To say that Daniel Snyder is passionate about the Washington Football Team (formerly known as the Redskins) is an understatement. He’s been a fan since childhood, and today, he owns the team.
Not only is he well known as a winning owner, he is equally well known for his charitable efforts in the Washington D.C. area and beyond. He is a family man who is married with three children.
Washington football and the NFL
Not only has the Washington Football Team had many successful seasons under the ownership of Dan Snyder, it is consistently ranked high on the list of most valuable sports franchises by Forbes Magazine.
Daniel Snyder has made a point of expanding the club’s retail operations during his twenty seasons as owner. In particular, he has created team stores in Washington and Maryland, and he has also put a number of mobile units on the streets in order to boost enthusiasm and give fans something extra.
The list of star players who have been on the roster of the team is lengthy. Jason Taylor, Deion Sanders and Bruce Smith are only three of many.
It’s about the fans
In order to keep the economic lifeblood of the club in the Washington area, Dan Snyder has kept the team’s headquarters and training facilities in Virginia. Furthermore, he lives near Washington D.C. himself.
He is especially proud of his efforts to improve the fan experience at the team’s 82,000-seat facility FedExField in Landover, Maryland. He has added high-speed elevators, flat-screen televisions and much more. The team’s private stadium clubs are the envy of the league, and every fan benefits from the state-of-the-art jumbo screens he has put up.
The Charitable Foundation
While the business achievements of Dan Snyder are many, he has also done a huge amount for the underserved in general and the Washington D.C. community in particular. In 2000, he formed The Charitable Foundation, which partners with corporations and wealthy individuals and has the mission of giving to the youth of the community.
To date, The Charitable Foundation has given nearly $30 million to various community initiatives. It is often held up as a model of how a charitable organization can get spectacular results through good organization and a consistent message.
Hurricane Matthew
When Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti hard in 2016, Daniel Snyder stepped up with deliveries of emergency supplies to the area. Two players on the Washington Football Team were actually from Haiti, and he asked them to return to Haiti to personally help in the effort, which they were happy to do.
When interviewed about his relief efforts on FOX, Dan Snyder simply said that the need was obvious and that he was happy to help. The initiative is typical of how he responds quickly, decisively and effectively when others find themselves unexpectedly in need of assistance. He has helped out in the aftermath of other hurricanes as well.
Helping children
Daniel Snyder has always been closely associated with organizations that help children. In particular, he has come through with assistance for both the Children’s National Hospital as well as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Furthermore, he provided funding for the Daniel Snyder and Family Communication Center, which handles calls about missing and exploited children. It takes calls from law-enforcement agencies all over the country, and its staff has an excellent track record for helping provide assistance to children in crisis and their families. For his efforts in this regard, he received the Charles Wang International Children’s Award.
Assisting the African-American community
Daniel Snyder has long been passionate about providing assistance to the African-American community. This has been especially true in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing in Minneapolis. Remarkably, he helped raise roughly $250,000 in the months immediately after the incident.
Over the years, he has also helped a number of local initiatives benefiting the African-American community. Notably, he led a successful effort by his football team to raise money for an historic black school in Loudoun County after it was vandalized. The school dated back to 1892, and his football team raised approximately $35,000 towards its restoration.
Assisting Americans in uniform
Daniel Snyder has profound respect for the military community. Accordingly, he was the driving force behind Salute, the Washington Football Team’s organization to show appreciation for the men and women in the armed services and their families. Essentially, the organization put all of the many existing military-appreciation efforts that the team had under the umbrella of one office.
Salute puts on events, raises money, and does much more. It even helped build a special “smart home” for a paralyzed veteran who lives in the Washington area. The organization has served as an NFL model.
Learn more about Daniel Snyder: https://www.forbes.com/profile/dan-snyder/
