Racing Towards Diversity Winter 2010 : Page 14FormE r AthlE t ES BAnD togEthE r For pErSonAl DEvElopmEnt, BEttErmEnt oF loCAl CommunitiES By gEnE StowE photoS ContriButED By thE AAg FounDAtion The allied athletic group (aag), formed to help athletes achieve financial stability without expansive middlemen,has evolved into a high- impact foundation that changes lives both directly and through its individual members. Reggie howard, a former nFl player,was recruited by his college teammate Michael stone to start the group. “What he wanted to do with this company was find a way athletes could use our leverage as far as our branding to bring in corporations, sponsors, different professions,” howard says. “There’s always been a middleman there that has negotiated those deals. “We felt that was a way to have a vehicle in place to continue having income coming in.” studies show that 78 percent of nFl players are divorced,bankrupt or unemployed within three years of retirement (in the nba, it’s 58 percent within five years). “i knew guys that were going through it,” howard says. “i didn’t know it was that high of a number. Within a year of organizing,the group at- tracted 100 member-owners and started the aag Foundation. “We wanted to make sure we not only helped the players with additional income and help protect the assets they had coming in,but also we took care of our responsibility to help build our communities,” he says. “We had so many different causes we were trying to target.Rather than try to attack all the different causes,we would work on the athlete who has all these financial resources. We build resources. We build the necessary things a guy needs to be successful in his nonprofit endeav- ors.” anthony Flynn of California, another college teammate,now Ceo of the urban Workers Youth institute in California, helped establish the organization,which recruited such leaders as Dr. Walter Young, andrew Young, Julius erving (Dr. J), atlanta councilwoman lisa borders and promi- nent attorneys for its board. The organization helps athletes with their personal finances, supports their individual charity work and conducts its own charitable initiatives, such as a recent grooming-haircut campaign in 14 Racing Toward Diversity Magazine several u.s. cities in which different sports ce lebrities sponsored haircuts for more than 1,000 youth. The agency’s first athlete of the Year awar fundraiser was held last year,with awards for pr fessional, college and high school athletes,and a golf event that drew more than 50 leading pla “one thing we do is bring everybody to- gether,” howard says. “one of our core values is collaboration.” Positive peer pressure helps athletes avoid the pitfalls of high incomes concentrated within a few years,and the group holds financial education seminars to keep players on track for successful money management with topics such as wealth building and living within one’s means. it also helps successful players with nuts-and- bolts expertise to establish professionally run charitable organizations based on their individual interests, from childhood obesity and diabetes to aiDs and african poverty. “so many guys think you can throw money at a situation or show up at an event,” says howard, adding that the group offers insights on insurance, board selection, capital management, fundraising, accounting and other details of such agencies. The group’s direct charitable efforts include collaboration with one economy to provide technology in underserved communities. another such initiative is aag’s strategic alliance with Very important Relationships, inc.’s new explodium. com fundraising platform (http://www.explodium. com/aag ). “explodium combines the viral power of Web 2.0 communities and the largest on-line shopping mall on the internet to create the most power- ful fundraising vehicle we have ever seen,” says howard. “Providing explodium to our athletes as a way to help them fund their favorite cause is a perfect example of how aag makes a real difference.” The young organization, already highly re- spected and highly skilled at evaluating not-for- profits,eventually could provide a certification to assure donors of charities’ reliability. “We’d rather be behind the scenes and build you up and show you how to do it,” howard says. “We’re still building. We feel like there’s strength in numbers.” hAnK AAron, lEFt, rECEiving AwArD From AAgF BoArD mEmBEr wAltEr young, right. in thE CEntEr iS AAgF BoArD mEmBEr mArC KorEtSKy www.RacingTowardDiversity.com AAgF BoArD mEmBEr JuliuS Erving (Dr J) giving AwArD to Alonzo mourning. Dr. J AnD BriAn JorDAn From thE AAg FounDAtion wEEKEnD golF tournEy Former Athletes Band Together for Personal Development, Betterment of Local CommunitiesGene StoweThe Allied Athletic Group (AAG ), formed to help athletes achieve financial stability without expansive middlemen, has evolved into a highimpact foundation that changes lives both directly and through its individual members. Publication List |
