NBA icon Michael Jordan is 60 years old today. To celebrate, the legendary baller and Jordan Brand revealed their next round of Jordan Community Grants, a program of its ongoing Black Community Commitment.
For the 2023 round, MJ and his namesake label will deliver $2.3 million in community grant awards to 48 grassroots organizations in the U.S. This includes reinvestment in five organizations from 2021 and the introduction of 43 new organizations.
These grants, according to Jordan Brand, are inspired by the notion that movements to create systemic change have limitless potential at the local level. Jordan Brand said these new grants will continue their joint mission to help create more equitable futures for Black people.
The new grantees include 1Hood Media, Mortar Cincinnati, Love Now Media, Revolution Workshop, Good Call NYC and others.
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“We believe that these community organizations aren’t just local changemakers, but that they are dreamers, makers of generational bonds, and neighborhood leaders with an authentic understanding of how together they can create transformative change,” Jordan Brand president Craig Williams said in a statement.
In order to be eligible for a grant, Jordan Brand stated the grassroots 501(c)(3) organizations must have an operating budget of less than $3 million and share a tie to one of the four pillars of its Black Community Commitment. These include economic justice, education, narrative change and social justice.
In June 2020, hours after Nike Inc. announced it was investing $40 million to support Black communities in the U.S., MJ and Jordan Brand revealed their additional commitment to the cause: a donation of $100 million over the next 10 years to organizations that promote racial equality, social justice and greater access to education.
On Wednesday, Make-A-Wish America announced MJ donated $10 million to the nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children with critical illnesses. Make-A-Wish America said in a statement that the iconic baller’s gift is the largest individual contribution in the organization’s 43-year history.
