How NBA Foundation’s Ruth Jurgensen Is Driving $300M in Direct Economic Impact

Ruth Jurgensen is changing the game of sports philanthropy. As executive director of the NBA Foundation and one of the few Black women executives in sports, she leads the league’s charge to cultivate economic opportunity, career readiness, and front-office access for under-resourced young adults nationwide.

Created in 2020 via a 10-year, $300 million commitment from the NBA Board of Governors, the NBA Foundation has moved beyond traditional sports philanthropy and has ushered in an era defined by bold grassroots investment under Jurgensen’s leadership.

​By shifting the focus from simple fundraising to long-term community empowerment across all 30 NBA markets, Jurgensen is rewriting the league’s social impact playbook and opening doors for the next generation of Black leaders.

​Speaking with The Root, Jurgensen shared how leading the NBA Foundation is her dream job. “Working with the NBA Foundation is the perfect blend of my interests and expertise, as well as a learning opportunity,” Jurgensen said. “Establishing a vision centered on giving—rather than just fundraising—and supporting nonprofit leaders in every team market is awesome. What the NBA is doing to create greater economic opportunity is so empowering, impactful, and meaningful.”

In addition to philanthropy, the NBA has two hallmark programs: the NBA All-Star Pitch Competition and the HBCU Fellowship Program. Hosted during NBA All-Star Weekend, the NBA All-Star Pitch Competition provides capital, exposure, and mentorship to early-stage entrepreneurs. It’s designed to highlight innovators driving social mobility, while the live pitch event puts local founders in front of venture capitalists, NBA executives, and high-profile business leaders.

​The HBCU Fellowship targets the business and administrative sides of professional sports. By placing HBCU talent directly in league ecosystems, the program breaks down front-office barriers, expands student networks, and builds a permanent pipeline for the NBA and WNBA.

“We had over 10,000 applications for 71 spots. The top students from HBCUs come to the league office or teams for a 10-week paid fellowship,” Jurgensen explained about the ongoing success of the program. “For some, it’s their first time in New York—standing on Fifth Avenue surrounded by NBA history. It’s mind-blowing for these young people to see the results of their hard work.”

She added: “Nearly 30% of our alumni work at the league or a team, and over 40% work in sports overall. It doesn’t just change a young person’s career trajectory—it gives them real opportunity. This year was the first summer that the NBPA, the Players Association, all had fellows.”

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​Before joining the league, Jurgensen served as CEO of Prep for Prep, a nationally recognized nonprofit focused on developing young leaders of color and expanding educational access. Driven by a desire to work in sports, she applied for the NBA Foundation role in a different city—a bold career shift she kept secret from her family until the job was secured.

​“I’ve spent so much time in education, and I just want to focus on sports. When this job listing came through, I just locked in. I was like, ‘I’m not even going to ask why this is here or if the timing is good,’” said Jurgensen. “I’m going for it. I didn’t even tell anybody that I had applied. So by the time anybody heard about it, including my own family, husband, and son, I had the job. They were like, ‘What?’ I was so locked in! I was like, ‘I can’t tell anybody I’m applying for this. I can’t waste a moment of my energy on explaining.’”

When asked to pinpoint her personal superpower in executive sports leadership, Jurgensen’s answer was simple: Capacity.

​“I’m one of many women who actually bring this particular quality. But when you ask that question, the first thing that comes to mind is capacity. I can do a lot of things. What Black woman do you know that can do a lot of things? I have the capacity to do many things at once and care about the people who are in front of me and think about the people who aren’t, sending them energy and support,” Jurgensen said.

For support, she’s a part of a “Sister CEO” group of Black women who are navigating their roles as executives in the sports world and beyond.

“I think of the example of the Black women in my own life, Black women who have mentored me,” she noted. “My Sister CEO group, someone like Kim Davis, who’s the top woman in the NHL, and whatever room she’s in, she’s running it. I’m always there to learn from her. So it’s not just me. I see examples of this all the time, but capacity, I think, is it.”

​For Jurgensen, initiatives like internships and grants are just building blocks toward a broader goal of establishing a nationwide ecosystem of partners, corporate allies, and sports front offices dedicated to long-term career advancement.

​”We have the full support of league leadership, and as the NBA’s first 501(c)(3) foundation, the mission we were charged with at our 2020 founding continues today,” she added. “Creating greater economic opportunity is essential—and it fits naturally with the NBA, which is one of the most philanthropic communities you can imagine.” And fulfilling that mission means embedding purpose directly into the league’s player onboarding.

​”When rookies enter the league, they hear from us, the NBPA Foundation, and the Social Justice Coalition so they understand the platform they now hold as NBA players,” she continued. “They approach it with so much optimism and vision. That’s the community they’re coming into. They recognize it right away. That’s what all the teams do. It’s about giving back, because we have this fortune of being focused on the business of basketball. It’s just the authentic way of the NBA.”