Today the Players Coalition hosted their first ever Super Bowl Press Conference to announce their 2019 grant recipients. Key members of the Player Coalition such as co-founder Anquan Boldin, co-founder Malcolm Jenkins, Demario Davis, Torrey Smith, Rodney McLeod, and Adalius Thomas were in attendance to introduce and recognize grant recipients.
The Players Coalition is an independent 501c3 (charity) and 501c4 (advocacy) organization, working with professional athletes, coaches and owners across leagues to improve social justice and racial equality in our country. The work is focused on three key pillars: Police & Community Relations, Criminal Justice Reform and Education & Economic Advancement. Players Coalition is solution-oriented, and members invest significant time and resources to educate themselves on various issues impacting their communities to identify where their influence can have the greatest impact.
Who is Players Coalition? pic.twitter.com/Yngg2I7a5W
— PlayersCoalition (@playercoalition) January 29, 2019
Co-founder, Anquan Boldin, kicked off the conference discussing the process the coalition goes through when selecting a recipient for grant funding. “We identify specific criteria we felt important as we awarded funding,” Boldin said. “Applicants must be a 501c3 (charity) or a 501c4 (advocacy). Their scope of work must fall within at least one of the players coalition key pillars of focus. Organizations must directly benefit a minimum of 1000 impacted citizens annually, must use evidence based metrics of success, and the funds must be designated for a specific project, program, or educational initiative. The top candidates were then audited by an independent third party firm to qualify potential grantees, ensuring transparency, equitability, and mission fulfillment,” Boldin continued. “When it comes to the funds the grantees are receiving it’s a combination of the NFL Foundation, players personal contributions, and open philanthropy.”
The 2019 grant recipients are:
Year Up – Year Up’s mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. https://www.yearup.org/about-us/vision-mission-values/?location=national-us/
Communities In Schools - Working directly in 2,300 schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools builds relationships that empower students to stay in school and succeed in life. https://www.communitiesinschools.org/about-us/
Advancement Project - Advancement Project is a next generation, multi-racial civil rights organization. Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America’s promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. We use innovative tools and strategies to strengthen social movements and achieve high impact policy change. https://advancementproject.org/about-advancement-project/
National Juvenile Defender Center – NJDC is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to promoting justice for all children by ensuring excellence in juvenile defense. NJDC provides support to public defenders, appointed counsel, law school clinical programs, and non-profit law centers to ensure quality representation in urban, suburban, rural, and tribal areas. NJDC also offers a wide range of integrated services to juvenile defenders, including training, technical assistance, advocacy, networking, collaboration, capacity building, and coordination. https://njdc.info/about-njdc/
Center For Policing Equity - As a research and action think tank, CPE aims to provide leadership in equity through excellence in research. Using evidence-based approaches to social justice, we use data to create levers for social, cultural and policy change. http://policingequity.org/about/
The Justice Collaborative - The Justice Collaborative Engagement Project is an independent, nonpartisan research and advocacy organization devoted to holding public officials accountable for reforming the justice system and building healthier and safer communities. https://www.tjcengage.org
These six national nonprofit organizations will be receiving a total of $2 million.
