WOMEN'S SPORTS FOUNDATION THRIVES IN 2006
A Force for Change on Many Fronts
EAST MEADOW, N.Y., (January 9, 2007) – As the leading authority on women's sports and physical activity for 32 years, the track record and credibility of the Women's Sports Foundation allows it to engineer social change on multiple fronts. From teaching organizations how to capture sedentary girls for their physical activity programs to making sure state and federal governments enforce gender equity laws, the reach of the Foundation is broad and deep. Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Foundation is the only national organization devoted to the advancement of girls' and women's lives through the promotion of all sports and physical activities for all age groups and skill levels.
The Foundation's 2006 successes came in every category of its work, including vital research, opening the doors to participation, increasing media coverage of female athletes, creating legacies and grassroots development. Overall, while the Foundation generated its highest revenue to date with $7.5 million received from events, individual and corporate gifts, and foundation and government grants, other numbers were more important:
• $786,759 was allocated to create 35,381 new participation opportunities for girls;
• 84,000 girls had the opportunity to participate in the award-winning GoGirlGo! developmental sport curriculum program;
• More than 900 organizations serving 600,000 girls in three major urban cities — Atlanta, Chicago and San Antonio — participated in networking, model program sharing and technical assistance programs provided by the WSF;
• Major media-driven public education programs were conducted in Atlanta, Chicago and San Antonio;
• 220,000 parents received Foundation publication, The Parents' Guide to Girls' Sports;
• 18 other foundations worked with the Women's Sports Foundation to deliver grants and programming to girls 8-18, of which 80% were from underserved/high risk groups;
• $176,987 was provided to support 1,673 adult women's pursuit of physical fitness; and
• 1.4 million Web visitors viewed over 5.4 million pages of information about women's sports and physical activities.
Since its inception and because of its founder, Billie Jean King, the Foundation has used its well-respected voice to advance social justice, specifically, a society where girls and boys are equally encouraged and supported to be active and healthy.
“We want to create an environment in which girls and women of all ages fully experience and enjoy sports and physical activity without barriers to participation,” said Aimee Mullins, the newly elected president of the Women's Sports Foundation. “We want to help every girl and woman be fit, confident and healthy, especially those who are underserved or, because of socio-economic level or transportation challenges, cannot afford access to physical activity.”
One of the unique components of the Foundation's success is its ability to work with many different partners to accomplish its goals, including:
• Serving as public policy catalysts by collaborating with the Rockefeller Family Fund, the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education and numerous national nonprofit organizations to do public policy work;
• Increasing resources for girls' physical activity through partnerships with other foundations such as Arcus Foundation, Atlanta Braves Foundation, Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation, Atlanta Women's Foundation, Barr Foundation, Chicago Women's Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, Gill Foundation, The Hadassah Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, Lovett Woodson Family Foundation, PepsiCo Foundation, Phillip Morris Foundation, Rockefeller Family Foundation, San Antonio Sports Foundation, Seedlings Foundation, Smart Family Foundation and the Wrigley Foundation;
• Working with Congressional members to drive resources to girls' sports in their districts and states;
• Partnering with athletes and celebrities in public education campaigns and creating editorial features that go beyond the standard public service announcements; and
• Staging media events with athletes and celebrities that increase female athlete role model exposure to the public and address equity issues while raising funds to enable education and public policy work.
An educated public is the strongest form of advocacy, and research is key to demonstrating that sports and physical activity leads to healthier, happier and more productive lives. To acknowledge the critical importance of research-based public policy initiatives and to further this advocacy work, the PepsiCo Foundation committed a grant of $350,000 to the Women's Sports Foundation to support an exclusive, first-of-its-kind biennial research study looking at the participation of American families in sports and physical activities. Research design and data collection are underway for this report, slated for release in September, 2007. Also, in November of 2006, the Foundation issued “Women in the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership and Media Coverage,” the first report in the Women's Sports Foundation's new signature research series.
The Women's Sports Foundation remained at the equity forefront by tackling issues at all levels for access to opportunity in sports. The Foundation partnered with other likeminded organizations to help fight opposition to Title IX, the federal law created to advocate equal access and opportunity for sports and other education programs in federally funded educational institutions. As the 35th anniversary of Title IX approaches, the Women's Sports Foundation's work thus far has contributed to a 904% increase in girls' sports participation at the high school level and 456% at the college level since the passage of this landmark law in 1972. Despite the significant work done by the Foundation and partnering organizations, the majority of high school and college athletic programs are not in compliance with Title IX.
For girls to imagine themselves as strong and competitive in sports in our media culture, they need role models to be championed by the print and electronic media. Consequently, the Foundation launched The Billies in 2006, an awards program recognizing media excellence in women's sports and physical activity and bringing awareness to the inequity of women's sports media coverage. The inaugural event raised $1.5 million for Foundation programming. In 2007, the Foundation hopes to issue a pilot study to reveal the negative impact of inappropriate images on the perceptions of women's participation in sport.
In October, the Foundation's 27th Annual Salute to Women in Sports highlighted the achievements of women's participation from the previous year and raised more than $2 million to benefit the Foundation's programs and activities. In direct response to Billie Jean King's plea for the audience's consideration of their own legacies, five donors pledged gifts ranging from $100,000 to $1 million to grow the Foundation's endowment.
Women's sports need more visibility and resources to succeed. Another important step in the right direction occurred during the late summer when Billie Jean King was saluted with the first major sports complex to be named for a woman — the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Shortly thereafter, the Foundation announced the 2008 opening of its Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, an integral part of the new National Sports Museum in New York City that will feature women in sports and allow more than 800,000 visitors annually to learn about the Foundation and the history of the women's sports movement.
“Growing up, there were not many female athletes to serve as role models. I am extremely excited, that in less than two years, there will be a sports museum dedicated exclusively to the history of women's sports and the Women's Sports Foundation,” said philanthropist Nancy Inman, a Foundation donor. “I chose to be associated with the Foundation because I want everyone to have the opportunity to marvel at the tremendous accomplishments these women have achieved despite the adversity they faced and showcase their talent regardless of gender. Although I live in Texas, I visit New York often and I can't think of a better destination than a women's sports museum that pays tribute to these wonderful women!”
In order for women to benefit from all that sports and a healthy lifestyle has to offer, the groundwork needs to be laid at the grassroots level. In 2006, the Women's Sports Foundation's GoGirlGo! curriculum was honored for a second time as the winner of the 2006 National Health Information Gold Award (previously won in 2004). This program was made possible through the corporate support of Advanta, Gatorade and Russell Athletic, the Foundation's national sponsors.
“All the work that the Foundation does would not be possible without the support of dedicated individuals who share our vision that regardless of gender, our children should know the joy of being the best they can be, of setting personal goals and achieving success, of contributing to a team effort, and win or lose, to be proud of their efforts,” said Dr. Donna Lopiano, Chief Executive Officer of the Women's Sports Foundation.
About the Women's Sports Foundation
Founded in 1974 by Billie Jean King, the Women's Sports Foundation is a national charitable educational organization seeking to advance the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. The Foundation's Participation, Education, Advocacy, Research and Leadership Programs are made possible by gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, please call the Foundation at (800) 227-3988.
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