Olivia Dunne’s new fund plans to help female LSU athletes secure NIL bag

After rising to stardom, Olivia Dunne is now giving back to her community.

Dunne launched “The Livvy Fund” on Thursday, created to help women-athletes at LSU secure NIL deals in the male-dominated field.

“The collectives mostly go to the men’s sports here at LSU, and I just want to fight for equal NIL opportunities,” Dunne said, according to Sports Illustrated.

“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.”

The LSU gymnast and social media personality is the highest-paid female NCAA athlete and has earned an estimated $3.5 million through NIL deals, according to a valuation from On3. 

Dunne, 20, partnered with Bayou Traditions ––  LSU’s official collective for NIL opportunities for Tiger athletes –– to start “The Livvy Fund.”

On3 and Accelerator Active Energy have already financially contributed to the new project, and the public is also able to donate on “The Livvy Fund” website. 

“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,” Dunne said in a press release. 

“I am excited to build on this momentum by leveraging my connections and sharing my knowledge in the NIL space to create more opportunities for LSU female-student athletes, while emphasizing the importance of bringing NIL funds to women in college sports.”

Dunne boasts more than 15 million social media followers across platforms and has inked NIL deals with brands like Vuori, Motorola and Caktus AI. 

Most recently, Dunne was named one of the top 20 most influential creators by Rolling Stone and was featured in the 2023 edition of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in May. 

Entering her senior year at LSU, Dunne hopes to pave the way for future Tigers to reach similar successes. 

LSU women basketball players Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson also cashed in on NIL deals after winning the 2023 NCAA national championship, as did recent transfer Hailey Van Lith.

“I really just hope that [The Livvy Fund] is the first of many,” Dunne said, according to Bleacher Report.

“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.”