Colin Kaepernick and Know Your Rights Camp Commit $1 Million to Community Organizations in 2027

Ten years after Colin Kaepernick first protested during the national anthem before a preseason game in Santa Clara, Know Your Rights Camp (KYRC) is marking the anniversary by renewing its “Million Dollar Pledge,” committing one million dollars to community organizations throughout 2027.

The renewed pledge will distribute funding through monthly grants to organizations working in communities across the country, with an emphasis on programs aligned with KYRC’s “10 Points” and its broader mission of supporting the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities.

Kapernick, founder of Know Your Rights Camp, states:

“When I made the ‘Million Dollar Pledge’ in 2016, I wanted to put resources directly into the hands of the organizations and people doing the work in our communities every day. The last ten years have shown us that community is the real power, and that when people have the resources to act on their vision, they can transform our communities.

“Today marks ten years since I began to protest, and Know Your Rights Camp is renewing the ‘Million Dollar Pledge’ with another one million dollar investment in the organizations and leaders building healthier, safer, and stronger communities.”

The first 100,000 dollars of the renewed pledge will be distributed among four organizations:

• 100 Suits — $25,000 — New York City
• Eternal Seeds — $25,000 — New Orleans
• The Hidden Genius Project — $25,000 — Oakland
• The Lower Eastside Girls Club — $25,000 — New York City

Colin Kaepernick and Know Your Rights Camp poster

KYRC says the grants will support work spanning legal rights, youth development, mental and physical health, basic needs, economic opportunity, education, technology, art, history and other community-focused programs.

Kaepernick originally launched the Million Dollar Pledge in 2016, committing one million dollars of his own money to organizations working in underserved communities. Between October 2016 and January 2018, the initiative supported more than 30 organizations across at least 15 cities, with recipients and donation amounts made public.

The original pledge supported police accountability and legal defence initiatives in cities including San Jose, Dallas, New York and Chicago, as well as youth development and education programs in Oakland, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Atlanta, Harlem and the Lower East Side.

Kaepernick ultimately completed the pledge through #10for10, donating 10,000 dollars per day for ten consecutive days. Friends including J. Cole, Stephen Curry and Serena Williams selected organizations to receive the donations and matched Kaepernick’s gifts. The response subsequently inspired #10for10Encore, which benefited additional organizations.

Since hosting its first camp in Oakland in 2016, Know Your Rights Camp says it has completed 16 free youth camps in cities including Oakland, New York City, Chicago, New Orleans, Amsterdam, Miami, Baltimore, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

According to the organization, those camps have served more than 5,000 youth and chaperones while generating $4,247,939 in in-kind donations and camp and program value.

The renewed “Million Dollar Pledge” will build on the rights-based framework that has anchored Know Your Rights Camp since its founding.

The organization’s 10 Points are:

1. You have the right to BE FREE
2. You have the right to BE HEALTHY
3. You have the right to BE BRILLIANT
4. You have the right to BE SAFE
5. You have the right to BE LOVED
6. You have the right to BE COURAGEOUS
7. You have the right to BE ALIVE
8. You have the right to BE TRUSTED
9. You have the right to BE EDUCATED
10. You have the right to KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

With the renewed pledge, KYRC says it hopes to create a platform for new and longtime supporters to invest alongside the organization in communities leading the work as it enters its second decade.

Know Your Rights Camp’s mission is to advance the liberation and well-being of Black and Brown communities through education, self-empowerment, mass mobilization and the creation