility. "Driving meaningful social progress takes long-term commitment, and we remain dedicated to using the full reach of the NFL family to help create lasting impact in communities across the country."
"The Player's Coalition is committed to using our voices and influence to support the people and organizations doing the hard work on the ground," said Kelvin Beachum, offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals and Players Coalition Task Force Member. "Through Inspire Change, we're helping to direct resources where they're needed most and backing community leaders who are creating real impact in their communities."
These 10 renewed grants were recently approved by the Player-Owner Social Justice Committee, a 12-member panel composed of players, legends and team owners.
The renewed Inspire Change partners include:
Education
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) will enhance its Think, Learn, Create Change (TLC) resources, activities and engagement opportunities for young people at Boys & Girls Clubs across the nation. These programs will provide kids and teens with high-quality social justice, leadership, and advocacy experiences, while expanding youth-led content on digital platforms and equipping young people to participate in impactful conversations.
- Get Schooled uses digital programming to help underserved youth access first-time jobs and college while providing the resources to succeed. Nonprofit organizations that work specifically with college-aged youth will have the opportunity to partner with Get Schooled to bring their digital content and programming to those communities.
Economic Advancement
- Operation HOPE will continue to remove traditional hurdles to entrepreneurship by providing individuals with the critical tools, resources, and education needed to start -- and scale -- their ventures. They will focus on deepening and broadening the availability of one-on-one financial coaching and financial literacy resources to underserved communities across the country.
Police-Community Relations
- A New Way of Life will continue to expand its workforce development program, particularly in eight cities nationwide, with a holistic approach to support formerly incarcerated women re-entering the workforce. This year's grant will also enhance data collection and trainings for employees and employers.
- Free Minds Book Club & Writing Workshop works with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth and adults, using the literary arts, workforce development, trauma healing, and advocacy to create personal and societal change. The grant will support the expansion of FMBC's re-entry programming.
- Impact Justice is a national nonprofit organization working to eliminate institutional barriers and economic inequality in the criminal legal system through innovation, research, and evaluation. Funding will support the expansion of a vertical farm job training program at a South Carolina women's prison, California Justice Leaders -- a first-of-its-kind leadership development program designed for young adults impacted by the justice system -- and general support for the Innovations Fund, which facilitates the early planning and launch of new justice reform programming.
- Neighborhood Defender Services is an organization based in New York, with hubs in Texas and Michigan, providing holistic, wraparound public defense representation to low-income residents. Funding will support NDS' work in Detroit where, through a contract with Wayne County, they provide criminal legal representation for 35% of all indigent felony defendants. Areas of focus will include early case entry and collateral consequences.
- The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera) will collaborate with cities nationwide to implement policies that reduce the scope of law enforcement responses to health and social issues. They will work with each municipality to establish a data framework to maximize the number of 911 calls addressed by a range of expert responders. After two years, building upon lessons learned, they will publish a web-based and interactive report that will provide jurisdictions with specific guidance for implementing policies that reduce the scope and number of law enforcement responses in their communities.
Criminal Justice Reform
- Chicago’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE) Program integrates mental health professionals into Chicago's 911 system to ensure individuals experiencing a crisis are met with appropriate support and resources. NFL will assist in providing resources to CARE teams to continue meeting the needs of more residents in addition to supporting continued training and professional development of CARE first responders and 9-1-1 call center staff to respond to callers in a trauma-informed matter.
Metropolitan Family Services works with the Center for Neighborhood Engaged Research & Science (CORNERS) by helping to validate the impact of community violence intervention work across Chicago. In partnership with Metropolitan Peace Initiatives and Communities Partnering 4 Peace, CORNERS works with local nonprofits to study how their efforts are making communities safer, using a neighborhood-based and collaborative approach to research.
Alongside the Inspire Change partner grant renewals, the NFL and the Players Coalition also approved additional grant funding for all 32 clubs to support local nonprofits working to close the digital divide, as well as to provide access to mental health resources in high-need communities.
For more information on the NFL's Inspire Change initiative, please visit www.nfl.com/inspirechange. To view the Inspire Change Impact Report click here.
