Nike Community Stores in Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Ivy City in Washington, D.C., the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn and East Los Angeles have awarded $240,000 in grants to 48 nonprofit organizations and schools.
For the program, Nike partnered with CAF America, a 501c3 public charity in the United States that assists corporations, foundations, and individuals with their international philanthropy.
The grants were awarded through the Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF), which engages a committee of Nike employees and store athletes from across the U.S. to directly impact the local communities where they live and work by awarding grants to organizations that give youth early, positive experiences in sport and physical activity and strengthen communities.
Since 2010, the NCIF has awarded more than 375 nonprofit organizations with more than $3.75 million in grants. With this recent round of grants, the total impact for 2016 is $800,000, including grants in Oregon where NCIF began.
“Our Community Store Ambassadors are passionate about getting involved in their communities,” said Caitlin Morris, Nike’s senior director of North America community impact. “By connecting Nike’s Community Stores to local grant programs, we look forward to fostering even deeper connections to provide youth with early, positive experiences in sport and physical activity.”
Nike also expanded the NCIF to Europe. Employees in the company’s European Headquarters in Hilversum, Netherlands and European Logistics Center in Laakdal, Belgium will help direct more than $350,000 of Nike’s community investments in Europe.
The first round of grants for these cities will be announced in 2017.
