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Foot Locker is on a mission to advance health, wealth, and upward mobility within Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities. The Foot Locker Foundation has teamed up with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to fund nonprofit community organizations empowering youth in BIPOC neighborhoods, according to a press release. The funding will come in the form of grants and will focus on continuing the athletic wear company’s mission to provide economic opportunity and racial equity for all.
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) of the State University of New York (SUNY) has joined forces with influential partners and brands in the fashion and creative industries to help tackle the systemic issues that the Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) community face in their respective spaces. On Dec. 8, FIT launched the Social Justice Center (SJC), a f irst-of-its-kind higher education initiative for BIPOC p re-college youth, college students, and creative industry professionals, according to a press release provided to AfroTech. Behind the SJC’s launch are its founding partners PVH Corp., Capri Holdings Limited, and Tapestry, Inc., which each have pledged $1 million for FIT’s mission to increase opportunity and accelerate social equity within the creative industries for the BIPOC community. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tapestry, Inc. (@tapestry) Leading brands including Ralph Lauren, Prada, Saks, Target, and G-III Apparel Group have also committed...
The Toronto Raptors are creating a promising future for emerging BIPOC artists under their Welcome Toronto Creators program. In partnership with Drake’s OVO, the program supports three emerging artists between the ages of 16 and 29 who exemplify “the multicultural DNA of the city of Toronto,” according to the Raptors’ website. Finalists will have an opportunity to receive mentorship and networking opportunities with the Raptors’ resources. In addition to these perks, the chosen artists will be designated to one “Welcome Toronto” game and their art and journey will be featured during the NBA broadcast and across the Raptors’ social media platforms.
Elaine Welteroth is more than a triple threat. She has stacked up an impressive work portfolio, which includes becoming a New York Times best-selling author, serving as a judge on Bravo’s hit show “Project Runway” and also as the former editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue. On top of her impressive arsenal of business ventures, Welteroth is intentional about using her platform to help others. During her time at Teen Vogue, diversity and social justice were pushed to the forefront of the outlet’s coverage, and she also created the 15 Percent Pledge encouraging major retailers to commit 15 percent of their buying power to funding Black-owned businesses. Now, Elaine Welteroth is continuing her commitment to help the BIPOC community in a new arena by partnering with investment platform Public , which AfroTech previously told you has an online community bolstering one million users with a demographic of 40 percent women and 45 percent BIPOC. The partnership will lead the future generation...
Five entrepreneurs have walked away with the funding needed to help their businesses flourish. According to PR Newswire, Metropolitan Economic Development Association’s Million Dollar Challenge — the largest Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurial competition in the nation — has announced the winners of the fourth annual competition where five companies received $1.2 million in financial support. Metropolitan Economic Development Association ( Meda) was founded by a group of Minnesota business leaders who were looking to attack inequity within minority communities in the state. The press release states, “Meda operates a growing Community Development Fund Institution (CDFI) that provides needed capital for BIPOC businesses to become sustainable.” Since its inception, it has helped to launch more than 500 BIPOC businesses and helped with more than 23,000 Minnesota BIPOC entrepreneurs. Almost 200 businesses in the U.S. applied to participate with only 12 making...
Talk about a legacy! A fund created in honor of late rapper Mac Miller has announced plans to award 75 microgrants to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). According to Billboard, The Mac Miller Fund — which was established by the Miller family in 2018 — will award grants of $1,000 to 75 BIPOC artists to help them with their work. The BIPOC Artist Micro-Grant program was created by the Pittsburgh Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy with funds provided by the Mac Miller Fund. “This program is yet another wonderful example of how the fund is channeling Mac Miller’s spirit in the Pittsburgh region and the rest of the country,” said Pittsburgh Foundation President and CEO Lisa Schroeder in a statement. “As his fame skyrocketed, he shared his musical artistry generously — allowing people to internalize it however they would choose, and he reached out broadly. While there is much more work to be done in supporting racial diversity in our region’s arts community, we are grateful...
NBA star Russell Westbrook is linking up with Hennessy to kick off a new initiative that aims to support minority business owners. According to HYPEBEAST, the “Make Moves That Start Movements” program will expand on Hennessy’s Unfinished Business initiative — a platform created to provide material resources to Black, Asian and Latinx entrepreneurs who found themselves impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Westbrook himself will provide donations to aid the spirits brand’s efforts — which has already distributed over $5 million in funding — as they look to demonstrate community support from the NBA. “The NBA has always demonstrated a desire to push the game to new heights and into new arenas of culture,” said Jasmin Allen — Senior Vice President of Hennessy US — said in a statement. “Led by the actions of players, the league, and the larger basketball communities that embody Hennessy’s Never Stop. Never Settle. ethos, the game’s influence goes well beyond the court to impact communities...
Foot Locker Inc. and the Foot Locker Foundation have both teamed up to join forces with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in a partnership to launch a $3 million, multi-city program that aims to empower youth as well as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities over the next two years. According to a press release, the multi-million dollar program will operate across 12 metropolitan areas where the Foot Locker brand shows up largely in local communities — including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia and San Francisco. The Community Empowerment Program will distribute $20,000 grants to nonprofit organizations in these cities that prioritize serving underserved youth, as well as people of color, in an effort to bridge the gaps that exist in health, wealth, equality and opportunity throughout America. “Inspiring and empowering youth culture is at the core of who we are. We are...
One in three BIPOC tech employees feel discriminated against by their employers, a new report finds. While a third of minority tech workers aren’t feeling comfortable at work, 67% of them said their company has a diversity and inclusion team that’s supposed to be focused on making sure they feel welcomed and supported, according to information provided to AfroTech. These findings were published by global data and market research company Savanta. Lead researchers Sadia Corey and Daniel Garcia wanted to publish this report after the civil unrest that swept the nation last year. “We really felt like after the movement from the summer, George Floyd’s death and some of the protests that were happening, we wanted to keep the conversation going and bring some statistics to some feelings and sentiments that we already know about in the U.S. workplace,” Corey told AfroTech. As part of Savanta’s Black Lives Matter: Everywhere, Amplifying the voices of minorities in the workplace report, there...
Social networks have quickly become our saving grace in the pandemic during a time where people are trying their best to stay connected while safely social distancing. For communities all over, mainly the BIPOC community, a tech company has launched a new social media platform with an overarching goal to unify people during this hectic time. RepItSocial, which is the same name as the tech company, is a revolutionary social media app that is poised to become the central hub for all things BIPOC, according to a press release. Courtesy of RepItSocial RepItSocial — developed by co-founders D’Oyen and Azalaya Fraser, and former BET Networks president Jefferi K. Lee — is described as “the new face of social media that represents the voice, energy and true diversity of this new generation. It is the premium platform for entertainment, empowerment and unification of all things BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color),” a press release shares. Similar to the melting pot that is America,...