In New Orleans, nonprofits see new money and new inclusive approach from the NBA Foundation

NEW ORLEANS -- A classic summertime scene unfolded at a nonprofit's newest site. The girls' team was winning a lively indoor kickball game among young campers. Air conditioning blared. The hit song “Dance Monkey” played throughout the old school building's gym.

None of it was possible just two years ago at this New Orleans East location.

The Youth Empowerment Project long saw an urgent need to house its out-of-school enrichment programs in this historically underserved, majority-Black suburb with high concentrations of kids, poverty and violence after Hurricane Katrina. But YEP couldn’t afford the extra $500,000 in staffing costs for another location, according to founder Melissa Sawyer.

That changed with support from the recently established NBA Foundation.

The National Basketball Association formalized its giving over the past four years through a new $300 million grantmaking arm, sending flexible funding to nonprofits focused on boosting economic opportunity for Black youth. Recipients report few strings attached and comprehensive application processes — a forward-thinking model they'd like to see adopted across other foundations and professional athletics.

The end goal is also one that receives scant attention from donors. Funding specifically in support of Black people made up about 2% of overall philanthropy in the U.S. from 2006 to 2017, according to research group Candid, peaking the year after a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

This story is part of an AP ongoing series exploring the impact, legacy and ripple effects of what is widely called the Ferguson uprising, sparked a decade ago by Brown's death.

It wasn’t until 2020's reckoning that many corporations increased their commitments to Black youth. While donations faltered in the following years, the NBA Foundation's leadership believes it is well-suited to have a lasting presence because of the league's longstanding connection to social justice.

“It’s consistent with the NBA’s values of diversity, inclusion and opportunities for all,” NBA Foundation President Mark Tatum said.

“It's a real need, which is why we started it,” he added.

The league’s first charitable arm grew out of the nationwide conversations around racial inequality following the 2020 police murder of George Floyd. All 30 NBA teams agreed to contribute $10 million each over 10 years. The money also reaches organizations in cities without a professional basketball team like St. Louis. Tatum said the foundation hopes to build “evergreen” support by courting outside money in addition to team governors' contributions.

Critics note, however, that the figure makes up a fraction of the NBA's revenue, which now tops more than $10 billion per season. And, the league's new media rights deal set records for both its length and total value of 11 years and $76 billion.

New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas said communities should expect investment from teams that often build stadiums with public tax dollars. He added it’s especially necessary they invest in “disparaged” areas that don’t typically get attention from professional sports.

“The ballplayers don’t live in those communities. The owners don’t live in those communities,” said Thomas, who represents New Orleans East. “But it’s important to see them and envision them in terms of life."

Individual teams and some players have long had their own charitable endeavors. Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s civil rights activism is well known. Modern stars have led symbolic protests against racial stereotyping and police violence, wearing hoodies in solidarity with Trayvon Martin and donning “I can't breathe” shirts to recall Eric Garner’s last words.

But, the league wanted to ensure everyone worked toward the same goals. The NBA arrived at an economic opportunity for Black youth ages 14-24 as an area of focus where leaders felt it held a particular knowledge set.

Proposals are reviewed by grants teams before they get approved by a board composed of NBA governors, athletes including National Basketball Players Association Executive Director Andre Iguodala and commissioner Adam Silver.

The NBA Foundation has always welcomed the New Orleans Pelicans' recommendations, according to Senior Director of Social Unification/Youth Sports Development Elicia Broussard Sheridan.

“They’re almost on speed dial at times," she said.

Boys Town Louisiana leaders praised the foundation for its “personable” approach. Grantmakers typically require a quantitative report with evidence of the nonprofit’s impact. But, Executive Director Rashain Carriere said success can be difficult to measure; Boys Town houses young people who need life coaching as they transition out of some form of incarceration.

A student who flunked out of college but turned to Boys Town for help developing a backup plan is still a success in Carriere’s eyes. The NBA Foundation allowed them to share that context through a Zoom interview — the first time Carriere said a grantmaker has given that option.

“For 90% of them, they’re looking for that beautiful, happy ending story,” she said. "So it is a struggle. The NBA Foundation is a new relationship. I found that they look at it differently.”

The investments could make a particularly big impact in small markets like New Orleans — a tourist destination marked by the low-wage service workers who power its jazz clubs, Creole cuisine and raucous festivals, and not titans of wealth-generating industries.

Local nonprofits find they compete for the same pot. A shrinking population has depleted the tax base. Just one Fortune 500 company calls the Big Easy home. Large-scale philanthropy falls largely to Gayle Benson, the owner of both the National Football League’s New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s Pelicans.

“New Orleans is a small, southern city in an overall rural, southern state,” said Caitlin Scanlan, the chief development officer for Cafe Reconcile, an NBA Foundation grant recipient. “Without national funding, I think a lot of nonprofits would really struggle.”

The NBA Foundation has donated over $5 million to 18 New Orleans-area grantees, according to Sheridan. The vast majority has gone to solely local groups, with about one-fifth given to chapters of national organizations.

Grant recipients credited the NBA Foundation for providing the stability necessary to innovate rather than simply make ends meet — and for embracing “trust-based philanthropy” that empowers on-the-ground nonprofits to use money how they best see fit.

Sawyer said YEP couldn't have fully staffed the summer camp or a work readiness program at its New Orleans East site without the NBA Foundation's two-year commitment of $400,000. The nonprofit reports that 31 participants have taken its career preparedness classes at the new location since last September.

Among them is Ke’Daryl Sentmore, a 17-year-old New Orleans East resident who recently earned his high school diploma. He holds two internships through YEP — one rebuilding houses and another stocking donations at food and clothing pantries. Customer engagement lessons have also piqued his interest in retail.

Sentmore acknowledged that Steph Curry's three-point range has made him a bigger fan of the Golden State Warriors than his hometown team. Still, he said the Pelicans' investment “shows people that there's hope for anyone who feels like there's nothing left for them." He doesn't find a lot of opportunities in New Orleans and said he would “be looking for other things to do" without YEP.

Shortly thereafter, with classes done for the week, Sentmore joined the kickball game in the gym, smiling alongside his younger peers.

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Thalia Beaty contributed reporting. Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.