BUILDING JASON WITTEN’S SCORE FOUNDATION

Like many athletes, Dallas Cowboys all pro Jason Witten has a unique personal story that led him to want to make a difference in the lives of others.

Growing up in a family touched by domestic violence, Jason was fortunate to have the steady influence of his grandfather, who also happened to be his high school football coach. Because of the positive impact his grandfather had on his life, Jason not only grew up to become a successful football player, but a loving husband and father as well.

Knowing that many kids from abusive homes don’t have a positive male influence in their lives, and that those same kids are statistically more likely to either become abusers or be abused themselves, Jason and his wife Michelle decided to do something. They contracted with icon Sports & Entertainment to launch Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation and build a program (called SCOREkeepers) to put trained male mentors on staff at domestic violence shelters across Texas and Tennessee.

In starting the SCORE Foundation, Icon not only worked with the Wittens to make the programs all that they intended them to be, but they handled all of the administrative tasks that go along with starting a public foundation. These include legal filings, setting up a board, bookkeeping, accounting, grant writing, etc. Public relations and social media/website management was also included. Icon also built creative partnerships for the foundation, which attracted some of the DFW Metroplex’s biggest companies to come on board and support the organization. The fundraising plan Icon put into place also included putting together and managing a highly successful fundraising event.

Over the last 10 years, Jason Witten’s SCORE Foundation has become one of the best examples of an athlete’s foundation in all of pro sports. Jason Witten was honored as the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year for his work with the foundation in 2012, and he received the Bart Starr Award for his community work the same season.

Whether you are an athlete that is interested in launching your own nonprofit built on a personal charitable passion, or you want to bring some new life into a foundation that is in need of new programs and funding, Icon can help you make your foundation one you are proud of and one that others will want to be involved with.

Because Dreambuilders is already an established 501c3, there is no administrative work to be done by the athlete. There is no need to set up a board of directors or go through the time and expense of filing legal paperwork to get started. There is also no required financial contribution for the athlete. We focus on building a personalized program that he will be proud of, and that will build his own community identity.