The Benefits of Perpetuity Gifts
A popular way for some athletes to achieve perpetuity in their philanthropy is through the establishment of foundations.
Kevin Lockett, a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs, organized the Lockett-Up Foundation to fund programs focusing on youth development, basic reading skills and community service in his hometown of Tulsa, Okla., as well as in Manhattan, Kan., and Kansas City. The foundation has entered into a partnership with several of Kansas State University’s colleges, a local elementary school and the K-State Student Foundation.
The partnership with the K-State Student Foundation established reading programs in area schools and created scholarships for the university’s students. Lockett has committed $15,000 to fund three $1,000 annual scholarships that will be awarded to a multicultural student, a student athlete and a student enrolled in the College of Business. He also made a $25,000 commitment to fund an academic learning center that will feature more than 20 computers and a study area.
Foundations also may be used to attracting donations from the corporate world, observes Jose Massó, chief operating officer of Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society. Players’ contributions to the foundation can be matched — “sometimes tripled” — by corporate contributions.
“For those in the corporate world, sports is a large part of their culture. They either played sports in high school or college, or their kids play sports. So there is this affinity toward sports that is manifested in all the luxury boxes you see at sports arenas,” Massó says.
— Eric St. John
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