Are you a Lumberjack fan with a charitable cause close to your heart? Now you can support NAU’s up-and-coming football stars and a philanthropic cause you hold dear through the Timber Jacks Group’s donation drive! Contributions will help Lumberjacks leverage their NIL for Arizona nonprofits.
The Timber Jacks Group wants to lift up Northern Arizona University’s (NAU’s) football student-athletes and local and state nonprofits, ensuring students and community members alike flourish through charitable causes.
Raise the flag and show your Lumberjack spirit by donating to the Timber Jacks Group’s donation drive at https://timberjacksgroup.com/
The donation drive was set up to help NAU football scholar-athletes form partnerships with nonprofits where students can leverage their “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) to promote the nonprofits’ philanthropic endeavors. Its ultimate goal is to empower NAU Lumberjacks to use their reputations for the social good of the Flagstaff community and the state of Arizona as a whole.
The Timber Jacks Group is led by NAU football legends Terry Mahan, Mike Mendoza, and Chris Baniszewski, along with Chris Scott. They host regular fundraisers and other community-building events in support of NAU’s Lumberjack student-athletes.
The group’s donation drive comes nearly a year after NAU Athletics’ launch of the Lumberjack Exchange, a university-hosted online registry where local and state businesses, donors, and alumni can connect with the university’s student-athletes. The Timber Jacks Group’s donation drive complements the Lumberjack Exchange, but with an emphasis on forging nonprofit partnerships.
The campaign is timely, as collegiate athletes now have more opportunities to leverage their reputations in support of businesses and other establishments. In 2021, changes to state laws and the NCAA’s (National Collegiate Athletic Association’s) NIL policies gave college athletes more freedom to benefit from their NIL rights without risking their college eligibility. In June 2021, the NCAA launched interim NIL policies, allowing student-athletes to profit from their NIL rights as of July 1, 2021.
These legislative changes give NAU Lumberjacks greater freedom to monetize their personal brands. With their campaign, the Timber Jacks Group hopes to build bridges between student-athletes’ NIL opportunities and local and state charitable initiatives.
“The Timber Jacks Group empowers Lumberjack student-athletes by leveraging their name, image, and likeness for a positive community impact,” a group representative said. “Through partnerships with nonprofit organizations, student-athletes harness NIL to amplify important charitable causes, enrich our community, and create a lasting commitment to civic engagement with the city of Flagstaff and the state of Arizona.”
So, if there is such an initiative or nonprofit that you've been dying to support, now you have the perfect opportunity! Your contribution will help a nonprofit leader connect with a Lumberjack so they can use their NIL rights for community service and social impact. You can donate to the group in amounts ranging from $100 to $5,000, or in any amount you'd like.
Historically, NIL partnerships have focused on commercial opportunities, but now you can help turn the tide! Whatever your pet cause is - education, social justice, supporting underserved youth - the Timber Jacks Group's donation drive gives you a chance to put your money where your heart is - and support young football stars in the bargain.
Make a donation today at https://timberjacksgroup.com/
