Programmatic Grants
Self Enhancement Inc - Youth Development and Sports
Portland, Oregon and Atlanta, Georgia
Established in 1981, Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) began as a one-week summer basketball camp aimed at providing a positive alternative for low income African American teens living in an area of Portland, OR. It has grown over the years to support community development and access to resources and the NBPA Foundation supports SEI in its expansion to serve youth in Atlanta. Beginning with an annual basketball camp, programming focuses on educational support, social skills classes, learning basketball fundamentals, skill development and games.
Cornerstone Family Programs & Morristown Neighborhood House
Access to Sports and Community Development
Morristown, New Jersey
Youth Basketball at Morristown Neighborhood House, aka, The Nabe, was always revered as our great community unifier across all ages and demographics, attracting hundreds of local student athletes and their families for decades. Sadly, due to decreased funding and facilities challenges in recent years, the capacity for more robust recreational programming declined leaving the local community without access to recreational activities. The NBPA Foundation aided in upgrading the recreation facilities in The Nabe and funding for coaches, game-day staff, uniform and needed equipment for the youth teams.
Southern Intercollegiate Athletics Conference
This grant funded a pilot program involving SAIC schools and Norfolk State
University to create a template for ensuring that student athletes graduate on-time through a program of summer classes and career and academic counseling that can be adopted by small colleges throughout the country. This initial cohort are all HBCU schools and extends the relationship between the NBPA Foundation and HBCU’s that has grown out of the Top 50 Camps.
Peace Players, International
Peacebuilding and Youth Basketball
Baltimore, Maryland; Brooklyn, New York; Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Los Angeles, California
PeacePlayers uses the sport of basketball to unite communities in conflict. In the U.S. work is focused on developing a network of young leaders who come together across communal divides and become catalysts in building a more peaceful and equitable society. The NBPA Foundation has invested in PeacePlayers’ program delivery in five U.S. cities to provide free basketball and leadership development programming that builds individual and communal connections leading to a more peaceful world.
Growing Kings
Youth Development
Birmingham, Alabama
Founded in 2009, Growing Kings is a non-profit organization that was founded in direct response to the alarming number of adolescent males failing in various aspects of their lives. Focused on systemic and targeted enrichment, research, and advocacy, the NBPA Foundation supports Growing Kings in implementing their staple program, Prince Charming in six elementary schools reaching 4th and 5th grade male students and their families.
Chicago Votes
Youth Activism
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Votes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization building a more inclusive democracy by empowering youth in Chicago through education, training and programming. The NBPA Foundation provides funding to support Chicago Votes youth leadership development programming which resulted in voter registration drives, an absentee ballot chase program, ballot sorting, and poll watching.