PLAY WITH PURPOSE

Empowering Non-Profits

Play with Purpose is a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) by JDS Sports to support non-profits using sports as a platform for positive impact.

Over the last few years, we’ve donated over $3M to 30+ organizations to build and refurbish public basketball courts, provide hundreds of event and camp scholarships, and fund programming to prevent youth violence.

Sports as a Unifier

We see sports as a unifier – a vehicle to bring people together from all backgrounds, teach values and virtues, forge lifelong friendships, and create lasting memories.

We’re also believers in open and decentralized networks, and host our Play with Purpose DAF on Endaoment, a portfolio company that pioneered on-chain philanthropy.

Our Why

At JDS Sports, our view is that profits and purpose are inherently connected. Backing great founders shaping the future of sports and entertainment is what we do.

Putting our money to work to improve lives and communities – and make the world a better place – is why we do it.

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Project Backboard

Founded in 2015, Project Backboard renovates public basketball courts and installs large scale works of site-specific art on playing surfaces in order to strengthen communities, improve park safety, encourage multi-generational play, and inspire people to think more critically and creatively about their environment.

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NBPA x FIVE STAR

The NBA player's union and Five-Star Basketball Camp – the perennial leader in basketball instruction – have teamed up to offer high intensity camps, clinics, and development leagues for boys and girls. Each NBPA x Five-Star session features an age-appropriate curriculum, world-class teaching stations, and competitive gameplay designed to foster fundamental skill development and help players maximize their potential.

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New Heights NYC

New Heights is a sports-based youth development organization that creates opportunities for youth to rise to their potential on the basketball court, in the classroom and in their communities. Our mission is to educate and empower promising underserved youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes by developing the skills necessary for success in high school, college and life.

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PEACEPLAYERS

PeacePlayers offers basketball programming, peace education, and leadership development. Through our programming, we transform the lives of youth living in communities affected by conflict and inequity. As a result, youth become equipped to influence lasting change in their communities.

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Shooting Touch

Shooting Touch is an international sport-for-development organization whose mission is to use the mobilizing power of basketball to bridge health and opportunity gaps for youth and women facing racial, gender, and economic inequalities.

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USA BASKETBALL 
FOUNDATION

The USA Basketball Foundation is invested in expanding USA Basketball programming that grows the game beyond the court, so that leaders are mentored in every community, and equity is not only an aspiration, but the standard rules of the game.

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CECILIAVILLE

Ceciliaville is a Michigan-based non-denominational charitable organization with a mission to bring a world-class sports facility and community center to the area around St. Charles Lwanga Parish, formerly St. Cecilia Parish, in Detroits Russell Woods/Nardin Park neighborhood. The facilitys athletic programs are accompanied by mentoring and tutoring services, job training, and financial literacy resources  all available in an adjacent community center.

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DREAM Foundation

Designed to support students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the DREAM Foundation offers a unique mentorship program for those interested in a career in sports. Our staff has developed a program that brings the real-world classroom to them while providing actual event externships to gain experience and develop a network of connections.

Our Sponsored Initiatives