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Colin Kaepernick and Know Your Rights Camp Commit $1,000,000 To Fund Community Organizations Now through 2027

Launched on the 10th Anniversary of the Protest That Started It All, the Renewal of the Million Dollar Pledge Represents a $1,000,000 dollar commitment from KYRC to community organizations through monthly grants in 2027.

San Francisco, CA (August 14, 2026) Ten years ago today on August 14th 2016, Colin Kaepernick sat on a bench in Santa Clara during the national anthem before a preseason game. Almost no one noticed. What followed reshaped the relationship between American sports and American protest and created Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC), the organization Kaepernick and his wife Nessa co-founded to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities. Today, on the tenth anniversary of that moment, KYRC is launching a renewed Million Dollar Pledge—a year-long commitment to direct $1,000,000 into the communities the organization has served for a decade.

“When I made the Million Dollar Pledge in 2016, I wanted to put resources directly into the hands of the organizations and people doing the work in our communities every day,” says Colin Kaepernick, Founder of Know Your Rights Camp. “The last ten years have shown us that community is the real power, and that when people have the resources to act on their vision, they can transform our communities. Today marks 10 years since I began to protest, and Know Your Rights Camp is renewing the Million Dollar Pledge with another $1 million investment in the organizations and leaders building healthier, safer, and stronger communities.”

The first $100,000 in grants will support:

Grants will reinforce work aligned to KYRC’s 10 Points, the rights-based framework that has anchored the organization’s free camps since 2016.  From rapid response efforts to basic needs KYRC is looking to provide support to mission aligned organizations nationwide. Funding areas include legal rights, youth development, mental and physical health, basic needs, economic opportunity, education, technology, art, history and other programs.

The original Million Dollar Pledge was Kaepernick's 2016 commitment to personally donate $1 million to organizations working in underserved communities. Running from October 2016 through January 2018, the pledge supported more than 30 organizations across at least 15 cities. Every recipient and donation amount was made public.  The pledge funded police accountability and legal defense work in San Jose, Dallas, New York and Chicago as well as youth development and education programs in Oakland, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Atlanta, Harlem and the Lower East Side, among many other initiatives.  Kaepernick completed the pledge with #10for10, donating $10,000 a day for 10 consecutive days. For each donation, friends including J.Cole, Stephen Curry and Serena Williams selected the benefiting organization and matched Kaepernick’s gift.  The outpouring of support ultimately inspired the #10for10Encore, which benefited additional organizations.  See here for the full list.

Since hosting its first camp in Oakland in 2016, KYRC has completed 16 free youth camps across Oakland, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Miami, Baltimore, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia, and St. Louis—serving more than 5,000 youth and chaperones and generating $4,247,939 in in-kind donations and camp/program value.

Beyond its camps, KYRC has established a record of direct community investment and vetted grantmaking. Below are some of the ways the organization has deployed support into communities: More than $2.69 million in cash grants to organizations nationwide, including more than $800,000 through its COVID-19 Relief Fund, a $500,000 collaborative grant to the National Lawyers Guild establishing the KYRC Legal Defense Initiative, and $1 million to community bail funds in partnership with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. KYRC has also provided $204,700 in legal support grants to help address the persistent punitive consequences faced by freedom fighters.

In 2022, KYRC launched its Autopsy Initiative, providing independent autopsies to families seeking answers after a loved one dies in police or state custody. To date, the initiative has funded 150 independent autopsies, representing approximately $2.25 million in services based on an average cost of $15,000 per autopsy. Notable cases include Ramon Mcghee, Lisa Martinez, Lashawn Thompson, and Maksym Chernyak.

KYRC's community investment has also included the distribution of more than 30,000 backpacks, books, and Nike shoes, combined. Rapid response efforts deployed the delivery of 5,000 gallons of drinking water to Jackson, Mississippi, in 2022, and $30,000 in tornado relief funding to St. Louis in 2025.

This renewed Million Dollar Pledge carries that work into KYRC's second decade, creating a platform for new and longtime supporters to invest alongside the organization in the communities leading the work.

The KNOW YOUR RIGHTS CAMP 10 POINTS:

  1. You have the right to BE FREE
  2. You have the right to BE HEALTHY
  3. You have the right to BE BRILLIANT
  4. You have the right to BE SAFE
  5. You have the right to BE LOVED
  6. You have the right to BE COURAGEOUS
  7. You have the right to BE ALIVE
  8. You have the right to BE TRUSTED
  9. You have the right to BE EDUCATED
  10. You have the right to KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

ABOUT KNOW YOUR RIGHTS CAMP

Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC) - Our mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass-mobilization and the creation of new systems that elevate the next generation of change leaders.

KYRC is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. EIF is a Charity Navigator 4-Star Charity that meets all 20 Better Business Bureau charity standards and carries the Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency.

 

EIN: 95‑1644609 All donations are tax-deductible.

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