Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has launched his own charitable foundation, giving the Oklahoma City Thunder guard a formal vehicle for community work he has been doing informally for years on both sides of the border.
The NBA champion announced the launch of The SGA Foundation on Sept. 2 in a news release distributed through PR Newswire. The organization operates as a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States and as a registered charity in Canada, according to the release, a dual structure the foundation says reflects the two places that shaped Gilgeous-Alexander’s path: Ontario and Oklahoma.
“I’m here to officially announce the launch of The SGA Foundation, in both Canada and the US,” Gilgeous-Alexander said in the release. “We’re building pathways for kids and the families raising them, built on self-belief, growth, and access. This is about making real impact and giving back to the communities that have supported me for so many years.”
Those three words – self-belief, growth and access – are the pillars the foundation says will guide its work. The release describes them as giving young people the tools to build confidence, to develop through mentorship and coaching, and to gain access to opportunity. The foundation’s stated mission is to build pathways for children and the families raising them to reach their full potential.
Gilgeous-Alexander framed the launch as a way to make existing efforts more deliberate rather than a departure from them.
“I’ve been fortunate to do work in the community for years, from annual visits to children’s hospitals, to seasonal givebacks, to basketball camps, and I don’t take that for granted,” he said in the release. “Now, with my own foundation, I have a real platform to do it more intentionally, showing up for these communities in ways that are lasting and meaningful, and building something that can support them long after I’m done playing.”
The release notes that Gilgeous-Alexander was cut from his high school team early in his career, and points to self-belief and the people around him as what carried him forward – the reasoning behind the foundation’s first pillar.
His mother, Charmaine Gilgeous, is also quoted in the announcement. “I always told him, there’s going to be a doctor, there’s going to be an NBA player, so believe it could be you,” she said. “I never imagined it would lead here, to him building something rooted in supporting others and putting kindness first. Seeing him turn that belief into something for other families, that’s the proudest I’ve ever been.”
The foundation says it will maintain a year-round presence, with its longstanding programs and impact initiatives to be announced next month. Its work will be anchored in Ontario and Oklahoma and, per the release, in communities between the two where it can make what the organization calls a direct, visible difference, with room to expand over time.
The U.S. entity is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, the release states, while the Canadian entity is a registered charity. Details on the foundation’s programming are posted at sga.foundation and on Instagram at @thesgafoundation.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s launch was also reported by KTUL in Tulsa on Sept. 3.
