First off, I would like to say that I am thrilled to take part in the Sports Biz Blog as a Umass Alumni. Each Wednesday I plan to post an article, where I hope to help enlighten others, as well as educate myself with current happenings taking place in sports.

Since leaving Umass, I’ve moved across the country to San Francisco, where I’ve had a career in nonprofit fundraising. My first few posts will deal with cause marketing and how athletes and the sports world can help make a big difference in benefitting nonprofits.

 Sports and nonprofits working together are not a new phenomenon. For years, athletes and leagues have been working closely with numerous nonprofits such as: The United Way, Boys and Girls Club, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and Habitat for Humanity, to name just a few of the hundreds that have received support.

 Many athletes have their own nonprofits and devote a lot of time to community service. For as much as athletes contribute, the ability for them to start their own organizations can be quite difficult.

 The reality is when an athlete wants to create his or her own nonprofit, they often run into many hurdles that prevent them from starting their own organization. Yes, it is easy to show up at events organized by their respective league or team, and lend their name to help generate attendees and donations. If an athlete wants his or her own organization, there is no one there to help with the actual game plan for success.

This led me to search out someone with knowledge of helping athletes start their own nonprofit. I found Matthew Wade, who runs Athlete Foundations in Seattle (www.athletefoundations.com), he has over a decade of experience working in sports and community relations. My next post I will go over my discussion with Matt about the current state of helping an athlete build their own nonprofit.