Photo from Unsplash
Originally Posted On: https://www.equities.com/impact-investing/alexander-nfl-impact-investors/
Athletes of Influence: Shaun Alexander develops NFL players into impact investors
Second in a series [Missed part one? Read: Shaun Alexander’s success is propelled by preparation and purpose]
Former NFL player Shaun Alexander hit the ground running in his post retirement as a social entrepreneur.
The 2005 National Football League MVP was readying for impact even before he walked off the field in 2008. While playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Shaun personally managed his portfolio. Smart investments in a hotel group made him millions in annual returns on top of his nine-figure NFL salary.
Today, Shaun is a general partner of a venture capital fund called the Crimson Hall Fund and a mentor to NFL players looking to learn more about impact investing.
“We’re engaging with people and companies that do great things, that impact communities,” Shaun said during a panel at The Family Office & Private Wealth Management Forum in July. The Crimson Hall Fund has raised around $20 million, has high cash flow and real assets, Shaun explained.
Shaun develops investors for the fund through the Shaun Alexander Professional Legacy Program. He mentors NFL players on mastering what he calls the five F’s: fame, family, friendships, finances and the future.
When tackling the topic of finance, Shaun strives to help his mentees understand the potential impact of their fame and financial assets.
“In finance, it’s about making money and spending money. I have a passion to introduce guys to the right people so they can make money and create impact in other people’s lives,” Shaun told Equities.com.
Some Professional Legacy Program mentees have partnered with one of the organizations Shaun has long championed: Stand Together.
The Virginia-based trust works with nonprofit programs and research initiatives through grants and strategic support to address the root causes of the country’s biggest problems, from education to the economy.
“What I love to do the most with Stand Together is bring those guys in and help them learn how to bring attention to this organization.”
As a Stand Together Ambassador, Shaun supports Café Momentum. The award-winning nonprofit restaurant is staffed almost entirely by formerly incarcerated youth trained by renowned chef Chad Houser. During a year-long internship, 15 to 19 year olds learn marketable skills and become employed, tax-paying, contributing members of society.
In a country where rearrest rates are on average 55% for youth, within one year of their release from juvenile detention, Shaun says Café Momentum is successfully disrupting the cycle of incarceration that can trap teens. Founded in Dallas, Texas, the nonprofit also operates in Nashville, Tenn., and Pittsburg, Pa., and has recently expanded to Atlanta.
“One of the biggest issues in the NFL is you got guys whose hearts are in the right place. But they don’t know that their fame currency is so great that if they actually used it for the right causes it would be 100x what people are doing. And so what I love to do the most with Stand Together is bring those guys in and help them learn how to bring attention to this organization,” he said.
NFL players can find themselves caught up in the whirlwind of professional sports, Shaun explained. Through the Professional Legacy Program, he aims to help players focus on the long game and train them up in impact investing.
“The future is about leaving a legacy. It’s about being a social entrepreneur,” Shaun said.
Next: Equities.com dives into Shaun Alexander’s latest nonprofit venture, a disruptive educational model that aims to help homeschooled children excel both academically and athletically.
Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about Shaun’s latest nonprofit venture in part three of this series.
Read more: Shaun Alexander’s success is propelled by preparation and purpose
Paula DeLaurentis Paula is an award winning business development and marketing executive who optimizes people, resources and products to achieve ambitious goals. She was named Top 100 Women in Fintech 2018. Paula’s more than 30 years of experience in financial services from TD AmeriTrade and Goldman Sachs to impact-oriented companies like the SRI Conference and Portfolia have firmly positioned her to lead Equities.com into its next stage of growth. She is a champion for women in business and passionate about impact investing to improve environmental and social conditions for our future.
