About

mission & vision

THE FUTURE WE ENVISION THROUGH PICKLEBALL

mission

Pickleball for Good Fund™ is a 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the power of pickleball to underchampioned communities through philanthropy, partnerships, and voluntarism, while promoting environmental sustainability.

Vision

Pickleball is leading the way to changing lives and the health of our planet.

Enthusiasts who are part of our passionate pickleball community are joining our movement to leverage this sport’s roots in inclusivity, accessibility, diversity…and fun!

overview

Why pickleball

In 1965, the founders of pickleball, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum, created the game to offer a fun activity for their families during their summer vacation. From its inception, pickleball was created to include all ages and abilities.

Decades later, pickleball has become the fastest growing sport in the United States and has caught on internationally as well. Notwithstanding this beloved sport’s phenomenal popularity, the pickleball ecosystem has yet to fully recognize or maximize its potential as a positive force for meaningful social, health, economic, and environmental change like other sports.

Pickleball for Good Fund™ is harnessing the popularity and power of this sport by creating a network of donors, volunteers, and partners to level the playing field in communities who have the least access to and most to gain from participating—on and off the court.

Game Plan

Mending the Gaps in Pickleball

Despite evidence that the popularity of pickleball is in part because it’s an easier sport to start playing and the growing availability of free public courts and school-based programs, participation gaps exist. Recent research points to five primary factors why certain populations lack access to the sport:

Economic
Racial
Geographic
Gender
Mental and Physical
Disability

Pickleball for Good Fund™ aims to help close these and other gaps by awarding grants, supporting pickleball charity events, donating gear, and building a diverse volunteer network of pickleball ambassadors and EcoChampions.

Meet The Team

Susan Swern

Founder & Board President, envisioned the potential for Pickleball for Good Fund by bringing together three of her passions: promoting philanthropy, playing pickleball, and protecting our shared planet. Her professional nonprofit development career spans 38 years, from being a Development Coordinator of one to leading a 5-person team to becoming a consultant. Since 2018, Susan has served as Philanthropic Partnerships Officer with Global Greengrants Fund, a leading international grassroots environmental justice funder and is a proud member of the Association for Fundraising Professionals. She successfully launched a Facebook group, Toxic Free Lafayette (which helped to pass a ban in 2015 of the bee-killing Neonicotinoid toxin on city property) and was cofounder of a women’s pickleball club. Susan’s favorite motto is “I dink, therefore I am” and adores spending time with her furry best friend, Ruben Valentino, a Bichapoo puppy mill rescue.

Kim Bastien

Board Secretary, brings over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations, with a diverse background that encompasses photography, design, and product development across various industries. Her exceptional strength lies in harnessing her creative marketing skills to generate ROI-focused results, serving a wide range of clients from startups to C-suite level executives. Additionally, Kim has made significant contributions to the sports and entertainment sector, working with one of the leading pickleball media companies. She is the Co-Founder of Passport2Pickleball, an initiative focused on fostering inclusivity and representation within the pickleball community, starting with women. Kim has successfully launched projects ranging from grassroots initiatives to co-partnerships with startups to Global Brands. She played a pivotal role in launching Katy Perry’s Firework Foundation’s first annual fundraising event in unison with a team, showcasing her ability to blend philanthropy with entertainment and sports. When not at work, Kim is likely to be found on the pickleball court or enjoying the outdoors with her family.

Cheryl Lovell, PhD

Board Vice President, is CEO and President of For Success in Leadership and Life providing executive coaching and independent consulting on leadership, strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and public policy. Dr. Lovell is a Certified Strengths Coach with Gallup working with individuals, small teams, and large organizations to maximize their talents to achieve their mission. She is also a trained facilitator in the Speed of Trust through FranklinCovey. Dr. Lovell was President of Adams State University and Rocky Vista University. She has held leadership roles at public and private universities, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and brings 30+ years of executive leadership. Dr. Lovell was the Chief Academic Officer for the State of Colorado and a former Professor of Higher Education and academic administrator. Dr. Lovell is a CEO, author, and turnaround leader who has proven successes in creating, inspiring, and leading innovative strategies allowing individuals and organizations to successfully adapt, grow, and thrive. She is also a Level 1 Certified Instructor through the International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association (IPTPA).

Jaime Schmidt

Jaime Schmidt, Board Member at Large, is the founder of Schmidt’s Naturals, which she grew from her kitchen into a household name, lining the shelves of major retailers across 30 countries. In 2017, Schmidt’s was acquired by CPG giant Unilever. Jaime also cofounded BFF, a brand that provides access and education in emerging tech for underrepresented groups. Jaime is an investor and co-owner of Color Capital, a fund that invests in consumer products and emerging technologies. After discovering pickleball in 2022, Jaime plays almost daily. She’s become an ambassador of the sport, devoting much of her time to developing her skills and introducing pickleball to others. Jaime is also an investor in Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA), and she is part owner of the Los Angeles Mad Drops team.

Gus Spheeris, JD, LLM

Gus is our legal counsel guiding us through the maze of regulations and contracts overseeing our charitable activities. He has served exempt organizations for over 25 years as both in-house and outside counsel, including those with international activities, and assisted both privately held and nonprofit/tax-exempt startups. Additionally, his practice specializes in intellectual property asset protection, commercial transactions, entity structure and financing. In addition to his JD degree, Gus holds a Master of Laws in international contracts.

JOIN US

Ready to Join Our Movement?

By becoming a Pickleball for Good Fund GameChanger™, you are joining a movement to mobilize resources to help diverse communities off the sidelines and into the game of life and pickleball. We believe it will take all of us in the pickleball world to do our part. To us, “pickleball for all” isn’t simply a slogan. It’s our mission—one player, one grant, one donor, one sponsor, one volunteer at a time.

And that’s a big dill.

OUR VALUES

How we S.E.R.V.E.

A serve in pickleball begins every point. Likewise, our starting point as an organization is reflected in these core values and ground every facet of our mission, grantmaking, partnerships, and operations:

Sustainability Excellence Respect Voluntarism Equity

Sustainability

Social, human, economic, and environmental sustainability creates thriving players, programs, communities, countries, and our planet.

Excellence

The true measure of excellence is doing and being your best. All of us are winners and gamechangers every time we seek to play, learn, grow, connect, have fun, and make a difference.

Respect

Everyone is valued and valuable simply for showing up. Pickleball unifies and equalizes while bringing forth each person’s inherent uniqueness and abilities.

Voluntarism

Volunteers are the backbone of our mission—by launching new programs, lining courts, teaching new players, or staffing check-in at a local charity tournament. The gift of time can be the greatest gift to both the receiver and you!

Equity

We seek to level the playing field through locally-led initiatives that challenge the root causes of lack of access to pickleball and to offer solutions that endure.

Game Plan

Our Game Plan

Pickleball for Good Fund GameChangers™ are committed to serving our mission, vision, and values. They are advocates for underchampioned communities and for how the power of pickleball can best unite, develop, and connect diverse peoples to themselves and each other, while protecting our shared planet.

Through philanthropic partnerships—with individuals, businesses, private and public foundations, nonprofits, and local/state/federal government—we award grants to Pickleball for Good Fund GameChangers™ around the country who seek to build accessible places to play, volunteer networks, and culturally inclusive and adaptive programs. We also provide local and national charity pickleball event organizers with:

challenge and matching funds
donated gear
potential sponsors
product and service vendors, and
ball and gear recycling resources.

A Pickleball for Good Fund GameChanger™
is a creator of possibility. You don’t just play the game,
you change it.