PayPal announced their first round of nonprofits to receive grants to assist in their recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PayPal, a trailblazing fintech venture, provided grants to small and medium businesses as part of its $530 million commitment announced in June to support Black-owned businesses, and underrepresented minority businesses and communities over the long term.
PayPal’s CEO, Dan Schulman, said in a statement, “To rebuild and succeed over the long-term, it’s important for these businesses to have a strong ecosystem of support.”
In August, PayPal distributed $10 million in empowerment grants to Black-owned small businesses to help them stabilize and reopen during the pandemic. Including, the company announced a $50 million deposit in Optus Bank, a Black-owned South Carolina bank.
Association for Enterprise, one of the nonprofits that received a PayPal grant, oversees the fund and facilitated the recent selection process. “We are in a pivotal moment as a nation, and now is the time to champion transformational change that will lead to an equitable system,” said Connie Evans, the organizations President and CEO.
While the company is providing $5 million for 20 nonprofits to divide between them, PayPal says it is their biggest “social impact” initiative towards the “company’s mission to democratize financial services so that everyone can participate fairly and fully in the global economy.”
. . . .
Part of the efforts relies on PayPal workers to donate money to the social enterprise fund. For every $1 dollar from an employee, PayPal doubles the donation. As well, every volunteer hour by an employee, the company will also give $20.
“When we started MORTAR, we had one small room with 15 entrepreneurs uncomfortably piled inside, eager to learn how to make their dreams become realities,” Allen Woods, Co-Founder and Executive Director recounted about how his company grew to assist historically marginalized entrepreneurs.
Woods continued. “Six years and 275 graduates later, we are thrilled to know that our impact has changed lives all across the Midwest, and we look forward to partnering with PayPal in a meaningful way to continue scaling our impact. An opportunity to work directly with a financial titan like PayPal is a foretaste of what success can look like, but more importantly, it’s a reminder of what collaboration in communities of color should feel like.”
In this latest philanthropic effort by PayPal, not all organizations named are Black-owned. Kiva, Opportunity Fund and Grameen America are either women-owned or co-owned by a person of color.
[give_form id=”7786″]
Ark Republic is an independent media company that provides a platform for free-thinking folk to tell stories as complex and colorful as possible. We need your help to keep the wheels churning and the stories flowing. Please become a member or donate to an organization dedicated to giving you stories that keep you informed.
[give_form id=”7786″]
