Editor's note: This story is revised from the print edition.
Dania Diaz oversees the charitable causes and foundations for Roc Nation Sports’ clients as the agency’s managing director of philanthropy. On Thursday, Roc Nation hosts the Summer Classic Charity Basketball Game at the Barclays Center to benefit the charities of athletes Robinson Cano, CC Sabathia and Miguel Cotto, and singer/songwriter/actor Nick Jonas, all Roc Nation clients. Diaz talks here about the growth of the agency and its charitable endeavors.
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The big theme across the board for our athletes and their charitable foundations and their charitable passions is to give back to communities in need, and then they sort of take a different approach to it. Some may focus on education, whether it’s early childhood education or college scholarships; some may really focus their efforts on building safe places where they can play because it was so important to them growing up.”
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Photo by: ROC NATION
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On how her job has evolved: Obviously with more athletes, it’s definitely more challenging … but [it’s] much more rewarding because the folks come together, and when they try to support a cause, they are really dedicated.
On charity starting at the first meeting: When a new recruit comes into Roc Nation, members of our philanthropy department are present at the meeting. The recruits actually appreciate the fact that we exist.
On the first sports client: Cano was our first signed athlete [in April 2013]. When he first came to us, he wanted to build a school in the Dominican Republic, in his hometown, and we were able to support him with everything from buying the land, recruiting the students; we worked with an amazing partner, Dream Project, to help us with the educational component and delivery of services on the ground.
On working with client Kevin Durant: He also had his foundation set up, and we just gave it a little more structure and support, particularly as he wanted to provide safe play spaces and renovate basketball courts in underserved communities. … We are going to continue to support him as he renovates basketball courts in high-need areas throughout the United States and throughout the world.
On technology expanding charitable awareness: Athletes use social media to promote greater social awareness and it’s something that we see across the board. They are using it to advance the causes they care about. … We just recently launched Robinson Cano’s RC22 Foundation Instagram page, where we are actually documenting what is happening at his school … and he also promotes and tweets the activities that happen at his school.
