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PRESS ROOM: NBA Foundation Announces Sixth Grant Round in Celebration of Second Anniversary

NNPA NEWSWIRE — As we celebrate the Foundation’s second anniversary this month, the latest round of support represents continued commitment to creating employment opportunities, furthering career advancement and driving greater economic empowerment for Black youth throughout the United States and Canada.

Published

3 years ago

August 22, 2022

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NNPA Newswire

The NBA Foundation announced its sixth round of grants – the largest to-date consists of 13 new grants and 27 renewals totaling $20 million to non-profit organizations with the mission of improving economic opportunity for Black youth.

This latest round brings the Foundation to a total of 158 grants in its two years of existence, totaling more than $53 million over that span.

As we celebrate the Foundation’s second anniversary this month, the latest round of support represents continued commitment to creating employment opportunities, furthering career advancement and driving greater economic empowerment for Black youth throughout the United States and Canada.

About the NBA Foundation

The NBA Foundation is the first nonprofit organization established by the league with the goal of promoting economic opportunities for Black youth.

The Foundation makes investments in regional and national groups that support workforce development and school-to-career possibilities. Visit the nbafoundation.com for more details.

You can find the full list of round six grantees below.

NBA Foundation Grant Round Six – August 2022

Total Grant Docket: $20 million
Number of grantees: 40
National and Multi-Market

*Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is the largest and most experienced youth mentoring organization, serving more than 5,000 communities in all 50 states through our 230+ agencies.

The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.

Black Girl Ventures

The mission of Black Girl Ventures is to provide Black and Brown women-identifying founders with access to community, capital and capacity-building in order to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship.

Braven

Braven is a national organization that empowers promising college students with the skills, confidence, experiences and networks necessary to transition from college to stable first jobs, which lead to meaningful careers and lives of impact

City Year

City Year is a national organization that helps students and schools succeed while preparing the next generation of civically engaged leaders who can work across lines of difference.

In partnership with teachers and schools, City Year AmeriCorps members cultivate learning environments where all students can build on their strengths and thrive while acquiring valuable skills and experiences that prepare them for career success.

College Possible

College Possible makes college admission and success possible for students from low-income backgrounds through an intensive curriculum of coaching and support and commitment to providing the tools, strategies and support that students need to navigate and overcome systemic barriers to college graduation.

*Community Options, Inc.

Community Options’ mission is to develop housing and employment supports for people with disabilities, specifically Black youth aged 14-24 with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Hidden Genius Project

The Hidden Genius Project is an international, Oakland-based organization whose mission is to train and mentor Black male youth in technology creation, entrepreneurship and leadership skills to transform their lives and communities.

Through a student-centered, project-based approach, The Hidden Genius Project invests in young Black men, gives them access to technology training, and plugs them into an ecosystem of innovation and empowerment.

iMentor

iMentor builds mentoring relationships that empower first-generation students to graduate high school, succeed in college, and achieve their career ambitions.

In a world where talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not, iMentor is fighting to rebalance the odds and give every young person a fair chance to realize their dreams.

*Year Up

Year Up is a national workforce development organization committed to creating equitable access to economic opportunity, education, and justice for all young adults—no matter their background, income, or zip code—and changing the systems and practices that perpetuate the Opportunity Divide in our country.

Atlanta

*United Way of Greater Atlanta

United Way of Greater Atlanta engages and brings together people and resources to drive sustainable and equitable improvements in the well-being of children, families, and individuals in the community.

Boston

Center for Teen Empowerment

With a mission to employ, train, and empower youth to create peace, equity and justice in collaboration with adults, The Center for Teen Empowerment (TE) is a critically conscious youth development organization inspiring young people to think deeply about difficult social problems and providing tools and skills to help them use their voices to catalyze significant positive change.

Charlotte

*Carolina Youth Coalition

Carolina Youth Coalition (CYC) is a Charlotte-based nonprofit organization that nurtures and propels high-achieving, under-resourced students to and through college.

*National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA)

The mission of NCIA is to help create a society in which all persons who come into contact with human service or correctional systems are provided an environment of individual care, concern and treatment.

NCIA is dedicated to developing quality programs and professional services that advocate timely intervention and unconditional care.

Road2Hire

Road to Hire (R2H) is a Charlotte-based organization that is redefining who is given the chance to start a lifechanging career by connecting under-resourced young adults with onramps to high-earning and in-demand careers through paid training, college access, robust life skills support and mentorship.

Chicago

Just the Beginning

With a mission to encourage students of color and from other underrepresented groups to pursue career and leadership opportunities in the law, Just the Beginning – A Pipeline Organization’s vision is a legal profession in which lawyers and judges reflect the backgrounds and perspectives of the populations they serve.

SGA Youth and Family Services

SGA Youth & Family Services helps children, families and communities facing great challenges to realize their potential. SGA is replacing the cycle of poverty by using a unique and proven service model, the Cycle of Opportunity®, which focuses on early childhood, parenting, educational supports and workforce development.

Denver

*School-Based Health Alliance

The School-Based Health Alliance is the national voice for school-based health care. We advocate for health and education partnerships, especially the school-based health center model, to help young people thrive. The NBA Foundation grant will support high schools in Denver with school-based health centers.

Detroit

Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Michigan

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan offer world-class programming which enables youth to become career, start-up and homeowner ready.

Detroit Employment Solutions

Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation is a nonprofit formed to maximize impact and add value to Detroit residents and employers by providing quality services, connecting them via ‘Detroit at Work’ to resources and the support needed to thrive.

Sphinx Organization

The Sphinx Organization transforms lives through the power of diversity in the arts, focused on fulfilling that mission through artist and ensemble development, music education, and by creating opportunities to support diverse talent in classical music and the performing arts.

Houston

*Capital IDEA Houston

Founded in 2010, he mission of Capital IDEA Houston is to lift working adults out of poverty and into living-wage careers through training and education.

*EMERGE

EMERGE empowers & prepares high-performing students from underserved communities to attend and graduate from selective colleges & universities across the nation.

Indianapolis

Center for Leadership Development

For more than four decades, the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) has transformed the lives of Black young people in Indianapolis, helping students and their families overcome pervasive challenges by equipping them for post-secondary and professional success with the character development tools, values and skills needed to flourish and enrich their communities.

Miami

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami, Inc. aims for all youth to achieve their full potential by creating and supporting one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite their power and promise.

As an affiliate of BBBS of America, the oldest and largest mentoring organization in the country, BBBS Miami is rooted and grounded in social justice to develop a diverse and equitable workforce.

Milwaukee

Running Rebels Community Organization

The Running Rebels Community Organization engages the community, youth and families, prevents involvement in the juvenile justice system, intervenes and guides youth by assisting them with positive decision-making, and coaches youth through their transition into adulthood through relationship building and the necessary resources and skills necessary to become thriving, connected and contributing adults.

Minnesota

Summit Academy OIC

Summit Academy OIC is recognized as a regional leader in workforce development, educational services and policy innovation. Summit Academy also fundamentally believes that the best social service program in the world is a job.

Memphis

CodeCrew and The Collective Blueprint

CodeCrew is a Memphis-based organization that educates and mentors Black students and professionals, who are underrepresented in tech, to become tech innovators and leaders through practical hands-on computer science training.

Through its mission to increase socioeconomic mobility for Opportunity Youth in Memphis by building pathways to thriving careers, the Collective Blueprint develops and runs high-quality supportive programs to help young adults secure careers while advocating to improve educational and employment systems for all young adults.

Together, the organizations collaborate on a hands-on program designed to train individuals to be entry-level software developers

*The Stax Music Academy

As part of the Soulsville Foundation Inc., the Stax Music Academy inspires young people and enhances their academic, cognitive, performance, and leadership skills by utilizing music with an intense focus on the rich legacy and tradition of Stax Records.

New Orleans

*Reconcile New Orleans

Reconcile New Orleans supports young adults as they transform their lives by encouraging personal growth, providing workforce development and training, and equipping them with tools to achieve their potential.

YouthForce Nola

YouthForce NOLA is an education, business and civic collaborative that builds bridges between school and work through its network of partner schools, employers, training providers, and community organizations.

Its vision is that New Orleans public school graduates will thrive economically as a result of being the most sought-after talent for hiring and advancement in the region’s high-wage career pathways.

New York

All Star Code

A nonprofit computer science organization founded in 2013, All Star Code is dedicated to building a sustainable talent pipeline of young men of color ready to enter, thrive and lead in the technology industry.

All 3 Star Code creates economic opportunity by developing a new generation of boys and young men of color with an entrepreneurial mindset who have the tools they need to succeed in a technological world.

New Heights Youth

New Heights is a New York City-based organization whose mission is to educate and empower promising underserved youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes by helping them develop the skills necessary for success in high school, college and life.

Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCo)

WHEDco creates and bridges access to resources that create thriving neighborhoods – from high-quality early education and after-school programs to fresh and healthy food, cultural programming and economic opportunity.

WHEDco builds sustainable, affordable homes with the belief that affordable housing must be anchored in strong communities.

Philadelphia

Hopeworks Camden

With a focus on education, technology and entrepreneurship, Hopeworks provides a positive, healing atmosphere that propels young people to build strong futures and break the cycle of violence and poverty.

Hopeworks connects youth to life-changing opportunities where their growing technology skills are utilized for enterprising businesses within the community.

Phoenix

*Valley of the Sun United Way

Valley of the Sun United Way envisions a community where every child, family and individual is healthy, has a safe place to live, and has every opportunity to succeed in school, in life and in work.

As we work with our community, corporate and nonprofit partners to implement our five-year plan for Mighty Change, we will put all of our efforts toward reaching bold goals for Maricopa County in Health, Housing and Homelessness, Education and Workforce Development.

San Francisco/Bay Area

*East Oakland Youth Development Center

The East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) develops the social and leadership capacities of youth and young adults (ages 5 – 24) so that they are prepared for employment, higher education, and leadership opportunities.

New Door Ventures

New Door’s mission is to prepare Bay Area transition-age youth for work and life by providing the jobs, training, education and support they need to discover and achieve their potential, and successfully transition to independent adulthood.

Toronto

CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals

CEE addresses economic and social barriers affecting Black youth through workforce development, education and advocacy and leads the Collective Impact Project, an effort comprised of three organizations working in collaboration to build economic opportunity for Black youth in Canada.

Washington D.C.

D.C. Central Kitchen

As the nation’s first and leading community kitchen, DC Central Kitchen’s mission is to use food as a tool to strengthen bodies, empower minds and build communities.

DCCK reverses the traditional soup kitchen model by preparing thousands of daily meals while empowering opportunity youth and adults with histories of incarceration, homelessness, addiction, and trauma to embark on meaningful culinary careers.

*Denotes new grantee

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Remembering George Floyd

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May 25, 2025

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OP-ED: Oregon Bill Threatens the Future of Black Owned Newspapers and Community Journalism

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Published

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May 23, 2025

Oakland Post

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

For decades, The Skanner newspaper in Portland, the Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium have served Portland, Oregon’s Black community and others with a vital purpose: to inform, uplift and empower. But legislation now moving through the Oregon Legislature threatens these community news institutions—and others like them.

As President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), which represents more than 255 Black-owned media outlets across the United States—including historic publications like The Skanner, Portland Observer, and the Portland Medium—l believe that some Oregon lawmakers would do more harm than good for local journalism and community-owned publications they are hoping to protect.

Oregon Senate Bill 686 would require large digital platforms such as Google and Meta to pay for linking to news content. The goal is to bring desperately needed support to local newsrooms. However, the approach, while well-intentioned, puts smaller, community-based publications at a future severe financial risk.

We need to ask – will these payments paid by tech companies benefit the journalists and outlets that need them most? Nearly half of Oregon’s media outlets are now owned by national conglomerates with no lasting investment in local communities. According to an OPB analysis, Oregon has lost more than 90 news jobs (and counting) in the past five years. These were reporters, editors, and photographers covering school boards, investigating corruption, and telling community stories, until their jobs were cut by out-of-state corporations.

Legislation that sends money to these national conglomerate owners—without the right safeguards to protect independent and community-based outlets—rewards the forces that caused this inequitable crisis in the first place. A just and inclusive policy must guarantee that support flows to the front lines of local journalism and not to the boardrooms of large national media corporations.

The Black Press exists to fill in the gaps left by larger newsrooms. Our reporters are trusted messengers. Our outlets serve as forums for civic engagement, accountability and cultural pride. We also increasingly rely on our digital platforms to reach our audiences, especially younger generations—where they are.

We are fervently asking Oregon lawmakers to take a step back and engage in meaningful dialogue with those most affected: community publishers, small and independent outlets and the readers we serve. The Skanner, The Portland Observer, and The Portland Medium do not have national corporate parents or large investors. And they, like many smaller, community-trusted outlets, rely on traffic from search engines and social media to boost advertising revenue, drive subscriptions, and raise awareness.

Let’s work together to build a better future for Black-owned newspapers and community journalism that is fair, local,l and representative of all Oregonians.

Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., President & CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association

Oakland Post

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Hate and Chaos Rise in Trump’s America

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains.

Published

7 days ago

May 23, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The Southern Poverty Law Center has identified 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups operating across the United States in 2024. In its latest Year in Hate & Extremism report, the SPLC reveals how these groups are embedding themselves in politics and policymaking while targeting marginalized communities through intimidation, disinformation, and violence. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos, and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless,” said SPLC President Margaret Huang. The report outlines how hard-right groups aggressively targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives throughout 2024. Figures on the far right falsely framed DEI as a threat to white Americans, with some branding it a form of “white genocide.” After the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, a former Utah legislator blamed the incident on DEI, posting “DEI = DIE.”

Tactics ranged from local policy manipulation to threats of violence. The SPLC documented bomb threats at 60 polling places in Georgia, traced to Russian email domains. Similar threats hit Jewish institutions and Planet Fitness locations after far-right social media accounts attacked them for trans-inclusive policies. Telegram, which SPLC describes as a hub for hate groups, helped extremists cross-recruit between neo-Nazi, QAnon, and white nationalist spaces. The platform’s lax moderation allowed groups like the Terrorgram Collective—designated terrorists by the U.S. State Department—to thrive. Militia movements were also reorganized, with 50 groups documented in 2024. Many, calling themselves “minutemen,” trained in paramilitary tactics while lobbying local governments for official recognition. These groups shared personnel and ideology with white nationalist organizations.

The manosphere continued to radicalize boys and young men. The Fresh & Fit podcast, now listed as a hate group, promoted misogyny while mocking and attacking Black women. Manosphere influencers used social media algorithms to drive youth toward male-supremacy content. Turning Point USA played a key role in pushing white nationalist rhetoric into mainstream politics. Its leader Charlie Kirk claimed native-born Americans are being replaced by immigrants, while the group advised on Project 2025 and organized Trump campaign events. “We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics, and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”

Click here for the full report or visit http://www.splcenter.org/resources/guides/year-hate-extremism-2024.