The Minnesota Twins now have a new giving charter that furthers the organization’s commitment to social equity.
“The Minnesota Twins will advance social equity by leveraging our resources to ensure every child has the same opportunity for success,” the charter pledged. “We will work to remove the barriers to access traditionally faced by underserved children, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, along with other wrongfully marginalized individuals or groups.”
Twins President Dave St. Peter told the MSR, “We’ve been actively involved in these areas for a long time. I think that work certainly accelerated and [became] more focused since the tragic killing of George Floyd. This isn’t new for us.”
The team announced last week that they and the Minnesota Twins Community Fund has outlined $380,000 of initial gifts to 26 local nonprofits, including ACES (Athletes Committed to Educating Students), Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, Urban Ventures, Youthlink, Youthprise, and YWCA Minneapolis.
“We have been around youth development for a long time,” St. Peter continued. “We have been operating the Twins Community Fund since 1996, and a lot of that funding has been focused on youth development, particularly in urban areas. This work isn’t new, just more focused, and more public.
“The new giving charter that we created over the last several months, I think provides that focus and really rooted in believing that we have a role to play . . . to help bridge gaps and opportunity that we can do by serving kids in the form of supporting organizations that are rooted in educating kids and their overall development,” St. Peter added.
NBA starts new coalition
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) announced the formation of the National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. It will lead the league and the union’s collective efforts to advance equality and social justice, to raise awareness, educate and advocate for meaningful reform.
The coalition is composed of five team governors, five Black players, and two Black coaches. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum and NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts will serve on the coalition’s board. Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns is among the group of players.
The NBA Board of Governors in early August announced a $300 million initial contribution to establish the first-ever NBA Foundation dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community.
Both the league and NBPA also promoted greater civic engagement and expand voting access and voter awareness ahead of the 2020 election, working with such voting advocacy groups as More Than A Vote, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Power The Polls to support the “We Got Next” poll worker recruitment campaign, which signed up 20,000 new poll workers.