VEEPIO Announces Landmark Partnership Between NFL Alumni Association and HBCU Week Foundation “Project Unite” will provide increased exposure, fundraising opportunities, scholarship for HBCUs and their students
Morgantown, WV
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February 10, 2022 11:32 AM Eastern Standard Time
VEEPIO Holdings, LLC (VEEPIO), the integrated ecommerce platform using technology to change how athletes can earn money from their names, images, and likenesses (NIL), has announced the formation of a three-way partnership, entitled Project Unite, that includes the NFL Alumni Association (NFLA) and the HBCU Week Foundation, Inc. Using its status as digital agency of record for both parties, VEEPIO will create digital infrastructure and evergreen programs linking NFL Alumni with all HBCUs to activate brand sponsorship dollars and create lasting economic equity for these schools and their students.
Project Unite will promote HBCU sports, entertainment, and education through NFL alumni and player stories highlighted during NFL and HBCU tentpole events. These tentpole events include (among others) Super Bowl week, the HBCU Battle of the Bands, and the annual CIAA basketball tournament. In addition, the NFLA will co-host multiple events each year to raise funds for HBCU Week’s scholarship initiatives.
Project Unite will rely on VEEPIO's best-in-class digital tools, including an ESPN-like app that will house content from all 101 HBCUs, to fulfill its mission. The app will serve as a mobile command center for HBCU sponsor activation, including sponsored content between the NFLA and HBCUs. These sponsor activation opportunities will extend from HBCUs through to their students and student-athletes, who will have the opportunity to earn sponsorship money through the NCAA’s new NIL rules, while maintaining ownership of their personal and sponsorship data.
“Finding unique ways to support and empower HBCUs is a critical part of our mission to serve NFL alumni,” said NFLA President Beasley Reece. “Finding a way to leverage the numerous HBCU graduates in our organization for the betterment of their alma maters is one of our top priorities. VEEPIO’s plan to link the NFLA with HBCU Week will allow us to raise funds for causes close to our players’ hearts and create a lasting economic impact for future generations of HBCU students.”
In addition to forming Project Unite, VEEPIO is proud to announce the creation of the Jack Spinks Scholarship, in honor of the first player from an HBCU to be drafted into the NFL. On behalf of Project Unite, VEEPIO will donate a $50,000 scholarship to HBCU Week for every $1 million in sponsorship money raised by the partnership. VEEPIO will also work with HBCU Week and the NFLA to provide internship opportunities for HBCU students.
“It is truly an honor to facilitate a partnership between NFL alumni and HBCUs,” said Najee Goode, co-founder of VEEPIO, president of the NFLA’s Jacksonville chapter and Chairman of the National Programs Committee. “Creating lasting economic change through technology is a core part of VEEEPIO’s mission, and working in tandem with the NFLA will allow us to transform the sponsorship and fundraising opportunities that are currently available for HBCUs.”
Project Unite will extend the reach of HBCU Week activities exponentially by giving all HBCUs access to the NLFA’s large media network, across platforms including broadcast, radio, podcasts, and social media. Leveraging NFL tentpole events, NFLA chapter reach, and HBCU Week reach, VEEPIO will enable the partnership to highlight and promote key accomplishments and new initiatives. HBCU Week fundraising opportunities will be supported by individual player and school stories that will be distributed through the HBCU Week digital platform and echoed by the NFLA player community.
About VEEPIO Holdings, LLC
VEEPIO is an integrated ecommerce platform, founded by West Virginia University grads, aimed at transforming how athletes monetize their personal brands. Co-founded by NFL linebackers Najee Goode and Grant Wiley, along with finance and tech expert Jonathan Ohliger, VEEPIO is changing the way fans interact with teams through mobile apps. VEEPIO integrates seamlessly into existing applications, and allows content publishers to link any moving object in video within the app to additional content on the web so that the end user never leaves the platform when browsing. For more information, visit: https://veep.io or follow VEEPIO on Twitter: @VEEPIO, Instagram: @VEEPIO, and LinkedIn.
About the NFL Alumni Association
The NFL Alumni Association is a nationwide group of former National Football League players, coaches and other employees whose mission is to serve, assist and inform former players and their families. The association offers a variety of health, financial and learning programs to help its members. For more information, please visit: nflalumni.org.
About HBCU Week Foundation, Inc.
The mission of HBCU Week Foundation is to encourage high school-aged youth to enroll into HBCUs, provide scholarship dollars for matriculation, and sustain a pipeline of employment from undergraduate school to corporate America.
HBCU Week is an annual, week-long, programmatic initiative, designed to encourage high school-aged youth to enroll into HBCUs, through exposure to their proud legacies and historical significance. HBCU Week occurs annually, in the Fall. In 2022, HBCU Week will consist of a multi-city tour. The Foundation recently formed a partnership with Disney. HBCU Week will be hosted at Walt Disney World in October 2022.
The most impactful event during HBCU Week is the College Fair. This fair is unique in that the majority of the participating colleges engage in an “on the spot” acceptance process, whereby, if the student attends with a copy of their school transcript and a report with the requisite SAT/ACT score, they could be admitted into college on the spot and offered a scholarship award. Since 2017, more than 3,500 acceptances on the spot have been offered and more than $25,000,000 in scholarships have been awarded.
The Foundation's brand ambassador is ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. For more information, visit: www.hbcuweek.org
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Josh Eichenbaum
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josh@calibercorporateadvisers.com
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