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Nicole Lacob - Women Who Inspire

Nicole Lacob is the President of the Warriors Community Foundation, the charitable arm of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. The Foundation is focused on education and youth development for Bay Area children, and since 2010 has donated over $10M to local organizations working towards these goals. I met Nicole in 2016 when ATR’s charitable goals aligned with the Foundation’s and we began donating to support their efforts. We attended their premier fundraising event, the Warriors Charity Poker Tournament. I’ve been a fan of hers since then.

Nicole brings her own experience and firsthand knowledge to her work with the Foundation. Her personal background and career, including being a teacher for many years, gives her great perspective on the need to support children throughout their educational journey. The Lacobs and the Foundation are committed to making a difference for the long term. She often mentions not wanting to “just throw money at the problem” but rather support and expand access to solutions and organizations that are already making a difference in the community. They work with dozens of organizations and “spend down” what they raise each year, both of which makes for a more hectic pace much of the time.

I like the holistic approach that the Foundation takes. The breadth of their efforts is impressive, and they accomplish this by successfully working with existing nonprofits and other corporate partners. For example, they recently announced a plan, in partnership with Kaiser Permanente, to transform the team’s current headquarters and practice facility into a space for non-profits focused on youth when the team moves to their new facility next year. It’s the centerpiece of a 20-year commitment called Generation Thrive and is emblematic of their approach; focused on practical solutions that are sustainable for long-term benefit. Another example is how they started with programs for kids K-12 but have since expanded their support for getting students into and finishing college. “To and through” as Nicole says. Nicole explained that when they saw students needed help in this area, they knew they had to adjust their plan and expand their support.

As President, Nicole works with a great team and the Foundation is doing important work. As a fellow businesswoman in San Francisco, I am inspired. Making sure that our young people have the tools to learn and create a foundation on which to build a productive and satisfying life is the key to a better future for us all. From a purely selfish point of view – ATR needs more engineers, app developers, programmers, and accountants to hire – so the focus on helping students train for STEM careers makes me smile!

The Foundation’s goals of making sure that everyone has access to a good education and the support to make it “to and through college” are things we should all care about and support. I’m impressed at how Nicole brings their vision to fruition and makes their mission real and impactful. ATR is happy to be a part of the Foundation’s success.

Thanks for what you’re doing to make our beautiful Bay Area a better and stronger community for everyone, and thanks for the inspiration Nicole!

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Learn more about the Warriors Foundation

Listen to Nicole talk about the importance of philanthropy and who inspired her: 2018 Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame – Philanthropy

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Who inspires you? Please let me know in the comments below or at AndreaB@atr1.com. I’d love to hear from you!

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