Thanks to its deep commitment to CSR, New York City FC is helping the community — and finding like-minded business partners.
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Editor’s Note: The Satell Institute’s Nonprofit Summit will take place March 12th at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Prior to the event, we’re highlighting some of the powerful partnerships between SI Corporate Members and Nonprofit Affiliates.
Brad Sims, CEO of Major League Soccer franchise New York City Football Club, admits that, at first, he wondered about teaming up with a nonprofit organization named in honor of a legendary baseball player.
“You’re thinking, is it weird — soccer and baseball?” he says of the team’s partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, a national nonprofit focused on education and leadership development. “But you quickly realize it goes beyond soccer and baseball. These are two organizations that are trying to do good and help people that maybe don’t have means of their own.”
The collaboration between the two Satell Institute members has been powerful. New York City FC has become a significant funder of one of the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s signature scholarship initiatives, and its executives are mentoring young people interested in careers in sports and business.
But the partnership is just one way New York City FC gives back. The team also makes a huge impact through its own foundation, City in the Community, which runs an array of programs throughout the five boroughs of New York, using soccer to empower youth and create healthier, more connected communities.
Sims says CSR is not only consistent with his club’s mission, it’s smart business.
In this conversation, the CEO — who’s spent a career in sports — talks about New York City FC’s approach to Corporate Social Responsibility, its partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation, and the very tangible benefits he sees from being a member of the Satell Institute.
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I was fortunate enough…
…to fall into a career in sports right out of college. I started in minor league baseball, selling season tickets and doing group sales for teams in North Carolina and Maryland. I did a little bit of everything — slinging hot dogs into the stands in between innings, selling t-shirts, shooting off fireworks.
I played soccer…
…growing up, and I followed soccer closely as it continued to rise in this country and around the world. I got really interested in the global nature of sports when I worked in the NBA, and I didn’t want to leave something of that global nature. So joining New York City FC in 2018 really checked all the boxes.
If we look back at some point…
…and ask, “What was the 10-year period where soccer really exploded?” I’d say it’s happening right now. It’s an exciting time to be part of this sport, part of this league, and part of our club. We’re building a stadium that we call the cathedral of soccer for New York City. It will be a legacy project 50 years into the future.
Giving back to the community…
…is hugely important to us. Our parent company puts a foundation in each of the cities around the world where we have teams, with the idea of trying to empower better lives through the game of soccer and putting resources into those regions. At our club we have eight full-time people doing this, plus 40 part-time people, plus volunteers.
That kind of commitment…
…comes from the top, which I know is what Satell is all about — working with people at the C-level. CSR needs to be championed at that level, or it’s not going to be taken as importantly throughout the organization.
Our partnership with the Jackie Robinson Foundation…
…happened in the wake of the George Floyd killing. For us as an organization, with our employee base and fan base, that really hit home. We wanted to make a commitment to Black communities in New York City.
One initiative we fund…
…is the JRF Scholars program. It offers full, four-year college scholarships for Black students around the country. We asked if we could sponsor someone from the five boroughs, and our first scholar is graduating in May. On top of that, members of our executive team have become mentors to kids who might be interested in the sports business or just general business.
CSR helps the community…
…but we also see business benefits from it. One is creating a pipeline of future employees. Six or seven people who work for us full-time came up through our community programs. I keep hearing about people who started as 12-year-olds going to a free soccer clinic, then they became volunteer coaches, then moved up through our ranks.
That’s a business advantage for us, and 10 years from now we’ll have even more people like that.
Another advantage we see…
…is that companies are interested in doing business with us primarily because of our community commitment. More and more businesses are caring about Corporate Social Responsibility these days. When we tell our story to other businesses, it resonates with them. We want to work with like-minded companies, and we’re finding other companies feel the same way.
This is what makes Satell such a great connector organization — you find all these like-minded companies and individuals.
Since we joined Satell…
…I’ve been part of three different virtual roundtable discussions that Satell VP Paul Howard has organized.
They’re really interesting and fun to be a part of. And after each of those calls there’s been at least one other person we’ve continued to be in contact with. We figure out we have something in common, and we should continue the conversation offline.
Satell is an amazing way to connect people and grow your network. I’m looking forward to being even more involved.