ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos have been named a finalist for ESPN's 2022 Sports Humanitarian of the Year award for the third consecutive year, it was announced on Tuesday.
The Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year award is given to a sports franchise that demonstrates how teamwork can create a measurable impact on a community or cause. A finalist for the third consecutive year, the Broncos join the Miami HEAT (NBA), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) and Seattle Storm (WNBA) as nominees for the prestigious honor in 2022.
The Sports Humanitarian Awards will combine with the 2022 ESPYS for a week of inspirational programming that showcases service, character and achievement in sports. As a finalist, Denver Broncos Charities will be featured during select programming. The ESPYS will air live on Wednesday, July 20, at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET).
The Broncos were selected as a finalist for ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year through a comprehensive review process that evaluated their community teamwork, strategy and data-driven outcomes of their philanthropic work and player initiatives.
In 2022 the Denver Broncos players and staff supported their community by:
- Players volunteering more than 900 hours through 745 different engagements
- Launching a gun buyback program in partnership with Denver & Aurora councilmembers and Colorado-based nonprofit RAWTools
- Contributing over $275,000 for Inspire Change programs and initiatives
- Being the only professional sports team to fully fund its own branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, giving 14,500+ under-resourced youth a home away from home since 2003
- Supporting 30 local nonprofits via the club's annual Community Grant Program
- Investing in the equity of female youth sports in the Metro Denver area, with an emphasis on launching a girls high school flag football pilot program
- Conducting the Staff Community Service Series, featuring in-person and remote monthly volunteer opportunities for Broncos staff and families
The Broncos community outreach consists of five focus areas: Youth Development, Quality of Life, Health & Wellness, Youth Football, Civic Engagement. The Broncos invest in long-term programming in those focus areas, while also adapting to the short-term needs of its community. On average, the Broncos and Denver Broncos Charities annually invest more than $3 million in financial contributions, in-kind support and volunteer hours. Economic impact is distributed across all community initiatives and partnerships in alignment with the team's mission to improve lives in the community.
