MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Sportsmen’s received $2 Million.

For over 60 years, Sportsmen’s has leveraged tennis to open doors of opportunity for youth in some of Boston’s most underserved communities. As one of the largest organizations in the USTA’s National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network, the Center provides top-tier tennis instruction, academic support and life skills programming for more than 5,000 youth annually. In addition to celebrated youth programs, Sportsmen’s is home to hundreds of adult members from across Metro Boston, who rent courts, take lessons, compete on traveling teams, and share their time and talents with Enrichment Center youth.

In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.

“We are incredibly grateful for this transformative gift, and the vote of confidence that this investment represents from the Yield Giving,” said Sportsmen’s Chief Executive Officer, Toni Wiley. “This $2 Million grant is transformational for Sportsmen’s current programs, our capital campaign and our future legacy.”

The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.

“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”

Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.

Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.