Michael Jordan

SOURCE OF WEALTH: NBA Player, Nike, Charlotte Hornets

FUNDING AREAS: Community, Civil Rights

OVERVIEW: Michael Jordan once had a foundation, but it dissolved in the 1990s. Of late, Jordan has ramped up his individual giving, including with a $5 million gift to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

BACKGROUND: Born in Brooklyn, New York, Michael Jeffrey Jordan graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He joined the Chicago Bulls in 1984, going on to win six championships and be largely regarded as the greatest NBA player of all time. Jordan bought a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in 2010. Beside Nike, Jordan still has sponsorship deals with Hanes, Gatorade, and Upper Deck.

ISSUES:

COMMUNITY: In 2016, Michael Jordan gave $5 million to the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. That same year, he gave $7 million to fund two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinics in Charlotte. In 2021, he gave $10 million to open two additional family-health clinics on the southeastern coast of North Carolina. Jordan has had a long relationship with Novant, the official healthcare provider of the Charlotte NBA franchise. It’s also worth noting that the Hornets’ social responsibility efforts have identified wellness as a key issue in Charlotte, as well as education, hunger and support of the military and youth programs.

In 2018, Jordan made a multimillion dollar donation to Friends of the Children, and donated $2 million to relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Florence; he gave $1 million each to the American Red Cross and to the Foundation for the Carolinas’ Hurricane Florence Response Fund.

Jordan has served as Make-A-Wish’s Chief Wish Ambassador since 2008 and has supported the organization, including donating $10 million in 2023. He also supports the James R. Jordan Foundation and Chicago’s James R. Jordan Boys and Girls Club, which bear the name of Jordan’s late father James. Jordan also founded and supports the Jordan Institute for Families at University of North Carolina.

For more than a decade, Jordan hosted the Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational golf tournament, which raised more than $7 million for organizations including the American Red Cross International Response Fund, Ronald McDonald Houses of North Carolina, Opportunity Village. He also donated $2 million to help people in Chicago and the Carolinas who struggled to feed themselves and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CIVIL RIGHTS: Jordan gave grants of $1 million each to two organizations "working to build trust between law enforcement and the communities in which they work." A grant of $1 million was directed to the Institute for Community-Police Relations, and another $1 million was directed to NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), which was established in 1940 to work through the legal system to push for civil rights. LDF has been working in places like Ferguson, North Charleston, Baltimore and New York City, and is engaged in "efforts to promote transformative policing practices in their communities." In 2020, Jordan and the Jordan Brand shoe company committed $100 million for organizations that support racial equality, social justice, and access to education.

LOOKING FORWARD: In his 50s, Jordan’s giving has ramped up of late. Perhaps he will establish a formal family foundation in the coming years.

LINK: Jordan Twitter