sports equal…a commitment to simple solutions.

Brandon Moreno, Board member and fundraising expert at Snap! Raise

Every Kid Sports is honored to have Brandon Moreno as a member of our board. He brings a wealth of experience in advocacy and outreach and has worked with both professional and student-athletes through his work at the San Francisco 49ers and Snap! Raise.

Brandon’s career in sports philanthropy began in college during an internship with the Arnold Schwarzenegger Foundation, coordinating free, intramural sports programs for middle schools. After graduation, Brandon accepted a full-time position with the Foundation, and the program grew and drew the attention of the 49ers. Brandon was soon coordinating outreach efforts between the Foundation and 49ers players, and when he was ready for his next career change, the 49ers offered him the position of Community Relations Manager.


“Nonprofits often have a complicated model that doesn’t work, and when I learned that EKS was providing access by simply removing the cost barrier,
I knew I was in.”

 

For the next eleven years, Brandon was responsible for selecting nonprofits for the team to work with, matching players with outreach efforts, and managing over 1300 outreach events during his career. He strived to make events meaningful for both the player and nonprofit, ensuring that the players were able to engage in more than just a photo opportunity. One of his favorite events during the holiday was Shop with a Player; 30 kids were selected to receive $300 to purchase gifts for their families. A player was matched with three kids to help them shop, and “it was just a great way to engage everyone” says Brandon.

The simplicity of Every Kid Sports’ mission, to remove the cost barrier of youth sports participation by assisting families with registration fees, was what drove his commitment to join the board. “Nonprofits often have a complicated model that doesn’t work, and when I learned that EKS was providing access by simply removing the cost barrier, I knew I was in.”


“I am excited to connect EKS with potential partners I have worked with and see what we can do to get more kids playing sports. Right now, with COVID, it’s tough because the leagues are unsure of the immediate future, but once we get past the pandemic, we are going to make some things happen!”

Working at Snap! Raise has given Brandon a different perspective on the challenges families face with the cost of playing sports. Instead of working with top-earning professional athletes, he’s now assisting high school athletes on using Snap! Raise to fundraise, often for a simple set of warm-ups or cleats. Helping these athletes reach their small goals is really satisfying and I have learned so much about how challenging it can be for families to buy a pair of shoes or a uniform. And it’s made me even more committed to helping Every Kids Sports with their mission.”

– The Every Kid Sports team