PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan punctuated a Presidents Cup-backed diversity, equity and inclusion summit today in Charlotte by disclosing $2 million in donations to several local causes and groups, including the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative.
The PGA Tour owns and operates the Presidents Cup, a team match-play competition held every two years that is debuting this week at Quail Hollow Club.
Monahan took the stage at the Knight Theater at the invitation of Johno Harris, the local real estate executive who is serving as chairman of the Presidents Cup in Charlotte.
In 2020, the PGA Tour committed to investing $100 million over the next decade to aid social justice, diversity and equity causes. Monahan disclosed today that “this collective focus on diverse partners and communities has resulted in achieving more than $40 million in charitable impact towards that goal.”
The combined PGA Tour-Presidents Cup-Quail Hollow donation includes $575,500 for the Mayor’s Racial Equity Initiative, a $250 million program introduced last fall by Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles and a group of influential corporate and community executives. To date, 90%, or $226 million, has been raised to fund goals including more career-path focus at Johnson C. Smith University, bridging the digital divide, investing in disadvantaged neighborhoods and strengthening career advancement and hiring of people of color among the area’s largest employers.
After disclosing the gift, Monahan welcomed Lyles to the stage.
“I don’t quite know what to say to these two gentlemen,” she said, asking the audience to stand and applaud. “I also want the commissioner to know how deeply Charlotte is committed to this effort and what we’re going to do. And that we are going to prove to you that everyone has the opportunity to move forward in their lives, that we’re not going to leave anybody behind.”
Other social and economic mobility organizations receiving unspecified amounts from the overall $2 million in gifts include:
- The Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte, a provider of tutoring for students in need to improve reading, writing and spelling
- Charlotte Family Housing, a shelter-to-housing program to help working families with shelter and other services to build self-sufficiency
- NXT/CLT, an organization that helps people of color build and grow small businesses
- Renaissance West Community Initiative, a local community that combats poverty through a combination of services and help with housing, education, health and wellness
Johnson C. Smith, known as JCSU, is an historically Black university, started in 1867. During the diversity discussions today at the Knight Theater, boosting HBCUs — Historically Black Colleges and Universities — and making intentional business decisions in corporate America to increase opportunities for minorities took center stage.
Diversity executives from sponsors Bridgestone Americas, Citigroup Inc., Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., and Charlotte-based Nucor Corp. participated in a panel discussion moderated by PGA Tour Senior Vice President of Community and Inclusion Marsha Oliver.
More on the conversation about the companies’ DEI initiatives and recruiting strategies can be found in the Charlotte Business Journal.
