Matt Stover Helps Players Give Back

Former NFL kicker and Super Bowl Champion Matt Stover had a history of providing security on the football field during his 13 NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as an almost automatic field goal kicker.

While Stover stopped providing that security on the football field in 2011 when he retired from the game, the Ravens Ring of Honor member is now providing that same security off the field for other professional athletes and associates.

Enter Stover’s Players’ Philanthropy Fund.

The PPF, founded by the star kicker, is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide an accessible, simple, and safe solution for professional teams and their athletes to maximize philanthropic giving while protecting their financial assets and reputations.

It’s a unique donor advised fund with its own 501C3 which allows individuals/players the flexibility to operate as a stand-alone foundation but not have the legal responsibilities of a private foundation. Those responsibilities would include vetting the grants, filing tax returns, and investing funds. The players can raise the funds, place it into the PPF and then request the available funds in his/her account for any grant that qualifies as a charitable organization.

In a day and age when professional athletes need to stay focused on being the best at their sports, the PPF takes the
philanthropic burdens off the player.

“What a player these days needs is someone who will facilitate their cause and their direction,” said Matt Stover when asked about how tough it is for a player to handle those responsibilities while still playing. “What we can do is work directly with that person. What’s great about it is that this person is that they become an advisor and have no legal responsibility.”

How does this benefit the fans?

In the simplest of terms it allows the player to host wonderful charity events while continuing to work hard at making the Ravens a better football team season after season.

Some current clients of Matt Stover’s Players Philanthropy Fund include the Stover Family Foundation, the Lardarius Webb
Foundation and several former Ravens’ foundation including the Ed Reed, Arthur Jones and Ben Grubbs Foundations.

Covering numerous positive events organized by players in the community has given me a behind the scenes look at how much goes into the many charity events these players provide to those in need.

For Matt it’s just another opportunity to help those who share his same values of helping others.

Thanks to Matt and the PPF for forging a new path allowing professional athletes to safely and securely continue to improve the lives of many in our communities and beyond.

Follow me on Twitter @sportguyRSR

The post Matt Stover Helps Players Give Back appeared first on Russell Street Report | Baltimore Ravens News.

Source: http://russellstreetreport.com/2015/03/28/street-talk/matt-stover-aids-players-giving-back/