Put Away The Confetti

How Smart Pro Teams Create Shared Value Around Community Programs  

If you’ve ever worked inside a pro sports team, you know the pace: everyone’s sprinting in their own lane (sometimes literally)—the marketing team is chasing brand awareness, partnerships are chasing, well, corporate partnerships, ticket sales chase renewals, community relations chase impact. It’s a bit like a race where everyone’s running at full speed, looking straight ahead. 

But what if the model looked more like a soccer match: a coordinated game plan where everyone is moving the ball down the field together? When a team’s departments align around shared goals, something magic happens. Add a corporate partner that sees philanthropy as more than a photo op, and you’ve got what we call a shared value partnership—a collaboration that creates both business value and social impact.   

Here's a model to get it right. 

Define your mission (and stick to it). 

Here’s the truth: too many teams take the confetti approach to community giving - supporting a little of everything, everywhere, all at once. It feels generous, but it’s confusing to fans, exhausting to manage and nearly impossible to measure. Sure, it gets your logo in the program book and a table at dinner, so the community knows you care, but does it really move the needle?   

Instead, define a focused, authentic charitable program rooted in your community’s real needs—and your team values. It may take time to schedule both internal and external meetings to develop something meaningful and actionable, but it is 100% worth it.   

When I was with the Chicago Cubs, we faced this exact challenge. Under new ownership, we were rethinking how to make Cubs Charities more impactful. We considered a baseball-related program and wanted to understand how the community would receive it. Attending Little League and rec center meetings, we asked questions, and—more importantly—listened, and it became clear the response to the proposed programming was lukewarm.  

One man summed up the problem perfectly: “We need the dirt.”  

With that feedback, the Cubs Charities Diamond Project was born – a direct-to-community program focused on refurbishing and building baseball fields across Chicago. That program still stands because it wasn’t dreamed up in a boardroom—it was born from community listening.  

Make your mission clear and ground it in real needs, then everything you do amplifies from there and your whole organization knows where to focus. 

Break down the silos. 

Even the most community-minded team can fall into the silo trap. Community relations is out there doing good work, but marketing doesn’t know about it. Sponsorship has big partnerships lined up, but no one’s connecting the dots between community impact and brand goals. 

Here’s where the shared value concept comes in. Every year, teams should bring their departments together—not just to report, but to collaborate. When everyone understands each other’s drivers and KPIs, the lightbulbs start to go off. 

Take the Sacramento Kings. Their Kingpin Classic partnership with Raley’s, a grocery store brand, is a perfect example. Together, they raise funds for the Kings’ youth basketball programs—a win for everyone involved. The team fulfills its mission, Raley’s strengthens community credibility, and the Kings Foundation funds programs that create new, lifelong fans.  

That’s not “checking the community box.” That’s a sustainable strategy—each side achieving its goals while genuinely improving lives. That’s a win-win-win.  

Listen early, listen often—especially if you’re new. 

For new leagues and teams, the temptation is to wait until the brand is established before fully launching community programs. Don’t. 

Start with listening—both grassroots and internal. Ask your fans, players, and local leaders what matters most. Then ask your internal teams what they need. The overlap between those answers? That’s your sweet spot. 

If you are struggling to fill seats or build loyalty, odds are you haven’t spent enough time, energy or resources on your community or charity programs. Fans don’t just support teams—they support loyalty. Engagement is a two-way street. (And if you need help figuring this out, call us. We love this work.) 

When you start this way, you don’t just create a “community program.” You create a mission that your sponsors, players, and fans can believe in and engage with. It defines who you are, what you stand for, and gives your audience one more reason to root for you.  

The Bottom Line 

Sports has the power to unite people, and the smartest teams know: unity is strategic. 

When teams define their mission, align their departments, and build genuine shared value partnerships, the results aren’t just good PR – they are long-term, measurable impact. 

Because in the end, doing good shouldn’t be a sideline activity. It should be part of the playbook. 

Any great examples of win-win-win partnerships? We’d love to hear!