It just might be the best Name, Image and Likeness endeavor in the United States.
Certainly, it more closely aligns with the original NIL mission: to allow athletes to gain compensation from their endorsements and to generate interest in a business or entity in the process.
This one just happens to feature one of America’s greatest individual charitable endeavors and a dozen Football Championship Subdivision players with their respective programs lending additional visibility to the effort.
Alex’s Lemonade Stand was founded by the late Alexandra Scott, who absorbed her childhood cancer diagnosis and vowed to do something about it.
Beginning with an actual lemonade stand, Scott raised a couple thousand dollars in her metro-Philadelphia home area. After she passed, her mother, Elizabeth Scott, has spearheaded Alex’s Lemonade Stand into a registered charity that raises funds for pediatric cancer research.
That’s where this meets the NIL junction and sees Northwestern Mutual joining forces with nationally syndicated FCS Nation Radio in the Champions For Kids With Cancer campaign.
“Alex had a goal to raise a million dollars,” said Chris Schenkel, a managing partner in Iowa and South Dakota with Northwestern Mutual, which has worked directly with Alex’s Lemonade Stand on a national level for more than a decade to help raise more than $60 million. “Her mom, Liz, helped carry that vision forward.
“All dollars raised are used for the research of childhood cancer, which only 4% (federally allocated) funds go to. It’s a highly underfunded area, and we wanted to help with that. We also have a lot of dollars go directly to families (of pediatric cancer patients).”
The format, with Northwestern and FCS Nation Radio in the second year of their partnership, tabs a dozen players from around the country with various FCS programs to help assist in fundraising efforts. Those players receive some NIL compensation and then help promote charitable giving via fan events, social media posts and other interactions, including media interviews.
This year’s FCS participating players are:
TJ Baldwin, Richmond
Bo Belquist, University of North Dakota
Jet Booker, Southeastern Louisiana
Aidan Bouman, University of South Dakota (2023’s top fundraiser)
Evan DiMaggio, Furman University
Javonte Graves-Billips, The Citadel
Mark Gronowski, South Dakota State
Chris Presto, Southern Illinois
Daniel Sobkowicz, Illinois State
Ben Voigtlaender, Eastern Washington
David Walker, Central Arkansas
Gray Zabel, North Dakota State
“For us, we're just really pleased to be a part of the whole thing,” said Kevin Marshall, one half of FCS Nation Radio alongside Stone Labanowitz. “It's a really great use for NIL, which gets such a bad rap at the FBS level because it's basically money for nothing.
“At our level, these young men are using their name, image, and likeness for something greater than their own self-interest. They’re helping kids who have cancer and helping find a cure for childhood cancer.”
Per Schenkel, the dozen FCS players are tabbed as honorary captains on behalf of their programs and schools “to raise awareness and money for research.” Players are partnered with regional Northwestern Mutual offices near the campuses.
This year’s mission? Raise $250,000 via this campaign. Bouman raised more than $45,000 last year in the program’s first year to nab top single fundraiser honors.
“Every Wednesday at 1 o’clock Central, we bring the 12 offices together (by video call), share ideas around what we’re doing to impact campus and how we’re trying to raise money together.
“We all want our athlete to win, but really we just all care about hitting the goal.”
Schenkel believes this program shows football’s potential to impact society well beyond touchdowns and gamedays.
“With the money raised, it’s like an impact-stat created on the back of football cards, rather than just passing yards or tackles,” he said. “FCS Nation Radio has been a huge part; they’re the glue. They reached out for national advertising, and it just clicked.
“That’s where the idea came from.”
For more information on the program or to make a direct donation, go to the web site: Alex’s Lemonade Stand.