PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida and ATLANTA, Georgia – The PGA TOUR and The Coca-Cola Company today announced a new and collaborative initiative called the HBCU Golf Impact Grant program. The announcement comes at the onset of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola is a Proud Partner and long-standing supporter of the season-ending event and Proud Partner alongside Accenture and Southern Company.
Designed to support the golf teams at HBCU schools partnered with Coca-Cola and aligned with its ‘The World is My Yard’ platform, the HBCU Golf Impact Grant provides critical funds that empower schools and foster a brighter future for student-athletes in golf. In total, Coca-Cola has pledged $250,000 for the initiative.
“We saw an opportunity through our HBCU platform, ‘The World is My Yard,’ to deliver support that enables golf programs at these schools to better compete,” said Stephanie Eaddy, Cultural Marketing Lead, Coca‑Cola North America. “The World is My Yard honors the rich heritage and cultural legacy of HBCU schools, and programs like these, brings more value to the student-athlete experience.”
The collaboration is part of the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression initiative, designed to support the identification and development of junior and collegiate golfers from historically underrepresented communities. The funding is intended to assist in various aspects of the golf programs, enabling improvements that will have a lasting impact on current and future student-athletes.
“The PGA TOUR and our Pathway to Progression program appreciate Coca-Cola’s incredible contribution to these HBCU golf teams” said Kenyatta Ramsey, PGA TOUR Vice President, Player Development. “These grants will make an immediate impact in further growing our game across underrepresented communities nationwide. We are grateful for Coke’s continued support in this long-term goal of the PGA TOUR.
Seven schools and 11 programs in total will each receive $15,000 grants, including both men’s and women’s teams at four different schools. Each school will be able to utilize the grant money for a variety of program-related purposes, including but not limited to enhancing facilities. This includes golf course or practice area renovations and training facilities to provide a better environment for skill development. The funding may also be used to cover costs associated with tournament entry fees, travel expenses and equipment purchases including clubs, balls and apparel.
Through Coca-Cola’s “The World is My Yard” award program, HBCUs will have the opportunity to receive further grant funding through an application process with a selection committee consisting of PGA TOUR and Coca-Cola representatives. An additional $85,000 will be distributed among this year’s winning programs, Alabama A&M University, Tennessee State University and Texas Southern University.
The collaboration between the PGA TOUR and Coca-Cola further demonstrates their commitment to supporting HBCU golf programs and to growing playing opportunities and inclusion within the game of golf.
About PGA TOUR
By showcasing golf’s greatest players, the PGA TOUR engages, inspires and positively impacts our fans, partners and communities worldwide.
The PGA TOUR, headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, co-sanctions tournaments on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas and administers PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry and PGA TOUR University. TOUR members represent the world’s best players, hailing from 28 countries and territories. Showcasing the biggest moments in the sport with history and legacy on the line, the PGA TOUR has long-term domestic distribution partnerships for broadcast coverage on CBS, NBC and Golf Channel and video streaming service on ESPN+. Internationally, PGA TOUR coverage is available across 200+ countries and territories in 30 languages via 39 broadcast and digital partners. Virtually all tournaments are organized as non-profit organizations to maximize charitable giving, and to date, tournaments across all Tours have generated more than $4 billion.
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About Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company with products sold in more than 200 countries and territories. Our company’s purpose is to refresh the world and make a difference. We sell multiple billion-dollar brands across several beverage categories worldwide. Our portfolio of sparkling soft drink brands includes Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Our water, sports, coffee and tea brands include Dasani, smartwater, vitaminwater, Topo Chico, BODYARMOR, Powerade, Costa, Georgia, Fuze Tea, Gold Peak and Ayataka. Our juice, value-added dairy and plant-based beverage brands include Minute Maid, Simply, innocent, Del Valle, fairlife and AdeS. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We seek to positively impact people’s lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable sourcing practices and carbon emissions reductions across our value chain. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, helping bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.coca-colacompany.com and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.
About the Pathway to Progression
Formerly announced in March 2023, the PGA TOUR’s Pathway to Progression player development program is an initiative designed to identify and support underrepresented golf talent across the junior, collegiate and professional levels. The program provides access, resources, and competitive opportunities helping players advance through the amateur ranks. Through strategic alignments and partnerships, Pathway to Progression aims to build a stronger, more diverse pipeline of future TOUR professionals.
About The World is My Yard Program
The World Is My Yard offers expands the longstanding legacy of support the Coca-Cola Company and its local bottling partners have provided to Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU) students and communities through sustaining programs that empower students and celebrate the nuances defining each school’s unique spirit and source of pride. Students from all 107 HBCUs across the United States can register using their college email addresses and gain access to tools, content and resources to thrive on campus, in the classroom and in the post-graduate workplace through a holistic digital platform. Sign up at https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/offerings/twimyopt .
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 801,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com.
About Southern Company
Southern Company (NYSE: SO) is a leading energy provider serving 9 million customers across the Southeast and beyond through its family of companies. Providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy with excellent service is our mission. The company has electric operating companies in three states, natural gas distribution companies in four states, a competitive generation company, a leading distributed energy solutions provider with national capabilities, a fiber optics network and telecommunications services. Through an industry-leading commitment to innovation, resilience and sustainability, we are taking action to meet customers’ and communities’ needs while advancing our goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Our uncompromising values ensure we put the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do and are the key to our sustained success. We are transforming energy into economic, environmental and social progress for tomorrow. Our corporate culture has been recognized by a variety of organizations, earning the company awards and recognitions that reflect Our Values and dedication to service. To learn more, visit www.southerncompany.com.