Institute for Sport and Social Justice

What Institute for Sport and Social Justice does

The Institute for Sport and Social Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 by Dr. Richard Lapchick as the National Consortium for Academics & Sports and renamed in 2018 to its current form. It is headquartered in Oviedo, Florida, and operates with a small executive team that delivers training and education, knowledge creation, global engagement, and community & youth programming through sport as a platform for social change.

Its core product is Huddle Up, an integrated training program covering gender-based violence prevention, diversity/equity/inclusion/belonging (DEIB), leadership development, and culture & climate assessment for athletes, coaches, and staff from high school through professional level. Huddle Up was assembled from two legacy programs — the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) bystander-approach program (1987–2018) and the TEAMWORK Leadership Institute (1985–2020) — and now offers modular sub-products for gender violence prevention, equity & social justice, leadership development, culture & climate, and a High School Leadership Academy. Supporting programs include National STUDENT-Athlete Day (April 6, since 1987), the Power of Sport Gala, the Hall of Fame, the Equality Summit, and the Hope For Stanley Alliance community rebuilding initiative in New Orleans.

The Institute is funded through tax-deductible donations and corporate partnerships/sponsorships rather than disclosed fee-for-service pricing. Programs are delivered via direct partnerships with professional sports organizations (NBA, MLB, NWSL), collegiate athletics (NCAA since 2015), IMG Academy, and the U.S. Air Force, and amplified through flagship events, Dr. Lapchick's columns in ESPN.com and The Sports Business Journal, and a 2024 New Strategic Vision under CEO Dr. Jeffrey O'Brien.

Name

Institute for Sport and Social Justice

Legal name

Institute for Sport and Social Justice

Website

https://sportandsocialjustice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Institute for Sport and Social Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1985 that delivers sport-based training, education, and assessment on gender-based violence prevention, DEIB, and leadership for athletes, coaches, staff, and sports organizations from high school through professional level.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sports Education and Social Justice Training

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College/University Athletic Departments & Varsity Programs (MPAKACAB)

Keywords

• Social justice education
• Leadership development training
• Gender violence prevention
• DEIB training programs
• Athletic leadership programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Orlando

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals, foundations, and organizations. The Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (EIN 47-5127394). Donations support programs for gender-based violence prevention, leadership training, and community youth initiatives.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Mutually beneficial partnerships with foundations, leagues, teams, athletes, brands, and corporations for leadership-focused events and dynamic engagement. Partners receive association with the Institute's mission and impact initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Institute for Sport and Social Justice delivers the Huddle Up program, a sport-based social justice education and training curriculum for athletes, coaches, and staff across professional, collegiate, and youth levels. Training covers gender-based violence prevention, equity and social justice, leadership development, culture and climate transformation, and a high school leadership academy. The Institute also operates the Hope For Stanley Alliance advocacy network and runs annual recognition events including the Power of Sport Gala, the Hall of Fame, and the National STUDENT-Athlete Day observance.

Product overview

The Institute for Sport and Social Justice operates primarily through its Huddle Up platform, which integrates gender violence prevention, diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging (DEIB), and leadership development training for athletes, coaches, and staff at all levels—from youth to professional. Huddle Up offers multiple specialized sub-programs including Huddle Up for Gender Violence Prevention, Huddle Up for Equity and Social Justice, Huddle Up for Leadership Development, Huddle Up for Culture and Climate, and the Huddle Up High School Leadership Academy. Supporting programs include National STUDENT-Athlete Day (established 1987), the Power of Sport Gala, Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, and the Hope For Stanley Alliance community initiative. Legacy programs include the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) and TEAMWORK Leadership Institute (TLI), which were combined to form Huddle Up. The organization also provides research services, culture & climate assessments, and DEIB-infused human capital benchmarking tools as part of its Knowledge Creation impact area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Huddle Up: Educational programming targeting gender violence, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), and leadership development for athletes, coaches, and staff at all levels.
• National STUDENT-Athlete Day
• Power of Sport Gala
• Hall of Fame
• Hope For Stanley Alliance

Products and services

• Huddle Up Huddle Up is the Institute's flagship sport-based social justice education and training program, delivered to athletes, coaches, and staff at professional, collegiate, and youth levels. It bundles five curriculum areas: Gender Violence Prevention, Equity and Social Justice, Leadership Development, Culture and Climate, and the High School Leadership Academy, and is structured to be 'designed by athletes, for athletes.'
• Gender Violence Prevention Curriculum A standalone curriculum area within Huddle Up, providing training on gender-based violence prevention for athletes and athletics staff. Uses the MVP (Mentors in Violence Prevention) bystander-intervention approach.
• Equity and Social Justice Curriculum Curriculum area within Huddle Up focused on equity and social justice training for athletes, coaches, and staff.
• Leadership Development Curriculum Curriculum area within Huddle Up focused on leadership development training for athletes, coaches, and staff.
• Culture and Climate Curriculum Curriculum area within Huddle Up that pairs training with the DEIB-infused Culture & Climate Assessment Model to support culture and climate transformation in athletic organizations.
• High School Leadership Academy Youth-tier curriculum area within Huddle Up designed for high school and youth athletes and emerging leaders to build early prevention and leadership skills.
• Hope For Stanley Alliance Alliance and advocacy network that brings together organizations and individuals committed to advancing the Institute's mission, including the 'Be the Difference' bystander initiative and the Stanley Award recognition.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.4 million+ outstanding student-athletes honored since 1987
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NCAAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Ongoing partnership since 2015 for the Student Athlete Leadership Forum. The Institute creates curriculum and training, and trains facilitators. Nearly 400 student-athletes, coaches, and administrators participated in the November 2024 forum in Charlotte, NC.
• MLB Teams (Atlanta Braves, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwenty-year partnership delivering gender-based violence prevention training during MLB Spring Training. Nearly 1,000 athletes, coaches, and staff trained annually.
• IMG AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership delivering leadership and social impact training during IMG Academy Intersession. Over 300 senior student-athletes engaged in immersive training.
• AthlifeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for the Annual Player Networking Event at Super Bowl, combining leadership development with local high school student-athletes. Nearly 200 high school athletes participated in 2024.
• FIFAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted the 2023 Equality Summit during the FIFA Women's World Cup in Sydney, Australia, bringing together global experts and thought leaders to advance women's football.
• Hope for Stanley AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance to assist Hurricane Katrina survivors rebuild homes in New Orleans. Over 1,000 volunteers, 55,000+ hours, and 152 homes since 2006. No other outside organization has volunteered more time to rebuild New Orleans.
• National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for National STUDENT-Athlete Day celebration (April 6), created by the Institute in 1987. Honors outstanding high school and college student-athletes.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PeacePlayers International: Uses basketball to bring youth together across divided communities with leadership and conflict-resolution curricula — directly comparable sport-based youth leadership and bystander-style programming.
• Right To Play: Global organization using sport and play to educate and empower children facing adversity, with explicit leadership and social-emotional curricula — comparable pedagogical approach and outcome-measurement focus.
• It's On Us: Nonprofit campaign focused on preventing campus sexual assault through bystander intervention training — directly overlaps ISSJ's gender-violence prevention curriculum in the collegiate athletic setting.
• Athletes for Hope: Nonprofit mobilizing professional and collegiate athletes for social causes through training, service programming, and partnerships — directly comparable athlete-led program model and donor/partnership revenue streams.
• Laureus Sport for Good: Global foundation funding and supporting sport-for-social-change programs worldwide, including leadership and inclusion initiatives — broadly comparable mission and partnership-driven revenue model with deeper international reach.
• Beyond Sport: Global organization that supports and convenes sports-based social impact programs, including DEI and leadership initiatives — directly comparable mission, target ecosystem (leagues, NGOs), and event-led funding/partnership model.
• Sport in Society at Northeastern University: Northeastern University-based center delivering sport-based social justice education, leadership training, and DEI programming to athletes and sport organizations — directly overlapping ISSJ's Huddle Up offerings and target customer base.
• Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA): National nonprofit providing training and development tools for coaches, parents, and sport organizations focused on positive, inclusive youth and high school sport environments — directly comparable training-delivery model to ISSJ's athlete development programs.

Others

• Mentor (MENTOR National Mentoring Partnership): National umbrella for youth mentoring programs, including sport-based mentoring — adjacent peer that influences ISSJ's youth/community programming and facilitator network standards.

Broad incumbents

• Women's Sports Foundation: Established broader organization serving women's sports with research, advocacy, leadership, and training programs across scholastic, collegiate, and professional levels — overlapping DEIB and athlete development mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/InstituteSSJ
• Facebookfacebook.com/InstituteSSJ

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for Sport and Social Justice