Garnet Trust launches philanthropic wing to support South Carolina athletes

When the Garnet Trust launched in fall of 2021, it quickly one of the first NIL collectives in the space.

With a focus on creating compliant NIL deals for athletes, the South Carolina-focused collective has emphasized its media services, ensuring businesses’ products are placed in front of large audiences. Its two-prong method has also been replicated by organizations across the Division I landscape.

Now the collective is launching a new wing, focused on giving back to the Columbia, South Carolina, community. The Garnet Trust Foundation has launched as a 501(c)(3) entity to assist nonprofit organizations through NIL efforts.

“We’re thankful that our student-athletes are paving the way for new avenues of NIL that promote philanthropy and service,” said Jeremy Smith, who serves as Garnet Trust’s operations director.

A full list of charities the foundation plans to work with has not been finalized. Garnet Trust is still open to adding organizations to its roster. Deliverables for athletes will include content development, community appearances, social media posts and other marketing activities.

The Garnet Trust Foundation is also accepting donations on its website, with monthly donation options ranging from $1 to $1,000.

The collective and its advisory board, filled with former South Carolina student-athletes, helped establish the foundation. But a new board of directors will be leading the Garnet Trust Foundation, including former South Carolina star Marcus Lattimore.

South Carolina addressing NIL need

The Gamecocks have continued ramp up their NIL services, a sign of what is needed to compete in the SEC.

South Carolina brought on Everett Sports Marketing (ESM) back in August to establish a firm to represent and broker NIL deals for its athletes. On top of the ESM agreement, the institution launched Park Avenue, which focus solely on representing South Carolina athletes at no charge.

Wednesday’s news of the Garnet Trust Foundation being formed is another wrinkle in South Carolina’s NIL scene.

“With NIL is here to stay, I am excited to be involved with passionate and likeminded Gamecocks to lead this organization,” Garnet Trust Foundation board member Ken Long said in a release. “This is an organization that every fan can support at any level of their choosing and can be confident that the money is used to support the student-athletes who make sacrifices and work so hard to represent the University of South Carolina. This is another step forward to being more competitive in our conference and at a national level.

“My hope is that all fans will recognize the necessity of a fully funded NIL program to compete at this high level in all sports.”

Garnet Trust Foundations joins growing list of nonprofit collectives

U.S. Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced a new piece of NIL legislation last week. Their bipartisan legislation prohibits NIL collectives from using the charity tax deduction for contributions to compensate collegiate athletes in the NIL space. Both sit on the Subcommittee on Taxation and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Oversight.

Titled the Athlete Opportunity and Taxpayer Integrity Act, it is aimed specifically at collectives that have claimed 501(c)(3) status. Universities would be exempt from this legislation.

Just a two-page document, the bill would address individuals and organizations distributing NIL compensation under the charitable tax deduction umbrella.

“College athletes have the ability to benefit from opportunities related to their own Name, Image, and Likeness, but outside organizations and collectives should not be able to write contributions off their taxes that are used to compensate athletes,” Thune said in a statement. “This common-sense legislation would prohibit these entities from inappropriately using NIL agreements to reduce their own tax obligations. These basic taxpayer guardrails would protect athletes, strengthen NIL, and uphold the responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”  

The Athlete Opportunity and Taxpayer Integrity Act would shut down the The Garnet Trust Foundation due to its 501(c)(3) status if enacted.