George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis led to protests worldwide. The black man died following being knelt on the neck by a white police officer for several minutes. The corporations that have previously been known for maintaining silence on social justice issues then started speaking out and also giving aid. From then on, more and more brands have been seen donating to black causes and also taking an active part in spreading as well as taking action against racism. Some of these organizations are:
Mountain Dew
Mountain Dew has partnered with HBCUs such as Hampton University and Howard University to launch a one million prize in line with supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs of color. The competition has its main aim as encouraging the alumni and students to go out into the world and make their dreams a reality.
Total Wine
- Black Friday 2024 DealsEach of the participating schools will also be given monetary awards apart from the rewards that the winning student will get. The Vice President of marketing at Mountain Dew said in a statement that they recognize the real and urgent need for not only tangible but also actionable change. She said that the company is very committed in terms of propelling that which is right as the whole country strives to make progress that will end the inequality that black people face in the U.S as well as the systemic racism.
J & J
Johnson and Johnson are donating 100 million dollars to a program to eradicate the health inequities that black people have. This includes the improvement in hiring and also advancements internally of employees who are black, the improvement of the participation in clinical trials as well as forming unions with various community leaders in six other cities to create new and improved solutions to healthcare.
Total Wine
- Black Friday 2024 DealsThe company said that as much as they were happy with the steps they have made so far in terms of the development of the vaccine for Covid 19, it has just become clearer to them that there is no way to have health for everyone unless you have equity for everyone. The company is putting more money into resources for the black students interested in science as well as their scholarships with a total of 100 million being dispatched for this program.
Starbucks
Starbucks is planning to invest 100 million dollars in the establishment of the Starbucks Community Resilience Fund by 2025. This program is set to support small businesses owned by people of color as well as the community development of the projects that black people come up with but are not able to carry forth with due to funding. The investments are set to initially focus on Detroit, Atlanta, Seattle, Washington, Los Angeles as well as their surrounding areas and then expand and go henceforth from there.
Starbucks also signed a partnership with the African American national museum of Smithsonian that has the history and culture of the black people. Starbucks will be sharing information that is educational via its app and it encourages customers as well as employees alike to volunteer digitally. This is done through record transcription for the Transcription project, Freedmen’s Bureau, to get more information about the history of their country and people.
Choice Hotels
- Black Friday 2024 DealsChipotle
Chipotle Mexican Grill has added onto its options under the program which covers the employees’ tuition costs, Paul Quinn College. Paul Quinn is known as one of the United States’ oldest Black universities and colleges historically. In a statement issued, Chipotle’s chief inclusion, diversity as well as people’s officer, Marissa Andrada said that ensuring Chipotle provides inclusive benefits as well as a support system for their employees, and also not forgetting to recognize the importance of availing an HBCU in their educational program is part of what will continue to propel their efforts of ultimately making a better world.
Due to increased social injustices that have been occurring in the recent past, Google has ended up having countless searches looking for black-owned businesses. As a result, the company has given the merchants based in the U.S an option of adding to their profile as an attribute that they are black-owned. This makes it easier for consumers when scouting to support the said businesses. It is a necessity however that the merchants be having a business profile that is verified by Google to qualify for this new feature. The move by Google is a small part of the large effort of 300 million dollars to aid in the support of entrepreneurs that are underrepresented and also to offer assistance as well as training to the startups and black companies.
AMAZON
- Black Friday Sale Starts NOW!!!StreamElements
StreamElementsis a company that is known for the production of streaming tools that are used for popular streamers. An example is Shroud and TimTheTatman. The company announced that it would be providing 100 thousand dollar diversity funds for creators. This initiative has its aim at the provision of professional services for live streaming to people of color. The fund will then get divided among the qualified 20 applicants from all over the world who will either be partners or simply affiliates on Twitch. The selected members will be given their 5,000 dollars equivalent to StreamElement services and also graphics.
NBA
The National Basketball Association announced earlier last year that the board of governors of the NBA would launch a foundation that would have its main aim as increasing the Black community’s economic opportunities as well as empower it. The foundation is set to have its focus on issuing help to the people of color in highschool, university or college, not forgetting the career-ready individuals. They are set to provide them with not only career advancements but also a vast range of employment opportunities.
AMAZON
- Black Friday Sale Starts NOW!!!As the New employment foundation is in partnership with NBA, the foundation has been set to receive a total of three hundred million dollars which will be contributed from the team owners of the NBA, who are thirty and this will happen through the next ten years. The chairman of the NBA gave a public report noting how all the other governors were equally committed in the roles that they had to play to ensure the success of the black individuals in their team market and also other communities over the world.
Work & Co.
Based in Brooklyn’s dymbo neighborhood, Work & Co is a digital agency that is privately owned. The organization has managed to establish a fund that is worth a million dollars with the purpose being a support to the businesses that are starting up and also to the various organizations that have their main agenda as the black community advancement. The agency made it known that the fund will make provisions in various areas of black voting rights access and also black economic empowerment in terms of development services, strategy as well as design.
Total Wine
- Black Friday 2024 DealsThe fund is just one in an array of actions that the organization laid out. They also made a donation of 25,000 dollars to organizations that support black lives. This was a step in commitment to ensure they increase the quality of their outreach so that they get to a wider range of colleges, design schools, universities, and also coding boot camps in terms of diversity.
Tampa Bay
The Tampa Bay Rays celebrated the Major League Baseball return by highlighting racial injustice using their social media channels. They took to Twitter to express how they felt that the killers of Breonna Taylor deserved to be arrested. They also highlighted how her death had taken place. Across Tampa Bay’s social media platforms, members were able to commit to donating 100,000 dollars which would be directed to fighting systemic racism through local organizations. Tampa Bay also donated a resource guide, which had inside information about the team’s program for racial equity grant that is 100,000 dollars as well as an adequate list of small businesses that are founded and owned by indigenous, black, people of color. The team highly encouraged their fans to stop by in one way or another and support the businesses.
Caress
Caress is one of the founding partners of IFWOC (I fund women of color). It was launched in the spring of 2020 in New York at the women’s march. IFWOC stated that as much as 89% of new businesses are usually founded by black women, less than 1% are usually able to get venture funding. Research that was done by the University of California showed that the number of black-owned businesses declined by a 41% margin in the period between February and April due to the pandemic as well as the related lockdowns. At the moment, Unilever’s Caress is aiming to work on the problem. They have committed one million dollars to IFWOC. This is to aid business coaching for black women who are entrepreneurs as well as owners of small businesses.
Choice Hotels
- Black Friday 2024 DealsThere is always a way an organization can better its employees’ interactions as well as awareness of the racial discrimination that the whole world faces. It is up to you as the employer to step up and get a worthwhile solution while educating yourself and your employees. It is only through that that will allow all enterprises to be able to work together without any issues whatsoever but with utmost respect and fairness on all levels.