Good Sports, Inc.
Kids Who Play Do Better
Mission
Good Sports gives all kids the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity by providing new equipment, apparel and footwear to those most in need.
Ruling year
2004
Chief Executive Officer
Melissa Harper
Chief Operating Officer
Christy Keswick
Main address
1515 Washington Street Suite 300
Braintree, MA 02184 USA
EIN
75-3138664
NTEE code
Other Recreation, Sports, or Leisure Activities N.E.C. (N99)
Community Improvement, Capacity Building N.E.C. (S99)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2019, 2018 and 2018.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Over five million children across the country are without access to proper equipment to participate in regular sports and fitness activities. Only one in three children are physically active everyday, according to Fitness.Gov. Sports and physical activities help youth to create lifelong healthy habits, as well as introduce them to real life social situations and build upon their sensory development. The biggest barriers to consistent play are the rising costs of sports and fitness equipment, barring many children from being active early on in their developmental years. Good Sports, with the help of our partners, is working to eliminate those barriers and give all kids the chance to experience the lifelong benefits of sport.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Good Sports, Inc. Programs
Good Sports exists because children in need are missing a key developmental opportunity: the chance to be active and play sports. Limited program budgets and high pay-to-play costs create significant financial barriers for children in need. Active play is essential for a child’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional development.
This is a problem that can be solved and Good Sports plays a key role in the solution. By leveraging key relationships within the sporting goods industry, Good Sports provides brand-new equipment, apparel and footwear to youth organizations in high-need communities. Starting with a donation of 500 basketballs in 2003, Good Sports has now distributed $73 million in equipment across the country to increase access to play for eight million children in need. As the cost of play continues to rise, we are committed to giving every child equal opportunity to play and experience the lifelong benefits of being active.
Where we work
Accreditations
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2017
Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity 2017
S&I 100 2017
Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity 2018
Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance 2018
Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity 2019
Charity Navigator Perfect 100 for Financial Accountability & Good Governance 2019
Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity 2020
Charity Navigator 4 Star Charity 2021
Awards
Robert W. Crawford Achievement Prize 2010
National Recreation Foundation
Project Play Champion 2019
Aspen Institute
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of youth who demonstrate that they have developed skills and attitudes to make physical activity a habit
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
To date, Good Sports has served over 8 million kids around the country.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Create accessibility, equity, and equality in youth sports and physical activity. Through distribution of brand new sports equipment, our goal is to help youth programs gear up and engage the children in their community. By doing so, financial burdens are lightened in these programs so they can offer scholarships to include more kids. Sometimes, they are able to eliminate the cost to play completely. Through the donation of gear, Good Sports aims to help close the gap where many children are barred from sport simply because of the cost.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Good Sports accomplishes our goals by partnering with foundations and companies that share our mission of giving all kids the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity through providing new equipment, apparel and footwear to those most in need. In addition to financial backing in the form of grants, sponsorships, and individual donations, Good Sports leverages our relationships with many industry leaders in sports equipment manufacturing in order to acquire brand-new donated or deeply discounted sports equipment. Good Sports then utilizes our tested due-diligence process to vet organizations in order to ensure that our donations are going to high-quality programs in order to reach the highest number of youth in need. Once an organization has been approved, they are eligible to receive three donations over the course of two years, which are packed and shipped from our own warehouse.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Good Sports utilizes capabilities across multiple areas of operation to accomplish our goals. In order to secure requisite funding, Good Sports has the capability to raise both directed funding for specific programs or initiatives from foundations and corporation sources. We also raise unrestricted funds through our major annual fundraising events, including virtual events. On the community outreach front, we have a skilled team of program assistants who work to identify qualified recipient organizations and then continue to support them from approval through the duration of their two-year relationship with Good Sports. Finally, in executing the logistics of successful donations, Good Sports utilizes our distribution expertise, operating from our own warehouse space to store athletic equipment and pick, pack, and ship donations to recipient schools and organizations nationally.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Good Sports began in 2003 with a small donation of 500 basketballs made to a few local Boston organizations. Since then, Good Sports has grown to provide over $60 million in brand-new athletic equipment to approximately 4,200 organizations serving underprivileged youth in all 50 states, impacting more than eight million children. Good Sports is continually seeking ways to reach new populations of youth in need.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Children in low-income communities across the United States. This population faces disproportionate access to sports and physical activity due to the cost to play and be active.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.),
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we sent multiple surveys to collect insight on how the pandemic has impacted organizations we work with. The results influenced the creation of the Restore Play initiative, which delivered $15M in equipment between May 2020-June 2021. A key finding was that many children were stuck at home without equipment to play with. For the first time, Good Sports donated individual Play Packs to keep children active at home or while physically distant at their community's programs. This became a permanent model for Good Sports and will help us fulfill individual children's needs in programs, in foster care and more.
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Good Sports, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 9/15/2021
Joel Hughes
Right Networks
Term: 2019 - 2021
Melissa Harper
Good Sports
Dave Belyea
Jackrabbit Design
Kyle Betty
Bain Capital Credit
Matt Camp
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
Jim Catudal
Simsbury Partners, LLC
Lewis Collins
GW&K Investment Management, LLC
John Gates
Elevate Communications
John Gibbons
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Joel Hughes
Right Networks
Andrew Laurence
Vintage Capital Management, LLC
David Mischler
Brian O'Callaghan
CPI
Brett Peterson
Acme World Sports
Bry Roskoz
EF Education First
Drew Sawyer
2SV Capital, LLC
Liam Weston
Paul Bowen
Bowen Advisors
Rick Charron
KPMG LLP
Anna Hitchner
Bain & Company
Candace Reich
W.L. Gore & Associates
Kevin Roche
Camden Consulting Group
Sam Schaefer
Tishman Speyer
Paul Bowen
Bowen Advisors
Marty Blue
Boston Consulting Group
Michael Flood
Westwood Partners
Jennifer Hartnett-Bullen
State Street
Kelly Begg Lawrence
United States Attorney's Office
Magan Munson
Mayflower Sails 2020
Derek Schoettle
Great Hills Partners
Kent Weldon
Thomas H Lee Partners, LP
Sean Wilder
BV Investment Partners
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 12/22/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
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