NFL Renews Its Commitment to Organizations Advancing Social Justice

As part of the NFL’s Inspire Change social justice initiative, the league today announced grant renewals for 10 partners who are working to enact positive change in communities across the country. These grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations creating measurable change across the four pillars of Inspire Change: education, economic advancement, community-policerelations and criminal justice reform.  

Alongside individual social justice grants awarded to each NFL club, this collective financial commitment amounts to more than $4 million in funding. Since the inception of Inspire Change, the NFL family has provided more than $375 million to dozens of grant partners and hundreds of grassroots organizations helping to create a more equitable society.  

“Through the NFL’s Inspire Change social justice initiative, the league is proud to continue our partnership with these 10 outstanding organizations working to enact positive social change,” said NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility Anna Isaacson. “Advancing social justice is a journey that requires consistent attention and support, and we are committed to leveraging the collective resources of the NFL family to uplift underserved communities and foster a more equitable future for all.”  

“Players Coalition is committed to collaborating with the NFL to address priority racial and social justice issues through the Inspire Change grants by supporting nonprofit and community-based organizations working on the frontlines directly impacting local communities,” said Trey Smith, Players Coalition Advocate. “In partnership with the NFL, we use the power and influence of our platforms to uplift the work of our partners and advance aligned priorities to drive social change.”  

These 10 renewed grants were recently approved by the Player-Owner Social Justice Committee, a 10-member panel composed of players, Legends and team owners.  

More information about the 10 grant partners can be found below.  

Grant Renewals:  

Police-Community Relations  

• Atlanta PAD works to reduce the arrest and incarceration of people experiencing extreme poverty, problematic substance use, or mental health concerns, and increase the accessibility of supportive services in Atlanta and Fulton County. Program goals include reorienting attitudes and responses to disorder, addictionand mental illness, away from criminalization and toward public health; and improving participant and community quality of life through a harm reduction approach. 

• Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services is a non-religious human services agency that seeks to uplift the lives of Floridians in need. Through a partnership with the St. Petersburg Police Department, Gulf Coast JFCS is leading an innovative pilot program to have trained social workers and professionals respond to mental health emergencies. Through this program, individuals in crisis can receive compassionate intervention, care and support, reducing their distress, keeping them safe, and providing a plan for their ongoing well-being. 

• “We are excited to continue our partnership with the NFL through its Inspire Change Initiative and its focus on social justice. Our CALL Program is positively impacting lives in St. Petersburg and, through NFL Inspire Change, we are continuing our focus on youth and building capacity to better meet their needs,” said Dr. Sandra E. Braham, Gulf Coast JFCS President and CEO 

• Metropolitan Peace Initiatives, a division of Metropolitan Family Services, mobilizes and provides services to strengthen underserved families and communities. Through the organization’s Communities Partnering 4 Peace (CP4P) initiative, Metropolitan Peace Initiatives seeks to bring stakeholders in the community together to stem gun violence in neighborhoods across Chicago. 

• “Thank you for the continued support of the NFL Inspire Change initiative,” said Vaughn Bryant, Executive Director, Metropolitan Peace Initiatives. “As leaders in the community violence intervention (CVI) field, this funding allowed our Metropolitan Peace Academy to create a cross training that codifies our professional understanding with the Chicago Police Department. The continued support enables the build out of other parts of the CVI ecosystem: workforce development, reentry and housing. Together, we can ‘inspire positive change’ and reduce gun violence in our city.” 

Criminal Justice Reform  

• Alabama Appleseed confronts unjust systems with research, bridgebuilding and advocacy to create an Alabama that prioritizes justice and opportunity. The organization’s Second Chance program provides full legal representation to incarcerated Alabamians serving life without parole for offenses involving no physical injury, offering holistic reentry services to support clients as they return home. 

• “Support from the NFL’s Inspire Change grant program has transformed our small nonprofit and helped us create new lives of freedom and purpose to individuals once thrown away by the legal system,” said Carla Crowder, Executive Director of Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice. 

• Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) works to end mass incarceration in California through efforts to reduce recidivism. ARC empowers formerly and currently incarcerated people to thrive by providing a support network, comprehensive reentry services, and opportunities to advocate for policy change. Through its grassroots policy advocacy, ARC is dedicated to transforming the criminal justice system so that it is more just and equitable for all people. 

• CHOOSE 180 works to transform systems of injustice while supporting the young people who are too often impacted by these systems. CHOOSE 180 offers a variety of services and programming that cover a continuum of care, ensuring its participants can meet immediate basic needs and setting them up for long-term success.  

• “We are honored to be selected as one of the recipients of the NFL’s Inspire Change grant. This opportunity reaffirms our dedication to fostering resilience and holistic well-being among youth and young adults impactedby the juvenile criminal legal system. With this funding, we will further our mission of dismantling systemic barriers and empowering young people to thrive. We are grateful to continue this vital work alongside the NFL and our community partners,” said Nneka Payne, Executive Director of CHOOSE 180. 

• Peace For DC is committed to ending gun violence in DC by launching and scaling data-driven, proven strategies and strengthening essential community-led violence intervention (CVI) efforts. Peace for DC is focused on systems change to heal trauma, transform the lives of those at the highest risk of violence, and build coordinated strategies for peace in DC.  

• “Sustained support from the NFL and the Players Coalition enables us to strengthen our DC Peace Academy (DCPA) program & grow our HEAL DC work. Through DCPA, we work with Peacemakers at the forefront of DC’s Community Violence Intervention (CVI) field, providing them with personal & professional development. Through HEAL DC, we work with individuals at the highest risk of being perpetrators & victims of violence in DC’s communities with the highest rates of violence. Thank you to the NFL and the Players Coalition for your steadfast commitment to supporting our approaches to heal, empower, and ultimately end gun violence within the communities we serve,” said Marcus T. Ellis, Executive Director of Peace for DC. 

• The National Urban League (NUL) helps people in underserved communities to achieve their highest human potential and secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. Through the organization’s Urban Expungement Program, the National Urban League and its affiliates provide legal counsel, financial assistance, and support to clients experiencing the expungement system, along with other holistic programs designed to effectively mitigate difficulties associated with the reentry process. 

Economic Advancement  

• Per Scholas advances economic equity in diverse communities by providing no-cost tech training to empower learners to achieve thriving careers in the tech industry. Through rigorous, evidence-based technology career training, professional development, and financial coaching, Per Scholas trains learners, a large majority from Black and Latinx communities and underrepresented in tech, to achieve thriving IT careers. Per Scholas partners with 850+ employers to connect its technologists with quality job opportunities, fostering greater diversity in the tech workforce. 

• “We’re thrilled to continue unlocking potential across the country in partnership with the NFL Foundation and Inspire Change’s support,” said Per Scholas President and CEO Plinio Ayala. “With this extended commitment, Per Scholas will continue to provide no-cost tech training to future technologists, unlocking their potential and advancing economic equity for communities across the nation, including the launch of our newest campus in Kansas City.” 

Education  

• City Year helps students and schools succeed, while preparing the next generation of leaders who can work across lines of difference. City Year partners with schools in 29 urban U.S. communities to help students furthest from opportunity succeed and stay on track to graduate, creating educational equity in underserved communities. City Year’s partnership with the NFL has focused on advancing social justice by reducing barriers to education and economic advancement. 

• “City Year and the NFL are committed to ensuring access to opportunity for all and moving us toward a more equal and just tomorrow,” said Jim Balfanz, City Year CEO. “Each year, more than 2,000 diverse young people serve as Student Success Coaches to help students in systemically under-resourced schools see more possibilities. They are catalysts for change in their communities long after their year of service. Our partnership with the NFL is helping to expand access to service leadership and career opportunities for young people of color.” 

For more information on the NFL’s Inspire Change social justice initiative, please visit www.nfl.com/inspirechange. Follow @InspireChange on Twitter and Instagram. On Facebook, follow www.facebook.com/inspirechange. To view the Inspire Change Impact Report click here.