DICK'S Sporting Goods - Sustainability

Sports have an important role to play in bringing communities together and equipping children with the core values of teamwork, a strong work ethic, and respect for their fellow players.

At DICK’S and The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, we focus our initiatives on making sports accessible to all athletes and expanding economic opportunities within the communities we operate through education, working with diverse suppliers, and collaboration.

GOALS & PROGRESS

DICK’S believes that everyone should have the opportunity to benefit from the experience of sports. We are working to help make that a reality – with a focus on underserved and diverse communities, collaboration, and economic empowerment.

Clearing HurdlesBreaking down barriers to ensure that all communities have a chance to play sports, learn, and prosper

in-progress

Provide two million young people from under-resourced communities with the opportunity to play sports by 2024 (since 2019)

Achieve $300 million in annual spend with diverse suppliers by 2025 (including both direct (Tier 1) and indirect (Tier 2) suppliers)

Group of athletes celebrating on softball field

SUPPORTING DIVERSE SUPPLIERS

By supporting and expanding our work with diverse suppliers, we are strengthening the economic base of our communities and better reflecting the diversity of the athletes that shop with us. We launched a new supplier-diversity website and registration portal through which businesses can join our pool of potential suppliers.

DICK’S partners with a growing list of organizations to develop business relationships and expenditures with certified minority-, women-, LGBTQ+-, veteran-, and disability-owned businesses, including corporate memberships with organizations, such as Women's Business Enterprise National Council, National Minority Supplier Development Council, National Veteran Business Development Council, and more.

Tier 1 & 2 Spending:

$56M TIER 1 SPENDING IN 2022

$300M ANNUAL SPEND BY 2025

We practice conscious sourcing, working to connect with diverse brands and vendors that meet our standards and help us expand our offerings. Whom we do business with is paramount to ensure we hold true to the values and beliefs of our company and the communities we serve.

– Ramon Catania,Director of Supplier Initiatives

Ensuring Everyone Has a Chance to Play

Sports can create lasting friendships and a sense of community – even family. Children learn the value of teamwork, build a strong work ethic, and gain respect for teammates. Yet, access to sports is not currently enjoyed equally across the United States. Kids from income-restricted homes are quitting sports at six times the rate of kids from high-income homes because of financial costs.^*

The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation mission is to inspire and enable youth participation in sports through its signature Sports Matter program, which provides grants and programming support to under-resourced youth sports programs, 501c3 organizations, and schools to help give all kids a chance to play shorts. DICK’S Sporting Goods donates 1% of DSG-branded product sales to the Sports Matter program. In addition, DICK’S supports youth sports programs and community partnerships through corporate sponsorships, partnerships, and in-kind giving.

For more information on The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, see our Sports Matter website and our latest Purpose Playbook.

Helping athletes achieve their dreams is what we do. We give back and look to create more opportunities and access to sports and the outdoors, so more kids have a purpose and a place to belong.

We focus our efforts on the four main barriers that hinder under-resourced youth organizations from accessing sports. Below are just a few examples:

EQUIPMENT

SPORTS MATTER DAYS

In 2022, we stopped in three cities — Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston — to provide under-resourced athletes with a Sports Matter day: a day of sports sampling, healthy food, and fun. We were able to give each town 10,000 bags of sports equipment for youth athletes to keep them in the game.

In 2022, our partnership with Good Sports and DonorsChoose provided over 31,000 youth with equipment they need to play sports.

LOCAL LEAGUE COSTS

KEEPING KIDS ACTIVE

We’re giving back in our own backyard of Pittsburgh with a $90,000 Sports Matter grant that will help youth sports organizations that were unable to fundraise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but still made it their mission to coach kids. “This is where people need help in the community,” said Pittsburgh Council President Theresa Kail-Smith when the grant was announced. “[This will] literally keep around 10,000 kids off the streets and into productive, positive activities.”

In 2022, we helped cover costs for over 1,500 leagues across the United States.

INFRASTRUCTURE

BUILDING A FIELD FOR DREAMS

With a $100,000 grant, we are helping Jerome High School in Idaho build its first-ever softball field on campus. Watch the team find out the good news. For the past three years, we have also partnered with the U.S Soccer Foundation to build 15 soccer mini pitches in under-resourced communities.

REGISTRATION FEES

HELPING KIDS GET IN THE GAME

Through our funding to Every Kid Sports, we help cover registration fees for income-restricted families across the country.

We helped cover the costs of registration for over 6,000 kids across the United States last year.

2022 giving

Sports Matter

Education

Public Lands Fund

Total: More than $44M

Bringing Community into School and School into Community

We seek to help every athlete be their very best, and we also stand behind their families and their communities. That is exactly the motivation that led to a first-of-a-kind partnership between The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation and the McKeesport Area School District (MASD).

For more than 600 elementary-aged children in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, fall 2022 brought not only autumn colors but a brand-new school and learning experience.

MASD staff, families, and community members worked together with The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation to co-design an entirely new school model – United at Twin Rivers – focused on building healthy minds, bodies, and relationships for more than a year. Key features include:

Ready to Learn: A social-emotional approach that helps ensure all students can enter the classroom ready to learn.
Mid-day Block: Devoted time for learners to refuel and energize their bodies - whether through simple breathing exercises, or just free play.
Tiger’s Den: A community resource center, supported by The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, offers free laundry, Wi-Fi, and showers, as well as a clothing and food pantry for students and families.
Summer Camp: A free six-week summer camp to provide kids with a safe, enriching experience when school is on break.

We are working on making an impact across:

Increasing attendance
Improving staff engagement
Increasing physical activity for the students

From day one, The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation has worked shoulder to shoulder with us to support students -- from its financial support of professional development and community events, to our shared work to provide extra food and clothing to all students and their families. We are excited to see all that this partnership can bring to our students long term.

– Dr. Mark P. Holtzman,McKeesport Area School District Superintendent

Clearing Hurdles