Part of what’s different than a regular retail store about the recently opened Nike store in Detroit is that it’s a “Community Store,” and we’re starting to see exactly what that means.
Detroit was the first of six Community Stores across the country to launch Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) grants for local organizations that give youth early, positive experiences in sport and physical activity and strengthen communities.
In total, $40,000 in annual grants of $5,000 each are being offered to eight local non-profit groups near six of Nike’s Community Stores. Applications for the first round of NCIF awards are due by July 15, 2016, with the funds being awarded in November.
If you our your group is interested in applying, further details about the application process can be found at http://about.nike.com/pages/nike-community-impact-fund
“By expanding Nike’s Community Store concept to include local grant programs, we look forward to fostering even deeper connections that empower young leaders where our store teams live and work,” said Dennis van Oossanen, VP and GM of North America Direct-to-Consumer.
The Nike Community Impact Fund, in partnership with Charities Aid Foundation of America and the Oregon Community Foundation, is an approach to grant making that engages a committee of Nike employees and store athletes (that’s what Nike calls their retail associates) from across the United States to directly impact the local communities where they live and work.
In total, Community Store teams across the U.S. will award $290,000 each year (the six national expansion cities detailed above in addition to Portland, Oregon) in their communities.
Other cities with community store locations include South Chicago, New Orleans, the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Flatbush in Brooklyn and East Los Angeles.