ATLANTA, July 28, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of UPS (NYSE: UPS), announced it will award more than
$7.7 million in global diversity and inclusion grants to 39 organizations. The grants will support economic empowerment,
initiatives to empower women and girls, and, workplace inclusion.
“We are proud to partner with organizations that are innovating and making measurable impacts on the lives of people all over
the world,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “The diversity
and inclusion initiatives we are supporting will help advance the United Nation’s Sustainable Development goals and drive positive
change to make the world a better place for this generation and generations to come.”
Among the organizations receiving grants are three nonprofits that stand out in terms of their innovation and impact:
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Graca Machel Trust, a pan-African advocacy
organization focused on women’s economic and financial empowerment, child health and nutrition and education, among other
areas. Graca Machel is the former First Lady of Mozambique and the widow of Nelson Mandela. The UPS Foundation grants will
support two key Graca Machel programs: the Raising Voices for Women Cross Border Trading initiative to help women in West
Africa, who comprise nearly 80 percent of the Cross Border Traders, formalize their business, and, the Women Advancing Africa
Forum, which will be held in August 2017 and will focus on addressing economic imbalances in Africa.
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Strive for College, an organization that encourages
students in public schools to apply for college and helps them find the money to fund their education. In 2016, 99 percent of
Strive students went to college (most of them first generation college students in their families) and 89 percent required no
debt for tuition. The UPS Foundation grants will help the organization scale its program to reach 100,000 low-income students
this year.
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The Peace Corps to support the implementation of the
Let Girls Learn
Project, a five-year project launched by former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2015 that aims to
eliminate barriers to education for 62 million girls in 60 countries. In 2016, the program reached 1 million people and
resulted in 296 Let Girls Learn Projects in 39 countries and 628 volunteer-led projects in 56 countries. The new Administration
will continue the program under a re-branded name.
Additional grant recipients include the following organizations:
Additional economic empowerment grants:
- Expansion of Aspira of America, Inc.’s financial education program to 240 Latino youth and families by
training and reaching 500,000 Latino households
- Funding to expand the Council for Economic Education’s Center for Economic and Financial Education,
teaching financial literacy to more than 250,000 students in New York City
- Support of the Cuban American National Council and its Financial Literacy and First Time Homebuyer
Education Workshops
- Development of Native Edge, an online business development and training ecosystem through the National
Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
- Support for the National Urban Fellows placement of a Class of 2017 National Urban Fellow
- Providing entrepreneurial skills development through the National Urban League, Inc.
- Delivering career development and professional networking resources to disabled individuals, awarded to the National
Organization on Disability and The Viscardi Center
- Support for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) to increase participation of young
women and to expand the leadership potential and capacity of WAGGGS’s member organizations
- Accion International to support the organization’s work in Nigeria to bring high-quality, affordable
financial services to nearly 750,000 individuals by 2020
- Funding to assist Opportunity International, Inc. in expanding its financial and training services to reach
more than 40,000 low-income Colombian women
- Support of Catalyst for Women’s learning website, which provides leadership training and business skills to
women around the world
Education empowerment grants:
- Improving literacy, school engagement, college readiness and youth development, awarded to CHOICES Education
Group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the National Black
Child Development Institute
- Offering scholarships for continuing education through the African Leadership Foundation, American
Indian College Fund, Brigham Young University, Clark Atlanta University, the
Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Inc., Morehouse College, Spelman College, the
United Negro College Fund, Inc., and 100 Black Men of America, Inc.
- Strengthening leadership and empowerment of students, awarded to the National Council of La Raza,
Council of Independent Colleges, Girls Incorporated, Strive for College, and
the Organization of Chinese Americans
Inclusion grants:
- Contributions to the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing’s Knowledge
Center website, supporting 250,000 children
- American Corporate Partners toward support for the mentoring program for transitioning military veterans as
they enter the civilian workforce
- Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility for key events support
- Support of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s website as a source of information on LGBTQ issues
- Growing the volunteer network for the Special Olympics of Georgia, Inc.
- Funding to support Braille literacy programming for the National Federation of the Blind
- Executive Leadership Foundation supporting leadership development for high potential African American
candidates
- Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) to support Operation PAVE, the PVA’s vocational rehabilitation program;
toward support for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games; and additional support
- National Organization on Disability (NOD) to increase employment opportunities for college graduates with
disabilities through the Campus to Careers program
Human trafficking prevention grants:
- Leadership Conference Education Fund toward its human trafficking program and the creation of a toolkit to
give individuals and organizations the power to confront trafficking in the U.S., and address the nature of trafficking as it
affects people of color and minors, particularly LGBTQ youth
- United Way Worldwide Center for Human Trafficking and Slavery toward a community training curriculum
For more information about UPS’s philanthropic and volunteerism efforts, please visit www.UPS.com/Foundation.
About The UPS Foundation
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages
and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the
world of business. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting
programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation leads its global citizenship
programs and is responsible for facilitating community involvement to local, national, and global communities. In 2016, UPS and its
employees, active and retired, invested more than $116 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be
found on the web at UPS.com/Foundation. To get The UPS Foundation news direct, follow @UPS_Foundation on Twitter.
Kristen Petrella 404-828-4182 kpetrella@ups.com
