For decades, Nike has been a blueprint for brand excellence. To this day, a copy of its 10 Principles is followed, referenced, and circulated all over the internet as brands and creatives aspire to achieve even a fraction of Nike’s impact. This manifesto was shared in 1977 by Nike executive Rob Strasser to guide the company’s strategy and path to success. In 2024, Nike is once again sharing its formula, this time for something far more critical than commercial success.
This comes four years after announcing the Black Community Commitment (BCC), a 10-year, $140 Million investment from Nike, Michael Jordan, and Jordan Brand to support the advancement of racial equity and dismantle systemic racism. It also comes at a time when many organizations nationwide are reporting losses, layoffs, and cutting budgets toward DEI efforts – a sad sign that the energy from 2020 is fizzling. Brands are quietly pulling away from their proclamations just four years ago, which is evident in a much quieter Black History Month than usual. Nike has not only continued its commitment to the Black Community but doubled down on it.
A part of this effort is the public release of The Nike Social & Community Impact Grantmaking Guide. This open-source playbook provides concrete steps for organizations to write successful grants and create change through their own community investments. The guide also shares Nike’s strategies and insights in their selection process in an effort to better support a more collaborative and relationship-building process with organizations doing the work in underserved and underrepresented Black and brown communities.
To commemorate this, Nike, Jordan Brand, and Converse converged for the first time in a tri-brand private reception in Washington, DC, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture alongside some of the Black Community Commitment grant recipients, NIKE Inc. leaders, and Nike and Jordan Brand athletes.
In conversation with Vanessa Garcia-Brito, VP and Chief Social & Community Impact Officer at Nike, she lights up as we chat through the Black Community Commitment and how we can all show up in this battle against systemic racism at different scales. Beyond the BCC, Nike and Jordan Brand have a long history of empowering their athletes to support their own philanthropic efforts. Olympian Hurdler and mental health advocate Anna Cockrell led the formation of the United Black Student-Athletes Association (UBSAA) at the University of Southern California and is part of Nike’s Athlete Think Tank to support women and girls in sport. At the same time, professional BMX athlete Nigel Sylvester discussed a recent donation of 50 bicycles via his non-profit, The Nigel Sylvester Foundation, to empower youth through sports and creativity.
I was quick to share my initial hesitation to attend this event as a non-Black person but realized and affirmed that my purpose is to be part of the solution. Not to mention, as a woman of color and a first-generation immigrant, I have always felt compelled to contribute towards a more equitable future, specifically within my space. Garcia-Brito smiles and leans forward. “I’m Latina, and it’s one of the most beautiful gifts that I have. I wake up Latina, I go to sleep Latina. But this is why it’s so critical to ensure that we use sport as a unifying force. I know the opportunity that it creates and the platform that it gives. There is also an enormous amount of confidence, community, power, and strength, so being able to bring all of the beautiful and wonderful attributes and benefits of sport into how we think about the Black Community Commitment and how we support all other underrepresented and underserved communities is a dream.”
Photo: Nike VP and Chief Social & Community Impact Officer Vanessa Garcia-Brito. Via Nike
I thought back to the conversations we held earlier that night, and the ones to follow the next day. Ongoing and new grant recipients shared the impact Nike has made on their organizations through the Black Community Commitment. Beyond dollars, the guidance and support have been immeasurable. “This wasn’t just a flash in the pan,” said Omi Bell of Black Girl Ventures. She was representing one of four organizations sharing the stage in the Oprah Winfrey Theatre. “Nike did what they said they were going to do, and more – quite literally, they Just Did it.” Black Girl Ventures’ partnership with Nike began in 2021 with a $500,000 investment and ongoing support years later in its efforts to provide Black and Brown women-identifying founders with access to community, capital, and capacity-building in entrepreneurship.
Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, founder of Pensole Lewis College, agreed: “I don’t know how many of you have attempted to open your own school before. It’s no easy feat,” he laughed. Pensole is the first academy in the US dedicated to footwear design and the first historically Black college in the US focused on design. Back in the green room with Garcia-Brito, I ask how we can do our part as individuals. She smiles again, brimming with optimism. “Tonight, you heard from four,” she says. “Over the last four years, through the Black Community Commitment, we have supported over 125 organizations. That’s only four years, and that’s not even all the organizations that we work with. There are so many out there that get up every single day and do beautiful life-changing work, and nobody knows their names.”
“Share the stories. Create the space for other voices,” she implores. “We need to help people know that they exist and give those stories as much – or more – power than the stories that take away from this. And to focus on the outcome.” This is yet another demonstration that all of this, for us, is bigger than sneakers and deeply rooted in sport – both of which are built on Black culture. Sneakers and sports have the power to unify, build, and empower communities, and Nike uses this as a vessel to create impact – especially for underrepresented and underserved communities.
Nike transcends what it means to be a sports brand. Beyond sneakers, beyond their proximity to sport and athletes, beyond the court, the concrete and the track, Nike is making it clear that they want to be changemakers. What a fitting setting, during Black History Month, to celebrate this milestone: the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. They put their grant recipients on center stage in the Oprah Winfrey Theatre. While most brands continue to capitalize on Black culture with limited BHM collections, they instead centered the people doing important work for the Black community.
Photo: Dancers from BCC Grant Recipient New Ballet Ensemble & School performing at the Oprah Winfrey Theatre. Via Nike
Through the BCC, Nike has committed $8.6 million so far in FY24 to national and local organizations, primarily focused in seven key cities in the US (Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York City, Portland, and St. Louis) and is on pace to fulfill its commitment of $40 million since FY21. For once, Nike isn’t just trying to beat the competition – they are sharing their recipe so that in the end, we can all win.