Karl-Anthony Towns commits Cup prize money to Dominican Republic charity
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Juan Beltran, Contributor
- December 17, 2025
Knicks star vows to spend $530,000 on his charitable efforts in Dominican
Soon after helping the New York Knicks win the Emirates NBA Cup, Karl-Anthony Towns revealed that he’ll donate his $530,000 Cup bonus to his charitable efforts in the Dominican Republic.
Towns, a five-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, has devoted much of his charitable efforts to helping the people of his late mother Jacqueline Cruz’s beloved Dominican Republic.
Through the Go Sports, Go Ministries Foundation, Towns has focused his efforts on helping children in the cities of Tamboril and Santiago.
“I’m going to donate it,” he said. “I got my thing over in DR with Go Sports, Go Ministries. We’re building facilities, educating kids, giving them the resources to chase their dreams.
“I’m super excited that with this God-given talent, the work I’ve put to be successful at my craft, I’m able to help a lot of kids out and families, give their families a chance to hopefully realize their dreams. I’m super excited to do that in Tamboril and Santiago.”
Embracing mother’s island
Towns scored 16 points to help the Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-113 to win the NBA Cup on Tuesday night. He was born in Edison, N.J. His father Karl Towns Sr. is an African American. His mother was born in the Dominican. She died from complications related to COVID 19 during the pandemic in 2020.
Karl-Anthony celebrates his mom during American Mother’s Day in early May and in late May when Mother’s Day is traditionally celebrated in the Dominican Republic.
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He became the first NBA player to mention Dominican Mother’s Day on mainstream American television last May during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Championship.
“Shoutout to Dominicans, man, on Dominican Mother’s Day,” he said while wrapping up his postgame interview on TNT’s telecast. “Shoutout to my mom.”
The former No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft has always represented his mother’s island internationally. Towns started playing for the Dominican national basketball team at 16 years old. More importantly, he has helped Dominican children through his humanitarian efforts.
“It’s my culture,” he told Our Esquina last year. “It’s how I grew up. Being Latino, having my family from the Dominican Republic around me my whole entire childhood I really just grew in the culture. And it allowed me to experience love firsthand.
“So I’ve been very fortunate that my mother’s family has been very integral in my life and teaching me my Latino roots and the culture and teaching me what it is to truly be Dominican.”
Juan Beltran
Contributor
Juan Beltran, who immigrated to the United States from El Salvador at 5 years old, is an experienced broadcast journalist
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