Nike Community Store to give $50,000 to nonprofits in Detroit

Nike Community Store in downtown Detroit - Press photo by Nike

Nike has announced that applications for the next round of funding through the Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) are now being accepted through July 31, 2018. With the goal of building stronger communities and giving kids positive experiences with sport, play, and physical activity, the Community Store in Detroit will award a total of $50,000 via grants of $5,000 to $10,000 each to local organizations that are focused on getting kids active.

Six Community Stores throughout the nation will award a total of $300,000 in grants—ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 each—in Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Ivy City in Washington D.C., East Los Angeles and the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn. NCIF is administered with the support of the Charities Aid Foundation of America and funds projects that help kids unleash their potential through physical activity, sport, and play.

NCIF is an innovative approach to grant-making that engages a committee of Nike employees to advise where grants are awarded to support the work of local organizations in the communities where they live and work. Since its launch in 2010, NCIF has awarded more than $4.97 million in grants to 502 nonprofit organizations in the United States: This includes 401 grants in Oregon and Southwest Washington, where NCIF began; nine grants in Memphis, where the Nike North America Logistics Campus is located; and 92 grants in communities where Nike has Community Stores: downtown Detroit; South Chicago; New Orleans; the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, D.C.; East Los Angeles; and Brooklyn.

“We know that active kids do better--at school and in life. That’s why the Nike Community Impact Fund supports grassroots organizations that are focused on getting kids moving, “said Caitlin Morris, General Manager of Nike Global Community Impact. “We’re proud to support the important work of our community stores’ neighboring nonprofits, schools, and community centers as they bring positive experiences in play, sport, and physical activity into kids’ lives to help them reach their potential.”

At the Barney McCosky Baseball & Basketball League in Detroit, the NCIF grant in 2017 went toward equipment and uniforms for multi-sport activities that allow youth whose family may not be able to pay for traditional league play to find their place in a program that will help them to develop and build safe relationships while learning the basics of the game.

According to Barney McCosky Baseball & Basketball League President Isaac Orton, V, “We’ve been constantly growing over the past two years, and this grant has allowed us to have the proper equipment and uniforms we need, while maintaining our practice fields and gyms, so we can continue to grow the program and reach more kids. We’re thankful to Nike for this grant that has allowed us to continue to support these efforts.”

Applications for Detroit, Chicago, New Orleans, Ivy City in Washington D.C., East Los Angeles and the Flatbush neighborhood in Brooklyn are due July 31, 2018. All grant awards will support projects that deliver impact through the lens of sport and physical activity.

The online grant application along with the required information can be accessed at nike.com/ncif.