FanDuel, Washington Football Team Announce $1 Million Contribution to United Negro College Fund
ASHBURN, VA – FanDuel Group and the Washington Football Team, on the heels of their mobile sports betting market access partnership launch in Virginia in January, announced today a one-million-dollar contribution to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). The FanDuel/Washington Football Team Emergency Student Aid Fund will be dedicated to supporting current students enrolled in Virginia’s five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The fund will provide aid grants for those students seeking emergency assistance for technology, housing, food security, tuition, and other education-related expenses.
To celebrate Black History Month and support students at Virginia’s five HBCUs, FanDuel and Washington Football Team provide this contribution as an extension of its legal sports betting partnership in the state. UNCF will be working with the HBCU institutions to ensure students demonstrating need have access to this critical aid. Supporting HBCUs and their students at this time stands to bolster the strength of these institutions in the state, broadening their already deep economic impact in the Commonwealth.
“Supporting these institutions and these hard-working students, amidst enormous challenges related to COVID, is the right thing to do,” said Matt King, CEO of FanDuel Group. “As we celebrate Black History Month and recognize the critical role HBCUs play in developing the next generation of leaders in business, academia, and civic participation, our hope is that this investment in students keeps them on the path to realize their academic and personal goals while enrolled at these universities.”
“HBCUs have produced some of the most accomplished and successful individuals across countless professions making an incredible impact on our organization along with numerous others in the DMV. This important investment is a way to continue to foster the talent at these great institutions and give the scholars of today a chance to achieve their goals and career aspirations,” said Dan and Tanya Snyder, Owners of the Washington Football Team.
“For decades, UNCF and the HBCUs they support have been driving Black socio-economic elevation in unparalleled fashion and I’m proud that our team and FanDuel are able to support them at an important moment in history. Dr. Lomax and the Virginia HBCU presidents are the type of leaders we can all trust to achieve remarkable feats with the resources they are given,” added Washington Football Team President Jason Wright.
“Everyone knows how important HBCUs are to me, and I applaud UNCF’s commitment to partner with us and FanDuel to administer this emergency aid fund with Virginia’s HBCUs. It is critical to support these students,” concluded Doug Williams, Super Bowl Champion and the Washington Football Team’s Senior Advisor to the Team President.
“The United Negro College Fund is pleased to see FanDuel and the Washington Football Team support Virginia’s HBCU students throughout the state, and this investment cannot come at a more critical time as students confront harsh realities resulting from a disrupted and disjointed academic year,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF, the nation’s largest private provider of scholarships and other educational support to African American students. “We will proudly work with all five Virginia HBCUs, building upon our existing institutional partnerships and aligned with the mission of distributing this aid to students experiencing any number of economic hardships so they can stay on the path to completion of their degree programs. We are grateful to these organizations for this investment and will quickly endeavor to support the students.”
The Emergency Student Aid Fund is expected to begin supporting Virginia HBCU students as expeditiously as possible. Aid will be disbursed to students from their attending institution. Interested students who need emergency assistance for technology, housing, food security, tuition, and other education-related expenses can inquire with their schools’ Financial Aid Office by the beginning of March.
This contribution is a part of a broader commitment the Washington Football Team and FanDuel share organizationally. Both companies have sustained talent strategies that include embracing diversity, driving business growth, and contributing to an inclusive workplace that provides equitable access to opportunities for all.
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About FanDuel Group
FanDuel Group is an innovative sports-tech entertainment company that is changing the way consumers engage with their favorite sports, teams, and leagues. The premier gaming destination in the United States, FanDuel Group consists of a portfolio of leading brands across gaming, sports betting, daily fantasy sports, advance-deposit wagering, and TV/media, including FanDuel, Betfair US, and TVG. FanDuel Group has a presence across all 50 states and 12 million customers. The company is based in New York with offices in California, New Jersey, Florida, Oregon, and Scotland. FanDuel Group is a subsidiary of Flutter Entertainment plc, the world’s largest sports betting and gaming operator with a portfolio of globally recognized brands and a constituent of the FTSE 100 index of the London Stock Exchange.
About United Negro College Fund
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding nearly 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.