The Players Philanthropy Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides fiscal sponsorship to over 500 organizations and family funds by lending its tax-exempt status to projects and programs and providing back-office services to such organizations while taking a percentage of deposits to cover overhead. The group was founded in 2010 by retired NFL player Matt Stover and Seth McDonnell, a nonprofit foundation professional. The group is provides sponsorship for the family foundations and charitable projects of professional athletes and sponsors organizations including some left-of-center advocacy groups such as Safer Cities and Protect AZ Health. It has funded left-of-center groups including NEO Philanthropy, Transgender Law Center, and the Tides Center. ^{1 2 3}

Background

Former Baltimore Ravens player Matt Stover and philanthropy advocate Seth McDonnell founded the Players Philanthropy Fund in 2010 as a charitable organization to offer services to other athletes and entertainers seeking to establish family foundations and other charitable projects. The organization is set up to allow “anyone to create a dedicated charitable project that can accept tax-deductible contributions in support of any qualified charitable mission” and states it focuses on serving athletes, entertainers, individuals, and companies. ⁴

The Players Philanthropy Fund states that it manages 550 philanthropic projects throughout the world. ⁵

Activities

Players Philanthropy Fund operates hundreds of programs and family foundations and states on its website that its “client roster includes private individuals, athletes, and coaches from a range of sports leagues (including NBA, NFL, MLB, and more), entertainers, small and large corporations, and other entities.” The group has an application for fiscal sponsorship on its website and despite being a nonprofit organization, solicits business and refers to clients in a manner similar to a for-profit consultancy. ⁶

Many of the organizations operated by the fund promote left-of-center ideologies and/or policies regarding racial, environmental, gender, and economic issues. Examples of organizations operated include the Black Birth Equity Fund, Black Men in Behavior Analysis, Blue Water Conservation Trust, Collective Diaspora, the Dwyane Wade Family Foundation, Equity Endowment, and Speechwriters of Color. ⁷

Safer Cities, an organization that promotes left-of-center criminal justice policies primarily focused on harm reduction, is or was previously fiscally sponsored by the Players Philanthropy Fund. ⁸

The Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) has funded the organization, and the FWD.us Education Fund gave the group $200,000 in 2022. ^{9 10}

Funding

Organizations funded by the Players Philanthropy Fund vary from cancer research and education to left-of-center advocacy groups. Due to the structure of the organization, it cannot be determined which of the fund’s hundreds of fiscally sponsored projects and organizations directed giving to a particular recipient. In 2022, the fund reported $31 million of expenses of which $8.9 million was disbursed as grants to outside organizations. ¹¹

Groups funded by the Players Philanthropy Fund include the Fuel Fund of Maryland, NEO Philanthropy, Transgender Law Center, the Tides Center, the Prison Journalism Project, Accelerate Change, and the Partnership for Research and Education. ¹²

1. Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Players Philanthropy Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/276601178/202313179349307896/full
2. “About.” Players Philanthropy Fund. Accessed August 1, 2024.  https://www.ppf.org/about
3. Players Philanthropy Fund. Fiscal Sponsor Directory. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://fiscalsponsordirectory.org/?page_id=5980
4. “About.” Players Philanthropy Fund. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://www.ppf.org/about
5. “About.” Players Philanthropy Fund. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://www.ppf.org/about
6. “All Projects.” Players Philanthropy Fund. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://www.ppf.org/all-projects
7. “All Projects.” Players Philanthropy Fund. Accessed August 1, 2024. https://www.ppf.org/all-projects
8. “About Safer Cities.” Safer Cities. Accessed July 18, 2024. https://safercitiesresearch.com/about
9. “FWDUS Education Fund Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2022. Schedule I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/820962378/202323199349307092/full.
10. “Centre for Effective Altruism USA Inc.” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax. (Form 990). 2021. https://assets.ctfassets.net/es8pp29e1wp8/719m3SIVrQSzDcUxrzo7dS/af10eed02339549672126b0e87f2776d/Final_-_2021_Form_990_signed_-_CEA.pdf
11. Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Players Philanthropy Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/276601178/202313179349307896/full
12. Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Players Philanthropy Fund. 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/276601178/202313179349307896/full