The COVID-19 pandemic brought all collegiate, professional and high school sports to a screeching halt, resulting in unprecedented situations within the sporting community. Athletes modified training habits without coaches, trainers and nutrition professionals and practiced solo in anticipation of when the world would open back up. It also brought about more extensive change – the athlete mindset of going above and beyond to help local communities. 

Sports have rallied communities for decades in support of charitable organizations and causes. Professional sports serve as a platform for organizations to drive awareness in front of some of the world's largest audiences. When the NFL introduces pink into their uniforms, we know why. When runners finish marathons wearing camo vests or colored ribbons, we know why. When Major League Baseball players all wear No. 42 for one game, we know why. When the WNBA wears Black Lives Matter warmups, we know why. The visibility of initiatives broadcast to local, regional, national and global audiences helps carry hope, inspiration and action, and more than ever, movements spearheaded by athletes. The success of sports as a pillar of society would not be possible without the communities in which they occur, and the pandemic helped amplify this.

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In March 2020, Major League Baseball announced the cancellation of spring training and the postponement of MLB Opening Day. Understanding the effect this would have on ballpark employees, they announced each MLB team's pledge of $1 million to help out-of-work ballpark employees. The move by the league and the teams also inspired individual players to get involved.

Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer set up a charity Wiffle ball game to solicit donations benefiting Reds ballpark employees. Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman pledged $125,000 to three organizations in Atlanta – the Atlanta Food Bank, the Giving Kitchen and the Salvation Army – to assist in the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Chicago Cubs outfield Jason Heyward donated $200,000 to coronavirus relief in Chicago and $100,000 to MASK, collecting supplies and meals for families affected by the virus. Professional athletes and their social media following now have a unique influence comparable to politicians or celebrities. Once athletes voiced their support for causes on social media, the ripple effect extended across the league and all professional sports.

Organizations that typically depended on visibility through athletics or charity sports events needed to abandon traditional ways of fundraising and pivot to attracting donors through virtual auctions, appearances and social media. Specifically, partnering with local organizations versus gaining support nationally made garnering donations more manageable. People are more likely to help their neighbors, "people right down the street," than a national organization with a broader ambiguous reach. As seen by Bauer, Freeman and Heyward, they impacted a small number of people in a large capacity by turning locally compared to turning nationally to places their work would make less of a difference.

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The MLBPAA viewed social media as an opportunity to offer encouragement and hope to the world on behalf of the sports community and as a way to increase engagement. They created the #MLBPAAHomeBase movement and commissioned familiar faces like Andre Dawson, Terry Francona and Clint Hurdle to encourage others to stay positive and persevere together. The organization understood the importance of consistent and constant communication with all key stakeholders – especially with former players – and used this campaign to keep in touch. "The game has provided comfort and recovery many, many times over the decades and it will do it again, now," said Hurdle in his inspirational video. Even after the cancellation of key fundraising events, the MLBPAA had success through online initiatives for sports fans who couldn't miss seeing their favorite former players.

"The marketing side [of the MLBPAA] is the appearance side and the memorabilia side. That didn't shut off at all; actually, that went completely the other way. The lack of opportunities to see guys and run into the guys led to a whole lot of demand," shared Hixson about the uptick in player demand

during COVID. 

Professional athletes are not alone in supporting locally. While 2020 and the pandemic brought turmoil and

uncertainty across the country, charitable giving in the United States reached a record $471 billion in 2020,

increasing 5% from 2019. A strong S&P year-end finish, which closely tracks giving from individuals and foundations, along with the uptick in personal income by the end of 2020, likely contributed to the spike.

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Whether inspired to help those affected by the coronavirus or mitigate its unintended consequences, charitable giving by individuals increased by 2% and made up the majority of donations last year. Organizations focused on civil rights and the environment saw the most significant contributions, with religion, education, human services, foundations and public-society benefit groups also increasing.

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As we begin to move forward from the past two years' events, there is something to be said about the large number of athlete and league charitable initiatives that grew due to the pandemic. The rollout of vaccines and flattening the curve has brought back sports stronger than ever. These events returning to our lives means thousands of causes can come back online and, through partnerships with charitable organizations, drive impact at scale thanks to the visibility sports provide. Fans and communities directly affected will never forget the players and teams who came to their support when the world shut down. Similarly, professionals will always remember how the pandemic forever altered jobs and the changing and implementation of fundraising and charitable initiatives.

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