Using NIL to Benefit the Community
Non-profit side of Green & Gold Guard aids multiple organizations
Mike Brohard
Naturally, when Name, Image and Likeness legislation passed, student-athletes across the country celebrated.
In an instant, they had the chance to monetize their popularity, be it through actions on the field, notoriety on social media and even a mixture of both. And just like every other student on campus had always been able to do, they could use their skillset to host camps or give private lessons.
They weren’t the only group celebrating. Local non-profits were as well.
The Green & Gold Guard is the collective which helps Colorado State student-athletes navigate the NIL space, but under the umbrella is the Green & Gold Guard, Inc., a registered 501c charity created to link CSU student-athletes with local non-profits.
John Weber, who oversees Green & Gold Guard, said there are currently five local non-profits collaborating with CSU student-athletes to help meet fundraising goals.
“The way it works, donors are able to donate funds to us, and we’re able to issue a tax-deductible receipt, and in turn, we’re able to use those funds to activate athletes to go work on behalf of the other charities,” Weber said. “I’ve had multiple comments from the players about how much they love going down and doing that. You see the kids’ faces light up when they show up, but he players get a lot out of it as well.”
The scholarship players on the men’s basketball team, as well as McKenna Hofschild from the women’s squad, work with the Boys & Girls Club of Larimer County, which is trying to raise $250,000 by April to expand its sports and leadership programming. Part of the football roster is working with Respite Care to help raise $100,000 for a new van, some are working with Matthews House to reach its goals; additionally, football players are working with Center for Family Outreach to help raise $10,000 to help fund sports programs for underprivileged youth.
The volleyball team is connected with WomenGive through the United Way of Larimer County, a relationship which began under former coach Tom Hilbert and before NIL started to take hold.
As Weber explained, the student-athletes not only visit the sites, but use their social media platforms and contribute to email and print campaigns to raise awareness to the cause.
Allison Hines has long been active in the non-profit space locally. A Colorado State grad, she has worked with WomenGive and Respite Care in the past and is currently the CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Larimer County. She sees nothing but benefits created by these collaborations.
“I think the real value of this partnership is for our kids to have this interaction with student-athletes and student leaders,” she said. “That’s a big component to it. One of the things we’ve been talking about on our end is talking about the value of athletics in terms of building leadership and teamwork and all the real-life skills that are necessary, even when you’re not playing sports.”
We are a team of strong women, and being able to uplift other strong women has been huge.Naeemah Weathers
For some of the student-athletes, this particular type of NIL agreement is one which carries more meaning. In some instances, this is the first chance they will have to experience the philanthropic side of life and use their time to help benefit others.
For Isaiah Stevens, it invokes memories of his childhood, giving him a greater sense of purpose.
“Especially with somebody in my situation. I’ve been here for so long, and I’ve been able to build some meaningful, genuine relationships,” he said. “They’re supporting me and giving back, not only to me and my family, and at the same time, I want to help them. Especially the youth. I’m big on helping kids. I was once a kid who was looking for somebody to spend some time with him in the gym one day.
“It feels awesome, honestly. It takes me back to how I felt as a kid when I’d be at different camps or clubs and we’d have a visitor, especially on the sports side of things you started to look up to, kind of mesmerized by in a way. It’s been fun to be able to get out and interact with all those kids.”
Members of the basketball team went to the facility recently, playing games with the children there, then taking the time to do a quick question-and-answer session. As for the games, Annalise Mecham, the development director for Boys & Girls Club, said it was cute to see the players interact with their members, becoming little kids themselves again.
She could feel the connections were genuine from both sides.
“It was fabulous. There’s no other way to say it. It was so cute,” she said. They approached the youth at their level, and we also had a Q&A. We watched them play basketball for a bit, then we had a Q&A, and the kids were asking how did you become a basketball star? They had great answers, there was a lot of laughter. The first thing we did was play sharks and minnows. Small kids, huge players, running back and forth.”
The goal is to have team members, depending on their schedule, make regular appearances as the facility. Mecham is looking to target the question-and-answer sessions with more depth, as it will aid their membership in the leadership programing. The want to steer conversations toward what it means to win with humility, lose with grace and bring together a group to achieve a common goal.
This February, Boys and Girls Club will hold their Youth of the Year competition, with the winner advancing to the state level and a chance to compete nationally, and leadership will be a big factor in the judging.
The football team has made appearances at all of the facilities it is connected to and will continue to do so. Again, the interactions bring to light a greater purpose to the affect they can provide.
“I think it’s a blessing to help anyone. I feel it’s a win-win,” football player Jack Howell said. “My faith calls me to help people in need, so I think that’s a blessing that the Green and Gold Guard can put me in a position to do that, especially where I’d have no idea where to start without them. John Weber’s done such a great job of finding people who need us. Those kids, every time we come in there, their faces light up and start running around the room. It’s a blast to go in there and hang out with them. It’s heartwarming, but especially anytime it’s local and helping the community, there’s that much more of an impact.”
For Weber, a Colorado State grad himself, there’s an additional benefit to the student-athletes. Most of them are on campus year round, making it hard for them to pursue internships for their chosen field of study. In nearly every instance, they are also given a chance to talk and learn from those leading these non-profits, which Stevens saying it’s been especially enlightening to him to see all of the work these groups do for the community and how many moving parts are involved.
But mostly, it’s the feeling of giving back. For Stevens, working with youth is a calling. For Naeemah Weathers of the volleyball team, there is no group she’d rather be associated with than WomenGive.
At a golf fundraiser, she gave a heartwarming welcome speech to those in attendance, her enthusiastic approach a message to all who attended.
“I’m a very emotional human being, so I like being connected with people around me and people in my community and sharing those emotions. It’s just so human,” Weathers said. “I also happen to be very extroverted, so I like to talk to and connect with other people. I love being given every opportunity to meet new people, connect and be part of the community.
“I love connecting with other people, and part of it stems from coming from a big family, where we’re sort of more of a collective, we help each other. I love any opportunity I can get. I have loved being part of a community of women, being able to support women who may not have received support outside of WomenGive and being able to spread that word on my platform and with CSU volleyball. We are a team of strong women, and being able to uplift other strong women has been huge.”
Weber particularly likes making these connections between the student-athletes and the community. He is all in favor of student-athletes being able to build their brand, but doing so in a way which helps strengthen the community which serves them is a greater calling.
When it comes to these opportunities – especially those which benefit local youth – he has no issue finding willing participants.
“In places like Fort Collins, college towns, it’s not uncommon where the people who have the biggest notoriety are college athletes,” he said. “Leveraging that notoriety to uplift the community, I can’t think of a better NIL opportunity.”