LeagueSide on AW360: How Youth Sports Can Help Brands Support Underserved Communities
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This article, authored by LeagueSide CEO Evan Brandoff, was originally published on Advertising Week 360.
The events of June 2020 brought a monumental change to American life, as the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis led to widespread anti-racism protests throughout the United States. Individuals and organizations are going through the long-overdue process of understanding how they can be actively anti-racist and serve as an ally to BIPOC communities going forward.
Major U.S. corporations are also now reckoning with their own performance on race, pledging to support underserved communities through both financial investment and improved anti-racist policies. In the immediate wake of the June protests, corporations pledged more than $1.7 billion to causes addressing anti-racism and social justice. However, in many cases, the exact recipient of these donations remains unclear. Beyond the good intentions of pledging money, effective plans and partnerships are key; consumers are holding corporations to account for insufficient action on social justice, and new donations will take place under the magnifying glass of public scrutiny.