A third of the Buffalo Bills annual community spending may have come through donated tickets, memorabilia and experiences, but that is permissible under the Community Benefits Agreement.
The Bills said in a recently released report detailing the spending that they invested more than $3.6 million as part of community initiatives in the past year. Of that, the team spent around $748,000 in donated tickets, more than $383,000 in experiences, events and free space rental, and nearly $132,000 in donated items.
The team has said there is value to the community in that type of in-kind spending, and Committee Chair Rev. Mark Blue agrees, adding that every year, those numbers may fluctuate based on needs in the community.
New Bills Stadium (copy)
Construction continues on the new Buffalo Bills stadium as the Community Benefits Oversight Committee is tasked with promoting community efforts tied tio the stadium agreement. (Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News) Joshua Bessex/Buffalo News
The Bills have now invested more than $7.2 million in the community related to the CBA through fiscal years 2023 and 2024, required as part of the agreement over the 33-year life of the stadium lease and construction period.
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“It is working so far, but we need to have people come in and tell us what their disagreements may be,” Blue said. “We can help in managing and fixing that. We want to make sure we have a fair representation (of the community). We want people to discuss in either way – good, bad or indifferent – so we can make some of the needed requested changes that they’re asking for.”
About 33% of Bills annual community spending is in donated tickets, items and experiences
The Buffalo Bills have again reported investing more than $3.6 million as part of community initiatives and a third of that spending was in-kind support. The team spent around $748,000 in donated tickets, over $383,000 in experiences and events and nearly $132,000 in donated items.
Last year, the team was required to spend $3 million. This year, it was $3.06 million, due to an increase in the annual inflation index.
The report does not include some of the team’s other investments in the community, such as helping raise $1.4 million, largely from other donors, as part of the recent Give 716 initiative.
“We were committed to what the CBA says … and we’ve added on over $1 million in committed value,” said Penny Semaia, vice president of new stadium relations for the Bills. “It is something that is important to the Bills and the Pegulas. The CBA is a focused space of where our overall community impact lies.”
Oversight committee members have been hoping to get a more thorough breakdown of the team’s community contributions and whether the spending represents an in-kind service or donation, or cash. The team has never broken down whom the donations went to or said how much each of those donations was worth, be it in cash or services.
While members provide recommendations to the team on community needs and vulnerabilities, the Bills have the final say over how the money is spent.
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Blue believes this report was a step in the right direction. He said he thinks the community will be able to see there has been development in the sharing of information by the Bills. That comes from the oversight committee working with the team to push the report forward, he added.
“We haven’t regressed," Blue said. "We’ve been progressing every year.”
The Bills' community investment included more than $1.9 million for community and civic programs, more than $975,000 for economic development and more than $697,000 for youth and education. The latest report notes what the Bills spent in the community from March 29, 2024, to March 28.
Among the individual initiatives pursued by the team, small business and economic inclusion represented the most money it spent, at more than $605,000. Another $464,000 went toward efforts in health and wellness, including supporting mental health resources.
Semaia revealed that many of the organizations that received cash or grant funds were ones the team already has established relationships with, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The terms of the CBA allow the team to continue the work it was already doing prior to the agreement.
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The Bills did begin working with some new organizations – such as Be Your Own Hero, which helps with workforce development in construction – as Semaia connects with more community groups.
“We want to make sure we are being conscious of those continuing opportunities, but then, there’s also these newer opportunities,” Semaia said. "We want to have opportunities to start relationships, continue relationships and pour it back into the community.”
Member Mo Sumbundu, director of community relations for Gov. Kathy Hochul, reiterated that the committee would like to hear from some of the organizations that get money, since they are part of the CBA report to find out how they are impacting the community and how this money is helping them do their work.
For the current fiscal year – which is now more than four months in, members hope the Bills build on what they’re doing and focus even more on what residents told them during a December public hearing about the community’s most critical needs and vulnerabilities. That includes the need for more youth services.
The next public hearing in which the community can participate has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 9 at a location that will soon be determined. It was originally scheduled for Sept. 25. The next regular monthly meeting of the committee slated for Sept. 8 will be canceled.
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