Women’s League Doesn’t Wait for Profit to Get the Jump on Philanthropy

As the Women’s National Basketball Association celebrates its fifth anniversary,

it has yet to turn a profit. But the league still manages to make charity a top priority.

While many sports teams participate in charity projects, what sets the WNBA apart is the way it has made philanthropy so central to the league’s image and its daily operations — including requiring at least one player per team to work with local charities and other community groups, not just during the three-month season, but year-round.

“The WNBA doesn’t have a lot of cash right now and is short staffed, but you can do a lot without cash,” says Greg Johnson, executive director of the Sports Philanthropy Project, a Boston group that advises teams on how to professionalize their philanthropy. “And to some regard, in just existing they are doing marvelous things for girls’ sports as role models, and creating possibilities for women to compete on that level.”

The league’s most high-profile project is its campaign to encourage early detection of breast cancer among its fans, who are mostly women. It recruited Sears, Roebuck and Company, which has a sponsorship contract with the league, to pledge $1-million over three years to the National Alliance of Breast Cancer Organizations. The league has also raised an additional $172,000 for the breast-cancer alliance through online auctions of WNBA-player jerseys and other sports memorabilia, including special basketballs decorated by WNBA players and other celebrities, such as Carson Daly of MTV and the model Tyra Banks.

Besides raising money, the league has tried to increase awareness about the issue by broadcasting video public-service announcements during games, distributing educational newsletters, and giving away items to fans, such as pink ribbons and pink and white beach balls — pink being the color chosen by breast-cancer organizations to symbolize their fight against the disease.

“We have made community outreach a priority from the beginning,” says Val Ackerman, the league’s president. “One, we think that professional sports leagues not only have an opportunity but a responsibility to make a positive difference in the lives of our fans. And we take our cues to some degree from the NBA, which has long made community outreach a priority.”

Ms. Ackerman acknowledges that philanthropy “is not only a good thing to do, it is also good business” for the WNBA because it helps fans feel a connection with the teams, which, in turn, she hopes, leads to more ticket sales.

2,500 Appearances

Even though the league has not made any money for its owners — the owners of the teams that make up the National Basketball Association — the WNBA has experienced other successes. In its first two years it managed to attract an average attendance of about 10,000 fans a game, something the NBA took nearly three decades to achieve. The league started with eight teams in 1997, and it has since doubled that to 16.

The league is now working with each of its teams on league-wide philanthropic endeavors, as well as encouraging the teams to identify local charity projects. In Washington, for example, the Mystics ran a drive at one home game to collect professional women’s clothing for Suited for Change, a charity that helps poor women look their best for job interviews. It also underwrote a lunch program for needy people at a local church, refurbished local basketball courts, and ran a basketball league for 1,500 girls in partnership with the city’s recreation department and Nike.

The league requires every team to have a community-relations manager, whose job includes serving as the contact person for charity efforts. It also requires that at least one team member stay in her team’s city during the off-season to make appearances before community groups.

Entire teams make numerous appearances during the WNBA’s three-month summer season; last year, the league’s 176 players made 2,500 visits, including appearances at Boys and Girls Clubs, schools, homeless shelters, and hospitals.

“The WNBA is doing its players a service when it says to them the success of our league is going to be in direct proportion to the amount of time you spend in the community where your franchise is, and to give back, because those people are going to support you too,” says Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women’s Sports Foundation. “Isn’t that the message we want to send to all of our children, that to the extent to which you give, you get back? It’s refreshing to see a league do that, and the WNBA is right on point on that.”

Among the league’s other philanthropic activities:

• “Hometown Heroes.” Each month during the playing season and once during the off-season, the league recognizes one WNBA player for her achievements in community service and gives her $5,000 to donate to the charity of her choice. This year’s most recent selection was Michele Timms, a guard for the Phoenix Mercury, who was recognized for her work as a volunteer for alcohol- and drug–abuse prevention programs, youth programs, and the Special Olympics.
• “Be Active.” In partnership with the Nike corporation, the league runs a campaign encouraging children and women to be physically fit, which includes fitness clinics conducted by WNBA players, a television special, in-arena public-service announcements, and articles on the league’s Web site at http://wnba.com.
• “Read to Achieve.” The WNBA has enlisted the American Express corporation to donate $1 to Reading Is Fundamental for every purchase made with an American Express card at stores in the 16 arenas where the league’s games are played. The company has promised a minimum gift of $35,000 and a maximum of $50,000. The league has also conducted book drives at the 16 playing arenas, held reading events for children and their parents, and featured players in public-service messages broadcast during televised games.
• All Star poll winners. The league worked with Yahoo to give the top vote-getter in its online All-Star poll $10,000 that she could then give to the charity of her choice. This year’s winner, Chamique Holdsclaw of the Washington Mystics, contributed the money to the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund, in Washington.
• At least seven WNBA athletes have created foundations or charities of their own: Edna Campbell, Adrienne Johnson, Lisa Leslie, Dawn Staley, Valerie Still (who is now an assistant coach), Val Whiting-Raymond, and Kara Wolters.

Ms. Staley, who plays for the Charlotte Sting, says the WNBA’s emphasis on giving back is important to her — and to the future of the league. While “there is always room to do more,” she says, she feels the league already “does a tremendous job in bridging the gap between us and the fans.”

“We realize that in order to do what we do we have to make that connection, and what better way to do that than to go into their communities and give them hugs, give them kisses, give them handshakes and high fives, and let them know we are people just like they are people, and we appreciate their support,” says Ms. Staley. “You show people some love, and they will come back in numbers.”