What is Olivia Dunne's "The Livvy Fund"? A closer look at the gymnast's NIL vision to help LSU athletes

Olivia Dunne is leveraging her Name, Image and Likeness deals, and emerging as one of the most successful college athletes in terms of earnings. The LSU gymnast has the second-biggest NIL valuation in college sports, only behind Bronny James.

According to a valuation by On3, the LSU gymnast and social media personality is the highest-earning female NCAA athlete in college sports. She reportedly earns an estimated $3.5 million annually from her multiple NIL deals.

However, she possesses a desire to ensure that the transformative collaborations resulting from these opportunities extend beyond her personal gains alone. She has taken the initiative to establish a fund that facilitates the connection between other female athletes at her school.

On Thursday, she officially launched "The Livvy Fund," a dedicated initiative aimed at assisting female student-athletes at Louisiana State University in securing NIL deals. The fund is specifically designed to support and empower female athletes to maximize their potential.

The Livvy Fund has formed a collaboration with Bayou Traditions, LSU's officially recognized organization for athlete NIL opportunities. This will help create a widespread network among the university's female athletes.

Livvy Dunne believes the fund will help facilitate equal opportunities for female athletes

Speaking after the launch, Dunne reiterated that her career has benefited immensely as a result of her social media followings. This has helped her secure endorsement deals from a number of brands across the country since the advent of NIL.

"As a female student-athlete, I have been fortunate enough to build a strong social media following and establish valuable brand partnerships that have launched my career in ways I couldn’t imagine."

The LSU gymnast hopes the fund is able to elevate women’s sports across the United States. Her goal is to ensure female student-athletes get the same opportunity as their male counterparts.

"I really just hope that [The Livvy Fund] is the first of many I really hope to get as many women student-athletes on board as I can."

"I want to continue to elevate women's sports as a whole because they really deserve the same publicity as the men's. We do equal work, we put in equal time in our facilities every day and in school, so I feel like it would be right for this to be equal."

She also mentioned how the unequal playing field has made women's sports suffer. She believes she is on a mission to advocate for and educate female student-athletes about their dealings with businesses and brands.

"The collectives mostly go to the men’s sports here at LSU, and I just want to fight for equal NIL opportunities. It’s very important to help educate other student-athletes here at LSU on how to be a savvy businesswoman and how to partner with brands."

Livvy Dunne is not the only female athlete who has recently capitalized on the opportunity. Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson, both from the Tigers, leveraged their triumph as champions of the 2023 NCAA women's basketball tournament to secure huge NIL deals. However, she has taken the step of giving back to society.