community

Andy Fahey

The Golden State Warriors and Warriors Community Foundation hosted the 10th Annual Charity Poker Tournament, presented by MGM Rewards, on Friday, March 8, at Chase Center, raising over $3.5 million for the Warriors Community Foundation, a record high.

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Warriors Community Foundation Raises Over $3.5 Million at Annual Charity Poker Tournament, Presented by MGM Rewards

Throughout the holiday season, the Warriors brighten the lives of local families and youth in the Bay Area by granting wishes, providing meals, hosting shopping sprees and toy giveaways for youth and more.

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Season of Giving

The Warriors teamed up with Rocket Lawyer to host a basketball clinic for Coast Guardsman in Alameda featuring former Warriors center and current NBC Sports Bay Area broadcaster Festus Ezeli.

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Hoops for Troops: Coast Guard Clinic

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Golden State Warriors

As part of the NBA Cares Season of Giving league-wide campaign, Golden State Warriors players, coaches, and front office staff will host a variety of events this holiday season to brighten the lives of local families and youth.

To tip off Season of Giving, the Warriors will host a Thanksgiving Holiday Market, presented by Starry, at Thrive City tomorrow, November 21, from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. During the event, hundreds of Bay Area families will pick up free turkeys and grocery items to use throughout the holiday season. Former Warriors player Festus Ezeli will be on-hand to help families with their shopping.

Additional upcoming Warriors Season of Giving events are listed below. This this schedule is for planning purposes only and not to be pre-promoted.

Additionally, the Warriors hosted a Chop ‘N Chat at Generation Thrive Oakland last week, where Bay Area educators and non-profit practitioners learned how to make a holiday themed meal from Warriors guard Gary Payton II and Chef Nikki Shaw.

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Chop ‘N Chat at Generation Thrive Oakland With Gary Payton II

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Warriors Announce Season of Giving Efforts for 2023 Holiday Season

The Golden State Warriors have announced that the Warriors Community Foundation will donate a record $3.5 million as part of its annual grants slate this season, which tops last year’s $2.4 million as the most-ever awarded in a single season. The Warriors Community Foundation has now surpassed $35 million in impact to support education and youth development in the Bay Area since its inception in 2012.

The grants, ranging from $20,000 to $150,000, will be awarded to 62 Bay Area non-profits, including annual flagship grants to the Oakland Unified School District and San Francisco Unified School District.

Earlier this week, Warriors players and coaches made personal calls to various recipients of the 2023-24 Warriors Community Foundation season grants to inform them of their funds. Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr and guards Moses Moody and Gary Payton II were among the representatives to make calls on behalf of the Warriors Community Foundation.

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2023-24 Warriors Community Foundation Grantees

“Given the ongoing pandemic-related challenges students and educators continue to face, we are thrilled to announce a more than $1 million year-over-year increase in grants given this season,” said Warriors Community Foundation Board President Nicole Lacob. “Because of the incredible generosity of our donors, we are able to continue to do our part in supporting and uplifting organizations who do incredible work in the educational community.”

The Warriors will celebrate this year’s grant recipients with an on-court check presentation prior to the Warriors matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers this Saturday, November 11. Nicole Lacob will join Warriors President & Chief Operating Officer Brandon Schneider, San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne, Oakland Unified School District Chief Systems & Services Officer Preston Thomas, and various members of the Warriors Community Foundation board for the presentation.

This year’s grants will support a range of programs and organizations, including investments in college access, STEAM. elementary literacy, middle school enrichment and career preparation. In total, grants will be made to 27 organizations that operate in Alameda County, 16 that serve San Francisco County, and 19 that offer programming in both areas.

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Warriors Community Foundation Grants Record $3.5 Million to 62 Local Nonprofits

The Golden State Warriors and United Airlines are recipients of the 2023 Beyond the Check Award in Economic Impact from the San Francisco Business Times as part of their Corporate Philanthropy awards, it was announced today by the publication. Beyond the Check recognizes the team’s efforts to go beyond cash giving to a deeper level of philanthropy. Each year, the San Francisco Business Times recognizes five companies that are focused on giving beyond monetary donations and engaging employees and customers in volunteerism and philanthropy. The Warriors were previously awarded the Beyond the Check Award in 2018 and 2021 in the Youth Development and Community Impact categories respectively.

The Warriors and United Airlines are being recognized for Franchise Fund, a program aimed to support economic development in Bay Area communities and provide equitable opportunities for entrepreneurs. The five-month program is designed with the help of the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council (WRMSDC) to help minority-owned small businesses in the Bay Area become corporate ready and provide them the resources to become certified as minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), the nation’s leading third-party certifier.

In May, the Warriors and United Airlines celebrated the graduation of the third cohort of Franchise Fund. To date, 53% of participating businesses in the program are women-owned and 57 businesses, who employ a total of 584 employees, have graduated from Franchise Fund. On average, graduating businesses have seen a 29% revenue growth since completing the program, with many earning their first multi-million-dollar contracts.

To participate in Franchise Fund, Bay Area-based small business owners must apply and be selected to participate. Throughout the course of the program, business owners are required to attend bi-weekly virtual workshops, which are led by the WRMSDC and feature representatives from the Warriors and United Airlines. Workshop pillars include access to capital, finance and accounting, operational excellence, workforce development, and more. By ensuring minority-owned businesses are prepared to meet corporate demands, job creation and wealth in underserved communities can be accelerated. Franchise Fund helps support this commitment by aiding Bay Area minority-owned businesses in becoming prepared to work with large organizations like the Warriors. Applications are now open for Franchise Fund’s 2024 Cohort at warriors.com/franchisefund.

In January, Franchise Fund won the Inclusive Innovation Award at the 2023 NBA Sales and Marketing meetings, recognizing a specific innovative program that advances inclusive practices and is evaluated against criteria related to the program’s innovation, inspiration, and impact. Additionally, in May, Franchise Fund was awarded the Four Pillars Award from the WRMSDC which recognizes an organization that has gone the extra mile to advance certification, development, connection and advocacy.

Other 2023 Beyond the Check winners include Ripple and Eat.Learn.Play Foundation, Community Health; Visa, Community Impact; Genentech, Education; Deloitte, Sustainability; and Turner Construction, Workforce Development.

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Warriors and United Airlines Receive Beyond the Check Award for Franchise Fund Program

The Golden State Warriors and United Airlines, in collaboration with the Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council (WRMSDC), have opened applications for Franchise Fund’s 2024 cohort, it was announced today. Franchise Fund is a four-month grant program aimed to prepare minority small business owners to work with multinational corporations, and to help them become certified as Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) by the National Minority Supplier Development Council. To submit an application, visit warriors.com/franchisefund.

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Warriors and United Airlines Open Applications for 2024 Franchise Fund Cohort

Through Franchise Fund, the Warriors and United Airlines will sponsor scholarships for minority-owned businesses to join the WRMSDC’s Corporate Ready Program. Topics covered in the bi-weekly workshops include finance, operational excellence, technical competencies, workforce development, and more. Graduates of the program receive the corporate ready designation from WRMSDC, exposure to procurement professionals at large buying entities, post-program mentorship and advising, a program graduation stipend, introductions to Warriors partners, and more. For more information, visit warriors.com/franchisefund.

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The Warriors Community Foundation, in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF), Alive & Free – Omega Boys Club and the Good Tidings Foundation, has revealed a refurbished basketball court at Alive & Free, a community court in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. This marks the third time the Warriors Community Foundation has refurbished this specific court, with the first coming in 2008, in honor of former Warriors player Stephen Jackson, and again in 2016, with the added celebration in honor of former Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee.

Earlier today, Warriors Assistant Coach Kenny Atkinson was in attendance for the court unveil ceremony. The court dedication was followed by a Warriors Basketball Academy clinic for local youth.

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Warriors Community Foundation Unveils Refurbished Basketball Court at Alive & Free

The renovation work included the removal of all existing asphalt with new baserock and asphalt installed, new acrylic surface with play lines, new breakaway rims, fence repair, new paint, new banner, and an artistic court mural. The court mural was designed by artist Patrick Martinez and painted by the Bay Area Mural Program (BAMP).

“The ICA SF Is committed to helping&nbsp;make the Bay Area a better place through contemporary art and culture, and this project is a tangible example of that commitment,” said ICA SF Director Ali Gass. “Contemporary art and civic partnership can help lift and empower neighborhoods, improve communities, and create opportunities in small and big ways.”

The ICA SF is a free, non-collecting contemporary art museum located on the same block of Minnesota St. as the Dogpatch Community Court. Martinez created the mural overlooking the basketball court to celebrate graduates from Alive & Free’s violence prevention and leadership programs. The mural, which pulls influence from Martinez’s Pee-Chee series, was painted in collaboration between Martinez and the Bay Area Mural Program (BAMP). BAMP is a nonprofit organization of local artists dedicated to facilitating and creating public art.

Martinez’s work has been exhibited domestically and internationally and is in the permanent collections of many institutions including Whitney Museum of American Art, The National Museum of American History, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and many more. Martinez is dedicated to honoring and uplifting Black and Brown youth in California. His paintings reference vintage Pee-Chee folders, transforming the popular school supplies into protests against violence, displacement, and racial injustice.

Alive & Free was established in February 1987 by community leaders Dr. Joseph Marshall and Jack Jacqua to keep young people alive and free, unharmed by violence and free from incarceration. They provide young people with opportunity and support to build positive lives for themselves and to move into contributing roles in society.

“We are excited to share the dedication, brilliance and perseverance of our college graduates beautifully highlighted for the Dogpatch to see and celebrate as they use the court,” said Co-Founder and Executive Director of Alive & Free Omega Boys Club, Dr. Joseph Marshall. Our students are surrounded by our alumni photos in the classroom, but now will be able see generations of our alumni celebrated on their court. We are honored to share in our continued partnership with the Warriors as we work together to uplift our communities. The support of each organization encourages our youth to believe in themselves and to achieve their goals."

The basketball court at Alive & Free was refurbished in partnership with the Warriors, Institute of Contemporary Art with the help of The Good Tidings Foundation as part of the Makin’ Hoops program, created over 25 years ago by the Warriors Community Foundation and the Good Tidings Foundation, which has restored 90 basketball courts in the Bay Area.