Michael Jordan Gives Millions To Portland Friends Of The Children

PORTLAND, OR – Michael Jordan scored from downtown for the Portland-based nonprofit, Friends of the Children. The NBA legend announced Nov. 1 he's donating his proceeds for "The Last Dance," a documentary series that he's making with Netflix and ESPN Films.

It's the second donation to the organization that Jordan has made this year.

While neither Jordan nor Friends of the Children would say exactly how much that Jordan is donating, the organization described it as "a multimillion-dollar investment" in the lives of vulnerable children.

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Jordan cited the tremendous benefits he's received over the years from mentors and was impressed by how Friends of the Children commits to providing long-term mentoring for youth.

"What stood out to me about Friends of the Children was that they employ and train their mentors and that they commit to every child for 12 1/2 years," Jordan said. "That dedication is important to me. My mentors believed in me and taught me the power of perseverance.

"I want youth in Friends of the Children to see that they have that same potential."

Friends of the Children says that the money — which pushed its $25 million fundraising campaign over the top — will be used to help expand the organization's operations. It currently operates in 15 cities in the United States and the United Kingdom, and the organization hopes to be in 10 more communities by 2025.

"There are so many communities across the country that we want to serve," the chief executive officer of Friends of the Children, Terri Sorensen, said.

"With Michael's investment, we can now expand more quickly to 25 cities," she said.

A return on investment study conducted by the Harvard Business School Association of Oregon for the organization found that for every $1 invested with the group, the community benefits more than $7 in saved social costs, saving communities $900,000 per child.

This is Jordan's second gift to the group this year.

In May, working with Nike, Jordan donated the proceeds of a commemorative jersey to the organization.

In addition to locations in Portland, Gresham, Klamath Falls and central Oregon

Friends of the Children has four locations in Oregon — Portland, Gresham, Klamath Falls and central Oregon. It also operates in Austin, Texas; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Harlem and the South Bronx in New York City; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Seattle, Tampa Bay, Florida; and Cornwall in the United Kingdom.

Photo of Michael Jordan watching his Charlotte Hornets play the New York Knicks via AP Photo/Nell Redmond