NFL Aids $3.5 Million in Grants For Mentorship Programs, COVID-19 Relief

The NFL added and renewed $3.5 million in grants to continue lending a hand to both the underserved youth and incarcerated.

The league announced on Tuesday that two new Inspire Change grants will help fund educational advancement for students in underrepresented communities as well as those who are at-risk. Meanwhile, the organization’s seven grant renewals will aid rehabilitative services, mentorships programs, financial literacy and COVID-19 relief.

“Each of these organizations has worked to reduce barriers to opportunity and has provided resources that meet the needs of the communities they serve,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. 

New social justice grant recipients will go to:

• Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO, Inc) to aid educational advancement and extend law school opportunities to minority and low-income students. 
• Success For All Foundation to help fund education improvements for disadvantaged communities including the foundation’s The Getting Along Together Program and support 12 schools in Nashville, Tennessee, which serves about 6,000 students.

The NFL had aided 20 non-profit organizations since 2018, supporting its programs and initiatives. All grants were approved by the NFL’s Player-Owner Social Justice Working Group.

Grant renewal recipients include:

• Anti-Recidivism Coalition to further its programming, rehabilitative services, reentry support and mental health resources to those incarcerated.
•  Big Brother Big Sisters of America to aid its mentorship program and bridge a gap between police officers and their communities.
•  Gideon’s Promise will fund the expansion of its mentorship program and support its training and leadership development for public defenders aspirants in underserved communities.
• Operation HOPE  will emphasize economic advancement and provide financial literacy and wellness. This organization has partnered with the San Francisco 49ers and the Miami Dolphins. 
• Vera Institute of Justice aims to stop the rise of incarceration in small towns and rural communities by offering educational collaborations with New York Giants players Michael Thomas and Antoine Bethea.
• VOTE NOLA will continue to fund its education and protection of voting rights to current and formerly incarcerated. The organization also provided 10,000 N95 masks to those in Louisiana prisons and jails.
• The partnership between the NFL and NAF will aid its learning, internship and employment opportunities for high school students.

The Players Coalition and NFL Player-Owner Social Justice Working Group also donated $3.05 million to edge the fight against COVID-19 in predominantly African-American communities.

The league has contributed over $44 million in grants to organizations nationally.