Dallas Deploys a New Social Blueprint for Youth Opportunity

DALLAS, TX – July 30, 2026 – Laureus Sport for Good USA announced today the launch of Sport for Good Dallas, the latest city to adopt a global model that treats social change not as a matter of charity, but as an engineering problem. The initiative is less about building new programs and more about deploying a sophisticated social technology—a collaborative, data-driven framework designed to upgrade the entire youth sport ecosystem and generate measurable returns on investment for the city's most vulnerable young people.

This long-term commitment brings together a formidable coalition of nonprofits, philanthropists, businesses, and civic leaders. Rather than imposing a top-down solution, the model aims to find, fund, and connect the grassroots organizations already embedded in Dallas communities, amplifying their impact through a shared operational blueprint.

"Over the past few years, Laureus USA has steadily built relationships in Dallas. Through that process, we've gotten to know the extraordinary organizations and leaders who are transforming young people's lives through sport," said Ben Schornack, Executive Director of Laureus USA. "Sport for Good Dallas is our long-term commitment to investing in those leaders, strengthening the ecosystem, and ensuring more young people have the opportunity to thrive through sport."

The Technology of Collaboration

In an industry often defined by fragmented efforts and competition for scarce resources, the core innovation of the Sport for Good model is its emphasis on creating a networked system. It functions like an operating system for community impact, providing the “scaffolding,” as one developmental evaluation noted, that allows local leaders to build more robust and interconnected solutions. This approach has yielded significant results in other cities.

In Chicago, the Sport for Good coalition, now comprising 140 organizations, was instrumental in securing over $10 million in state government funding. In Atlanta, the initiative has invested over $2.1 million since 2017, impacting 20,000 youth. The model, first proven in New Orleans starting in 2014, demonstrates that by coordinating efforts, sharing data, and creating common standards for things like coach training, a city can achieve a collective impact far greater than the sum of its parts.

For Dallas, this means moving beyond isolated successes. The 17 founding coalition members, ranging from Bridge Lacrosse to the I AM a Golfer Foundation, will now be part of a unified network designed to foster partnerships, share best practices, and attract larger-scale investment.

Powering the Playbook: Data, Dollars, and Diverse Partners

A key differentiator of the Sport for Good model is its reliance on rigorous data analytics to drive strategy and measure outcomes. This is where the initiative firmly enters the realm of tech-driven innovation. Southern Methodist University's Addy Foundation Center on Research and Evaluation (CORE) will serve as the initiative’s dedicated Research & Evaluation Partner. CORE’s first task is to establish baseline data and develop a long-term evaluation framework tailored specifically to the Dallas community, effectively creating a real-time dashboard to measure the program’s return on social investment.

This data-centric approach is what attracted a powerful group of founding funders, including Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Sixth Street Foundation, and the Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL). For these partners, it’s not just about funding sports; it’s about investing in a measurable system for social change.

"Sport reaches Dallas children in a way almost nothing else does...This city already has a great foundation of incredible youth sports organizations putting it to work every day," shared Alan Cohen, Founder & CEO of CPAL. "We wanted to partner with Laureus USA because they know how to connect those efforts and bring partners together around a shared vision for expanding opportunity through sport."

As part of its launch, Laureus is opening its first Request for Proposals (RFP) in Dallas, offering 7–10 grants of $15,000 to $20,000. But the investment extends beyond capital. Grantees will be integrated into the network and gain access to capacity-building resources. Critically, they will also be required to implement impact measurement tools, with Laureus sponsoring platforms that assess social-emotional learning outcomes, ensuring that every dollar is tracked against tangible improvements in the lives of young people.

Targeting the Gaps in Dallas

The need for such a systematic approach in Dallas is acute. The city grapples with profound challenges that a fragmented, under-resourced nonprofit sector cannot solve alone. Dallas County has a child poverty rate of over 20%, with stark racial disparities affecting Black and Hispanic children at much higher rates. This economic precarity is compounded by a youth mental health crisis; over 175,000 children in the county have pressing mental health needs, and suicide is the second-leading cause of death for residents aged 15-24.

These challenges are reflected in educational and opportunity gaps, where a student’s zip code often dictates their life trajectory. The Sport for Good Dallas coalition is uniquely positioned to address these intersecting issues. Organizations like Girls on the Run DFW Metroplex directly tackle social and emotional well-being through their running-based curriculum. Others, like Beyond the Ball, Inc., use the allure of sports to introduce youth of color to careers in STEM and innovation, directly challenging the 98% of young athletes who won't go pro to envision futures in sports medicine, tech, and analytics. Jubilee Park & Community Center, another coalition member, already provides holistic cradle-to-career support in Southeast Dallas, and this initiative will now supercharge its sports-based programming.

A National Test Case for Urban Renewal

The launch of Sport for Good Dallas, celebrated with events featuring Dallas native and Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, represents more than just a new local program. It is a significant test of a scalable, replicable model for urban problem-solving. Laureus USA brings with it lessons learned from a decade of work in other cities, including the challenges of ensuring equitable coach compensation and adapting programs for youth with disabilities—issues the Dallas coalition will need to address proactively.

By leveraging a technology of collaboration, powered by data analytics and strategic partnerships, Dallas is positioning itself at the forefront of a new movement in social innovation. The world will be watching to see if this sophisticated playbook can not only change the game for youth in Dallas but also provide a blueprint for how other cities can systematically dismantle barriers to opportunity. The initiative's success will be measured not in trophies or championships, but in the upward mobility and well-being of an entire generation.