Our Impact
Social impact is at the core of everything
we do
Across the McCourt enterprise, we are committed to extending the McCourt family’s legacy of contribution by creating societal and community value through all our businesses. From building real estate to developing technology, from sports to capital investment, we aim to positively impact the communities we serve and advance the common good.
our philosophy
A New Model of Enterprise
In 2020, McCourt Global made the decision to integrate its deep legacy of social impact into the overall company strategy. The new vision – to build a new model of enterprise, diversified and global, that maximizes value by integrating financial results with social impact – was officially adopted and guides both the existing company projects, as well as our newest initiatives.
By the Numbers
$200M
donated to create and support the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University.
100+
leading non-profit organizations have joined McCourt Global in supporting Project Liberty’s efforts to fix the internet.
130
community organizations supported in Marseille by the
OM Foundation.
0
emissions during a 7-minute aerial ride to Dodgers Stadium via the proposed LA ART project.
$500M
committed by McCourt Global to advance healthier, algorithm-free social networking.
15K
people accessed public programming for free during the 2021 and 2022 Unfinished Live events at The Shed in NYC.
A results-driven approach to impact
“Every piece of code we develop is within an ethics framework.”
Denise Duncan, Senior Director of Operations, Amplica Labs
Today, mega platforms govern social networking – a model that drives negative consequences and conflicts with the needs of the world’s digital citizens. With MG’s vision and support, Amplica Labs is focused on empowering people over platforms, enabling users to take control of their personal data and revolutionizing social networking. “Amplica Labs is dedicated to developing infrastructure to empower the visionary builders who are reshaping the landscape of social networks,” says Denise Duncan. “We’re helping pave the way toward a new, healthier version of the web.”
Reclaiming digital power
The Amplica Labs team developed a groundbreaking, open-source protocol designed to serve as a new infrastructure for the next generation of the web: the Decentralized Social Networking Protocol (DSNP). DSNP lays a foundation for internet users to own and control their data, and to participate more fully in the digital economy. Distinct from other blockchain-based social networking projects by decoupling financial incentives from the core protocol, DSNP is designed to support a healthier third generation of the web and was released to the public by nonprofit Project Liberty in 2021. “The time has come for a paradigm shift, where digital power is reclaimed by the people themselves,” shares Denise.
Empowering people over platforms
Amplica Labs’ work to develop ethical technology reflects McCourt Global’s values and commitment to supporting bold solutions. In addition to designing DSNP, Amplica Labs was the initial technical contributor to Frequency, a Layer 1 blockchain that enables builders to deliver decentralized social applications at a massive scale by breaking longstanding pricing barriers. “We are continuing to build out an ecosystem of transformative technology to enable apps to deliver unparalleled transparency, choice, and agency,” explains Denise, “so people, instead of centralized platforms and corporations, can control digital spaces.”
“Empowering communities to build a healthier world.”
Jen Rivera, SVP of External Affairs, McCourt Partners
McCourt Partners’ (MP) real estate philosophy centers around building complete communities, an approach that reflects the McCourt family’s 130-year commitment to creating infrastructure that drives positive social impact. Jen Rivera explains, “We believe that neighborhoods are more than buildings and put our communities at the heart of every development. For neighborhoods to thrive, opportunities for connection and spaces that deliver collective benefits are critical.”
Elevating communities through shared value
“We see every development project as an opportunity to sync into the local ecosystem, working together with our neighbors to proudly support programs across education, business entrepreneurship, the arts and more,” adds Jen. Leveraging McCourt Global’s expertise as entrepreneurs, MP helped launched Chinatown’s Small Business Program to uplift the network of neighborhood businesses near their office via technology upgrades, marketing support, and safety net implementation. MP also partners with public safety organizations, including the LAFD Foundation, and passionately supports the arts, cultivating rich connections across the public and private sectors to support complete communities.
Solutions for a healthier future
Reflecting MP’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive development, the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit Project (LA ART) is a zero-emission urban gondola that aims to transform transit in Los Angeles by providing a safe, environmentally friendly connection from Union Station to Dodgers Stadium in just seven minutes. Accessible and affordable, the gondola strives to take 3,000 cars off the road on game days, a big win for climate and community. The project is being donated to Zero Emissions Transit (ZET), a supporting non-profit of Climate Resolve, as announced in 2022.
Strong partnerships drive transformative impact
“Art, culture, and ideas change lives.”
Alex Poots, Artistic Director at The Shed
The Shed is a cutting-edge cultural arts center and community hub in New York City that is working to forge connection, elevate new voices and ideas, and unleashes the power of art to educate, unite, and inspire. This unique and ambitious space was made possible by foundational supporters like Frank McCourt who had the vision and optimism needed to bring this bold idea to life. Informed by his decades of experience creating energetic civic spaces, and inspired by a lifelong appreciation for the arts, Frank McCourt donated $45 million to support the creation of The Shed and its dynamic, large-scale event and performance space, The McCourt.
Access to art is a right, not a privilege
“Access to new art and ideas is a right, not a privilege,” asserts Alex Poots. As a new cultural institution of and for the 21st century, The Shed was designed to break with the traditions that separate art forms and audiences. By minimizing economic and social barriers to entry, The Shed welcomes diverse audiences to engage in impactful, sustainable, and relevant work. “Our responsibility is to address the urgent issues of our time by provoking critical discussion and making space for collaboration,” says Poots. In 2021 and 2022, The Shed hosted the celebrated Unfinished Live convenings, which were designed and produced by McCourt Global’s Impact team, bringing together thousands of experts and engaged citizens to explore ways to build a healthier, more equitable digital future.
The widest civic responsibility
The Shed’s organizational structure is equally value-centered, as a nonprofit on city land where all other structures are privatized. It is helping to jumpstart New York’s burgeoning Hudson Yards neighborhood and connecting to the surrounding community through partnerships with local public schools, New York City Housing Authority community centers, and incubating The Fire Ensemble, an intergenerational choir community centering BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities. “I want The Shed to have the widest civic responsibility,” shares Poots.
“We aim to be the most inclusive public policy school in the world.”
Maria Cancian, Dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University
In the heart of America’s capital city, the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University provides tomorrow’s leaders with cutting-edge skills and ethical grounding to have a positive impact in the world. In 2013, proud Georgetown alum Frank McCourt helped launch the school with a $100 million endowment, inspired by his family’s 100-year relationship with the university and galvanized by the need to address the urgent challenges of our time with an innovative and inclusive approach to public policy.
Breaking down barriers to entry
The McCourt School aspires to become the world’s most inclusive – and, therefore, most relevant and impactful – public policy school. Sharing the school’s dedication to empower those who have been left out and left behind, McCourt made a second transformational investment of $100 million to the McCourt School in 2021, devoting half to scholarships aimed at catalyzing a more inclusive pipeline of public policy leaders. “Policy cannot work for all unless it is shaped by all,” urges Dean Cancian. “This investment is an enormous step forward. It challenges us to not be limited by where we are right now, but to really think about where we need to go and how we are going to get there.”
Striving for tuition-free
McCourt’s significant investments in inclusive higher education include inviting others to join in increasing access to a McCourt education so anyone, from any background, who has the ability and commitment to study public policy at the highest level can attend. This bold idea is an opportunity for a broad range of partners to help develop a diverse community of leaders who know how to work across differences and collectively build a future that is more equitable, more inclusive, and more just.
“Empowering communities to build a healthier world.”
Brian McCourt, President and Chairman of the Board, The McCourt Foundation
For more than three decades, The McCourt Foundation (TMF) has been supporting efforts to cure neurological diseases and empowering communities to build a healthier world. Galvanized by his parents’ health battles with Multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s, as well as the extended McCourt family’s long history of social impact in Boston, Brian McCourt (Frank McCourt’s cousin) and his siblings launched TMF in 1992 to give back to communities touched by significant health challenges. “Organizations like ours are part of Boston’s DNA,” shares Brian McCourt. Now expanded to support health and wellness educational forums, cutting-edge research, and athletic events across the U.S., TMF’s giving capacity and overall impact is felt from coast to coast.
Maximizing the nonprofit model to amplify impact
In 2019, Frank approached Brian with an innovative idea: to donate Conqur, McCourt Global’s premium athletic and endurance events company, to TMF. After working together to transform the for-profit Los Angeles Marathon and Rose Bowl Half Marathon into non-profit entities, their collaborative efforts enabled these large civic events to focus on giving back. “This opened the door for us to do a lot more,” explains Brian. The donation of the marathon allowed TMF to boost its three impact pillars: hosting free neurological symposiums with the world’s finest minds, partnering with three prominent research institutions, and leveraging mass participation athletic events as platforms to drive broader health and wellness impact.
Championing partnerships to go further
The McCourt Foundation has broadened its reach with its nonprofit partner program (NPP), which has raised over $63 million and engaged nearly 100 partners to date. The foundation helps its partner network overcome some of the operational, visibility, and fundraising challenges nonprofit organizations commonly face by leveraging TMF’s human capital, tech support, expertise, and more. “We champion our partners on our platforms to empower organizations and leaders who share our goals to raise money and awareness,” says Brian. “When it comes to building a healthier world, TMF is showing the power of collaboration.”
A Legacy of Impact
1948
Our legacy of impact dates back to when Frank McCourt’s grandfather, Francis McCourt, a part-owner of the Boston Braves, helped establish the Jimmy Fund to advance research and treatment for children’s cancer.
1992
Members of the McCourt family also founded The McCourt Foundation (TMF), an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of patients and families affected by health-challenges within the neurology community and beyond. MG is proud to be a key contributor to TMF by donating athletic events like the Los Angeles Marathon and Rose Bowl Half Marathon, which supports TMF’s mission to empower communities and build a healthier world.
2004
Following his purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Frank worked in partnership with the Dodgers Dream Foundation in committing to build fifty “Dodger Dreamfields” to provide children throughout Greater Los Angeles with access to baseball fields.
2005
During MG’s stewardship of the Dodgers, the Dodgers made a $1 million-plus commitment to the Jackie Robinson Foundation, donating $105,000 each year for 10 years to fund 42 college scholarships per year to academically gifted minority students with financial needs.
2008
Drawing inspiration from the Jimmy Fund, during the 50th Anniversary year of the Dodgers arriving in Los Angeles, MG launched ThinkCure as the official charity of the L.A. Dodgers organization during a preseason matchup between the Dodgers and the Red Sox. The game raised $2 million for ThinkCure and still holds the record for the most attended baseball game in history according to the Guiness Book of World Records with 115,300 spectators. Funds raised by ThinkCure have supported City of Hope and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, helping both institutions develop new approaches to treat cancer.
2013
MG is proud to provide significant support to educational and cultural institutions that shape the future. In 2013, $100 million was donated to Georgetown University to establish the McCourt School of Public Policy.
2017
MG provided a $45 million donation to launch The Shed, a cutting-edge cultural arts center and community hub that is helping to jumpstart NYC’s burgeoning Hudson Yards neighborhood.
2020
MG launched Unfinished in 2020 to bring together leaders and experts from across technology, academia, social impact, and the arts to imagine and create a thriving democracy and just economy. Unfinished incubated a vibrant, international network of nearly one hundred partner organizations and, in 2021 and 2022, hosted the celebrated Unfinished Live convening in New York City.
2021
A second $100 million investment was made in 2021 to Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy – half of which is devoted to scholarships aimed at catalyzing a more inclusive pipeline of public policy leaders.
2021
MG’s dedication to innovation and civic life inspired and incubated the work of Project Liberty — a far-reaching, $500 million initiative to transform how the internet works, empower people over platforms, support the development of healthier social media, and ensure that digital governance is prioritized in the next-generation of the web.
2022
MG was selected for inclusion in the “50 Leaders of Change” documentary series by Reuters.com. The series spotlighted “companies leading the way towards a new tomorrow” and highlighted MG’s efforts in launching Project Liberty.
2022
Through McCourt Partners, we are contributing to sustainability and inclusive real estate development and, in 2022, the company announced the donation of the Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit Project (LA ART), a zero-emission urban gondola that aims to transform transit in Los Angeles by providing a safe, environmentally friendly connection from Union Station to Dodgers Stadium in just seven minutes, to Zero-Emission Transportation (ZET), a local subsidiary nonprofit of Climate Resolve.
2023
In 2023, MG helped launch the Project Liberty Action Network to support policies and public officials that prioritize healthier technology.
2023
In Marseille, Olympique de Marseille (OM) was named the Best Professional Club in the 2022-2023 UEFA Grassroots Awards for creating and growing FC LA Castellane, a grassroots community club in the local region; and the OM Foundation announced the launch of the “Capital of Foot” project, which is rehabilitating football fields across Marseille to ensure that sustainable sports facilities are accessible to all.
For Tomorrow
And across the McCourt enterprise, we are committed to extending the McCourt family’s legacy of contribution by positively impacting the communities we serve and advancing the common good. Amplica Labs is creating pioneering software with an ethics-first approach and working to build a new, more equitable internet ecosystem utilizing the breakthrough DSNP protocol and Frequency parachain.
