Youth Leadership Foundation typically serves about 250 students each year
University of Maryland student athletes receiving NIL compensation began serving yearlong mentorships with high school students through the Youth Leadership Foundation, a local nonprofit, in 2021, according to Alex Daniels of The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The Youth Leadership Foundation is one of several charities that developed relationships with Maryland athletes.
The foundation typically serves about 250 students from colleges in low-income neighborhoods each year, according to Janaiha Bennett, the nonprofit’s executive director. The mentorship program pairs the Maryland athletes with high school students for yearlong commitments.
“Being able to expose students to role models that care about character and care about conducting themselves well as athletes, that’s been a huge plus,” Bennett said.
The arrangement followed a 2021 Supreme Court decision that opened the door to compensating college athletes for endorsement deals. Many of the organizations created to raise money for that compensation — known as NIL collectives — registered as nonprofits, according to Daniels.
At some institutions, charities saw gains from the new NIL compensation system. Some nonprofit leaders held out hope that charities would benefit.