Devin Booker is certainly familiar with the role of underdog.
He’s lived it, from high school summer workouts in a gym with no air conditioning and a leaky roof in Moss Point, Mississippi to waiting for his name to be called at the NBA Draft to willing the Suns into prominence over his first few years in the NBA.
With the Devin Booker Starting Five program, the Suns star has provided a seismic boost for underdog organizations across Arizona.
This charitable initiative allows Booker to authentically connect with the Valley community he cherishes and celebrated its four-year anniversary in January 2023 having gifted $2 million since its inception.
Digging deeper, we found a touchpoint from each of the four years, along with a couple of secrets to Booker’s success as a philanthropist.
Devin Booker and … THE BEGINNING
In January 2019, Booker committed $2.5 million to be used over a five-year term as Phoenix Suns Charities introduced the Devin Booker Starting Five.
For every year during the term, Booker’s initiative recognizes five local nonprofit organizations, each of whom receives a $100,000 grant.
"A lot of people look at basketball as just a bunch of guys that make a lot of money out there on the court,” Booker said at the time. “It's not that. It's a lot bigger than that for us. …
“I've seen how serious the Phoenix Suns organization takes their relationship with our community partners."
Booker meets with the Suns Charities Board of Directors to pick his “Starting Five” recipients of those funds.
"We're going to find five deserving nonprofit organizations, give them $100,000 each to help them continue doing what they're doing in Arizona to help the kids and the families that are in need," Booker said.
Through Booker’s foundation, the groups apply by sending in videos – three to five minutes each – promoting a project and its expected impact.
With the fourth round of grants now complete, we can gain a deeper understanding of the program’s significance and its impact using the words of four recipients – one from each of the four years.
Devin Booker and … SPECIAL OLYMPICS ARIZONA
Special Olympics Arizona was among the five nonprofits forming the inaugural class in 2019.
Jaime Heckerman, president and CEO of Special Olympics Arizona, said the Suns intentionally presented a vague reason for calling her to the arena – a common theme, we’ve come to find out.
Her account illustrates how the Suns made the evening very special.
“We actually were surprised,” she told Suns.com, adding that she believed there was a planned second round of presentations awaiting.
“And so we waited, probably, gosh 30 minutes to 45 minutes and then we were brought out onto the court. And it was all dark, nobody was around, there was a spotlight on us …. And there was something on an easel covered up.
“And then all of a sudden Devin came walking out from one of the tunnels to inform us that were receiving the grant, the Devin Booker Starting Five grant.”
Heckerman said the funds for Special Olympics Arizona allowed a shift away from having to use donated office space. Now, Special Olympics has a highly functional meeting area at the facility.
“It's our training center,” she said. “So half the room is a basketball space where people can go in and play and kind of get to know each other, and the other half of the room is meant for trainings.
“So we have coaches, we have had board retreats and orientations in that room. Our athletes receive training in leadership skills. So it's a very versatile space that's really important to the work that we're doing that we've never had.”
There’s no doubting the appreciation Heckerman, her staff and the athletes have for what Booker and the Suns are doing.
Heckerman said the training center is “our shrine to Devin because Devin is all over the walls.”
Booker, whose age (26) belies his maturity and accountability, directs his impact and influence to extend beyond the monetary gifts.
Booker has stayed in touch with Special Olympics and continues to value the relationship, serving as Special Olympics Global Ambassador as he furthers the important mission of inclusion, using sports – especially basketball – as a primary vehicle.
“Devin has done a few things,” Heckerman said, referencing a “Santa Booker” visit two years ago.
“He surprised a few athletes with Christmas gifts,” she said. “They came into our warehouse and Devin was on a video screen. So that was very cool. They got to ask questions and he was able to answer those.
“And then he was able to gift our USA Games basketball team some equipment and had them come out to a (Suns) game so that they were prepared to go to USA Games in Orlando, Florida.”
It’s clear Booker has won a fan for life.
“Just that feeling was amazing,” Heckerman said. “Just having that experience and knowing that Devin really cares about this organization was very cool.”
Heckerman recognizes the unusually strong connection Booker has with the community.
“I just think it is really impactful the work that he is doing,” she said. “And I know it's not just our organization. There's so many others that he gives to, especially through the Starting Five initiatives and things that are very very important to him.”
Heckerman has been inspired by Booker’s actions and is “working on something big this fall with Phoenix Suns Charities and Devin Booker, hopefully.
“He doesn't know about it yet. We're excited to hopefully host an event down at the arena, and just be able to showcase more of our athletes' talents with their help, so we're excited.”
The chances are pretty good that Booker will approve.
Devin Booker and … ELEVATE PHOENIX
Primary among the promotional phrases describing the work Elevate Phoenix does is this: “Delivering long-term, life-changing, relationships with urban youth.”
Executive Director Dalila Gamper, whose nonprofit received the Booker grant in 2020, knows first-hand about the critical need for support in continuing to provide such a vital service.
Her experience was similar to that of Special Olympics Arizona’s Jamie Heckerman in that the Suns included subterfuge in awarding the Devin Booker Starting Five grant.
“We were completely surprised,” said Gamper, who was asked to come down to a Suns game to continue the process. “The Suns organization … said, ‘OK, last steps: We want you to talk to a few of our board members and we want you to bring a few kids to talk a little bit about your organization.’”
Gamper scrambled but was able to “pick a few kids from our pipelines” to accompany her for this supposed extra task.
After much preparation, it was game night.
“Needless to say, when we came to the game we were a little nervous, and couldn’t really concentrate on the game because we were waiting for them to call us up, Gamper said.
“They come out – it was a total surprise – we were facing toward watching the game. They came up on the side. I’m like, ‘What's happening?’ And they announce our names!
“And we’re like, ‘Wait, what? We actually got it?’ We were super surprised. Our kids were so excited.”
The Suns Charities’ misdirection had struck again. It’s a method Gamper ultimately came to embrace and now says: “I love the way they did it. Kinda sorta. It was nerve-wracking. But at the end of the day it was like, ‘OK, that was a good surprise. You guys totally surprised us.’”
Gamper and Co. then went to work.
“Shasta Industries has been a partner to us from the very beginning of Elevate Phoenix,” she said. “They donated the office space and donated the loft space.”
The money was used to expand and further develop the loft space into something spectacular – most important, it would be a safe place to be for everyone.
“We have our little kids in elementary, we have our junior high then we also have our high school and then we have our alumni.
“It's been awesome. Just having a game station, computer section that’s set aside for either homework help or interviewing skills.
“And we have a TV up there, for movie nights, along with a ping pong table, pool table, a basketball area and a foosball table.“ (We) are adding food and supplies.
“We actually held our first board meeting there so our board could see what was happening as it was taking place. It’s been exactly like how we envisioned it to be: being able to be used by all.”
As for the Booker connection, Gamper said the “give-back” lesson is integral to her mission. The kids will occasionally stop and consider that relationship.
“(They’ll ask) ‘So Devin Booker did this?’” she said. “I think for them, it’s a connection to someone they see on TV and who they root for. Knowing that, ‘Oh, they have give-back,’ for one. And that they’re cared for.
“In addition to knowing that we care, it’s like, ‘Oh, other people care about us, too.’”
She said the kids hear the story of Booker’s vision to give back to those who are underserved.
“It’s something that reinforces what we teach. So a lot of our kids can be on the receiving end. But we teach them: ‘You always have something to give. You have something to bring to the table.’
So for them it’s like a real life example of, ‘Oh he doesn’t just play basketball and get all this money. He has give-back, too.’
“So I think that’s been a good connection for them.”
Devin Booker and … ARIZONA CACTUS-PINE COUNCIL GIRL SCOUTS
For the third year of the Devin Booker Starting Five grants, in 2021, Suns Charities again happily and deftly used a creatively misleading invitation for the recipients.
Christina Spicer, co-CEO of the Arizona Cactus-Pine Council Girl Scouts, applied for the award to provide a one-of-a-kind bus for the organization.
“We applied for the grant,” she said. “Asked for the Devin Booker bus.”
The process “was so special,” said Spicer, who was told she and a group of her scouts were invited to a Mercury playoff game.
“I got a phone call from Sarah Krahenbuhl … all great things start with Sarah. She said we have the suite. We have about 60 tickets and we want to have some girls, some volunteers there … and the game is tomorrow. We were all very excited to meet the Mercury players and support them for the playoff game.”
Spicer and the group were taken downstairs “and I was like, ‘Something seems off. There’s a lot of production, a lot of cameras, there's a lot of stuff happening here.’
“And all of a sudden, Sarah starts sharing: ‘The Girl Scouts are our incredible partner and they applied for the Devin Booker Starting Five grant. And he has a quick video for you.’
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is happening.’ But the girls had no idea. So the video stops and Devin Booker comes walking out with the check! They still have no idea what was happening except the fact that Devin Booker was coming out with a very large check.”
The award process was executed to perfection by Krahenbuhl and Co., and the ulterior motive wasn’t lost on Spicer.
“Once it hit me that we were actually receiving this money, I was so thrilled that the girls got to participate. It was such an honor, but the thoughtfulness of presenting it at a Mercury game … at a playoff game .. and allowing our girls to witness them playing.”
The experience was a foundational life lesson.
“As we were sitting in the suite, there were several Suns players on the sideline just cheering super loudly for the Mercury.
“So our girls got to see an incredible champion – for them – give them resources to give them access to a bus. They got to witness incredible athletes playing in a playoff game and they got to see their male counterparts cheering them on and encouraging them.
“So it was just a really special, special night. The impact on the girls was so thoughtful. And so it was an incredible gift.”
In addition to the bus (which includes a very useful, detachable regulation-size basketball hoop and backboard), Girl Scouts was able to produce a Devin Booker patch. When the girls ride the Devin Booker bus, they also receive a patch to say that they rode on the bus.
And how do the scouts feel about Booker?
“Some girls have adopted Devin,” Krahenbuhl said. “And I don’t even know if he fully knows the level (of affection) these girls have for him. These 6- and 7- and 8-year-olds are obsessed with Devin Booker – they’ve almost adopted him as a Girl Scout.
“It’s just the cutest ever, it’s amazing.”
Spicer shared the contents of a video featuring a Girl Scout named Daphne who is a Devin Booker fan.
“She thinks they’re best friends,” Spicer said.
Daphne, on the video, explains her interaction with her “best friend.”
“So, um, it was after this last ceremony – I just had a milkshake … down on the floor I did the honor guard. Devin Booker walked up to me – for the second time – and hugs me – for the second time. And I think he’s handsome and cool.”
Spicer underscores the importance of the messenger.
“Because Devin Booker took a stand and said that girls matter and that it’s important to support girls, there’s now all these other dads and grandpas and moms who are also huge Suns fans who see ‘A local hero of ours supports our girls’ and there’s this really nice synergy around communities supporting communities and really rallying around our girls, not just during cookie season.
And the bus?
“So the bus is used all the time,” Spicer said, “and we take it everywhere.”
At Cookie Night at the arena, the bus – along with a regulation basketball hoop attached – was a huge hit.”
As evidence from the successful partnership with the Suns and Mercury, Spicer pointed out another benefit.
“Last year, for the first time in history, our cookies sold out,” she said.
Devin Booker and … RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE
The 2022 recipients were announced at a Dec. 7 home game against Boston.
Among the five was Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona, whose CEO, Kerry Schulman, headed up the organization’s third attempt to win this grant.
“(I said) Let's think of a project that might be more enticing and of interest to him (Booker) and to the team,” Schulman told Suns.com recently.
“We have one house that sits on the campus of Phoenix Children's (Hospital, at SR 51 and Thomas Road). It's a really sad little playground. We thought, ‘We could really redo this playground and make it spectacular.’"
The top-flight production and, uh, Oscar-quality video submission may well have closed the deal.
“My son has a Devin Booker jersey that, he says, ‘You can never wash it ... it's bad luck.’ So I asked him, for the filming, ‘Can I wear your smelly jersey because I think it will bring us good luck.’”
There was one more step for Schulman to take before she was officially awarded the gift.
In Schulman’s words:
“The Suns called me and asked, ‘Can you be down at the game?’ I said, ‘Absolutely, I am all in; I am all in, all the time.’
“(A Suns representative) said, ‘No heels, no wedges. You have to wear flats. ... you're gonna have to play a game.’
“I said, ‘Are you serious?’”
At the Celtics-Suns game during a first-quarter timeout, she was blindfolded and spun around 10 times. She was told that whoever reached center court first would win a prize.
Thinking this could be a race to the $100,000 grant, Schulman thought, "I have to get to that (spot) first."
During the contest, she heard someone say, “Turn left" and, she said, "I turned left and ended up right in front of the box. They said ‘Game over, game over!’
“I took off my blindfold and said, ‘I won, I won!’”
Schulman, and the other four representatives, all were winners.
“There were executives from the Suns organization and some folks that worked for the Suns, and they had a big framed Devin Booker jersey and a big check for $100,000. ...
“Just to know that he's made this amazing commitment to nonprofits here in the Valley and the impact of what that money does for an organization like ours is pretty significant.”
Schulman is eager for the playground’s opening, and hopes to host a formal ceremony to bring further visibility to Booker’s gesture and Ronald McDonald House.
“We were just so grateful to be able to be honored and awarded and give our kids and their families a nice new playground,” she said.
These moments are not lost on Booker, either.
“This is one of the most exciting things I’m a part of,” Booker said in December. “I’d say, most, because we’re 20 organizations in now – all nonprofits here in Arizona – and we’re still trying to find creative ways to surprise the people.
“And to do it here on our home court in front of everybody is a special moment.”
Devin Booker and … Sarah Krahenbuhl and Phoenix Suns Charities
To say Krahenbuhl helps with Booker’s initiative is a disservice. She is a huge part of the engine that drives Booker’s machine, and she welcomes every challenge that comes her way.
Dealing with Booker and his teammates is not the hurdle some may believe.
“They all feel so blessed and privileged to be where they are,” Krahenbuhl said. “Most want to give back to the community that gave to them.
“Devin has always been passionate about what he’s passionate about. He’s an athlete who will go all in what he believes in. … When Devin goes in he goes all in.
“(He believes) ‘This is my community; I want to invest in this community.’ He would hate this .. but he’s the Son of Phoenix.”
The Starting Five board, which includes Devin’s brother Davon, determines the grant recipients. Booker and Krahenbuhl brainstormed the principles for the foundation.
“We dreamed it up,” she said. “He’s super passionate about it. Excited about the brand of giving back and representing himself through community nonprofits that he believes in.”
And it helps Booker to have a blood relative as an advocate when he can’t be at meetings.
“Davon … has the biggest heart and the sweetest soul,” Krahenbuhl said. “He adopted a family over the holidays… there was no fanfare, it was just because he was genuinely excited to do it.
And so it made sense for Davon to represent Devin because he also knows what his brother wants and likes and his passions. So it was a total alignment for us.”
Booker, Krahenbuhl said, still may not realize the magnitude of his outreach.
“I have to say he is pretty humble,” she said. “So I don’t know that he fully understands the impact – which is part of his charm. He is Devin Booker, you know, and for someone with his brand to show this loyalty to do what he does for the community – I’m not sure he recognizes how much that resonates.”
Heckerman, the Special Olympics leader, agrees.
“I think to our community, to start, it's very impactful to have somebody with that name recognition that truly cares. And will shine a light and show an athlete's skills.
“I think having that with anyone that can bring recognition and support is huge to the community.
“Our athletes come from every walk of life. They have the same struggles as everyone else if not more because they are generally isolated from their communities. And just being able to share new awareness, not just with Special Olympics but with the entire community, he's doing great things.”
“This is Year 4 now and it’s something that’s here to stay …” Booker said in December.
“We’re just trying to level the playing field for everybody and give everybody an equal chance out here. We’ve been doing a great job of that and it’s something that we want to keep doing.”
For Booker, it’s a mutually beneficial, reciprocal pursuit.
As he said in awarding the grants to the 2021 recipients, “The state of Arizona, and our fans, have supported me on and off the court, and I wanted to return the love.”