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For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Contact(s)

NCAA
Public and Media Relations
317/917-6117

INDIANAPOLIS--- The NCAA is launching a national campaign to support the education-based philanthropy DonorsChoose.org to align with its educational mission and desire to benefit communities across the country and their K-12 school districts.

DonorsChoose.org is a unique and innovative outreach effort in which primary, middle school and secondary school teachers enter their fundraising needs online at www.donorschoose.org and allow prospective donors to select where to contribute. Once projects are funded, donors receive photos of the project, a thank-you letter from the teacher and a cost report showing how each dollar was spent.

Since its creation in 2000, DonorsChoose.org has helped fund more than 185,000 projects to benefit more than 4.5 million students.

“DonorsChoose.org is a great fit for the NCAA’s community-engagement effort because we are both committed to education,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “Addressing student educational needs at the K-12 level is essential for the success of future college students.”

The NCAA is calling its campaign to support the initiative “Fund the Future.” It includes public service announcements developed by Y&R San Francisco, the same agency that produces the Association’s image campaign (“going pro in something other than sports”). The campaign  begins during NCAA championships this month, including the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. Prospective donors can gather more information by visiting www.ncaa.org/fundthefuture.

The NCAA is allocating gift cards for national office staff to apply to the DonorsChoose.org project of their choice. Subsequent efforts will target the Association’s 88 championships and the hundreds of Student-Athlete Advisory Committees throughout NCAA member institutions and conferences.

“This partnership allows NCAA staff and members to ‘pay it forward’ for the benefit of future students,” Emmert said. “At a time when so many school districts are struggling financially, the NCAA believes DonorsChoose.org is an outstanding way to help lighten the burden of teachers.”

DonorsChoose.org founder Charles Best said, “We are honored to partner with the NCAA to encourage sports fans and members of the public to get involved and support local public school classrooms, whether in academics or athletics. The idea of the future student-athlete resonates with DonorsChoose.org. We applaud and appreciate the NCAA’s holistic support of students and are ready to watch the Fund the Future campaign progress during March Madness.”

Best established DonorsChoose.org at Wings Academy, a public high school in the Bronx where he was a social studies teacher for five years. He came up with the idea during a lunch conversation with colleagues, and his students volunteered to help start the organization.

The commitment to support DonorsChoose.org continues the NCAA’s interest in a nationally coordinated philanthropic effort. The Association rallied after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to form a three-year partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

The Association also activated resources at its championships locations and urged national, conference and campus SAACs to provide an army of volunteers throughout the year. During the length of the partnership, the NCAA helped Habitat build more than 20 homes per year.

Emmert said providing a platform of a national outreach fosters a feeling of ownership among NCAA members and creates collective awareness that benefits the cause. It also helps develop an underlying emotional connection within the local host community where the NCAA has championships, he said. 

The NCAA has engaged other outreach efforts, as well. Division II has enjoyed a successful, SAAC-driven partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2003. Division III in January announced a SAAC-led effort to work with Special Olympics beginning next year.