Leveling the Playing Field

How the Women’s Sports Foundation is Making an Impact on Women’s Sports

By Thomas Burkel

In the world of sports, women have had the opportunity to change the game. From fighting for equal pay to being monumental in the rise of NIL. Women athletes have had to strive for equal opportunities to their male counterparts. However, with the sudden rise of women’s sports, public relations professionals, non-profits, and teams are trying to find ways to support women athletes. In recent years, there have been non-profit organizations created to support the women’s game. Whether through outreach to young girls to creating funds for NIL initiatives, nonprofits around the world are creating the blueprint for supporting women athletes. 

In this read, I will highlight how the Women’s Sports Foundation uses its nonprofit expertise to support women athletes and create initiatives for women in sports. Then I will analyze their work from a public relations perspective and discuss how their work affects the future of communications in sports.  

To give a brief rundown, The Women’s Sports Foundation was founded by Billie Jean King in 1974. King was influential in the rise of women’s sports, especially for women’s tennis, as she created the Women’s Tennis Association and pushed for equal pay for women athletes (Women’s Sports Foundation 2020). Looking closely at the organization, they are focused on advocacy work, supporting women college athletes through NIL, and advocating for gender equality in sports. Although the non-profit doesn’t specifically focus on NIL, for women’s college basketball athletes, their work creates a pathway for women athletes to succeed and represent their brand. 

So what work has the Women’s Sports Foundation accomplished? Some initiatives that the organization has completed are funding for coaches, athletes, and scouts within college basketball. For example, in their Tara VanDerveer fund they raised over $1.2 million and gave that money to 44 colleges to close the gender gap in coaching (Miller 2024). The foundation also partnered with NBC on a 5-year deal to promote women in sports. With the use of content creation, marketing, and community outreach, NBC and the Women’s Sports Foundation have made it a mission to support women in sports through their social platforms and communications (O’Grady 2023).  

The Women’s Sports Foundation does a great job of catering to the needs of young female athletes. Whether it is through community outreach, fundraising, or showcasing their areas of growth through their communication channels, they highlight what is possible for the future of women’s athletics. Although the organization doesn’t do much work in the realm of NIL or women’s college basketball, it makes a change for all women’s sports. How they communicate on their website and social media feeds that they are one for the community, gives their audience a sense of hope that there’s progress being made in women’s sports. As a PR professional, this is exciting. How they communicate their effectiveness, showcase what they have accomplished, and what their future initiative is, is something you hope to see out of your brand. 

Overall, the Women’s Sports Foundation is giving young girls around the world the chance to dream big. Whether in sports or life, women around the world can achieve greatness on and off the field. And the Women’s Sports Foundation is making this dream come true.

Sources:

Our Founder – Women’s Sports Foundation. (2020, September 23). Women’s Sports Foundation. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/who-we-are/our-team/our-founder/  

Women’s Sports Foundation® Continues to Strengthen the Pipeline for Aspiring Women Coaches Through Its Tara VanDerveer Fund for the Advancement of Women in Coaching – Women’s Sports Foundation. (2024b, September 19). Women’s Sports Foundation. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/press_release/womens-sports-foundation-continues-to-strengthen-the-pipeline-for-aspiring-women-coaches-through-its-tara-vanderveer-fund-for-the-advancement-of-women-in-coaching/ 

NBC Sports and the Women’s Sports Foundation Announce Five-year Partnership Extension – Women’s Sports Foundation. (2023, March 16). Women’s Sports Foundation. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/press_release/nbc-sports-and-the-womens-sports-foundation-announce-five-year-partnership-extension/