THE KROGER CO. FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES RACIAL EQUITY FUND BUILD IT TOGETHER PARTNERS CINCINNATI -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) Foundation (“Foundation”) today announced the recipients of its Racial Equity Fund Build It Together grant challenge, an initiative awarding $3 million in grants and forging partnerships with innovative organizations to help build more equitable, inclusive communities. This initiative reflects a focus area of Kroger’s Framework for Action: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan, a 10-point commitment announced in October 2020 to accelerate and promote greater change in the workplace and in the communities the company serves. The Foundation invited 14 organizations to apply for up to $1 million in funding through the Build It Together grant challenge, which welcomed organizations to submit proposals aimed at positively uplifting, supporting and impacting communities of color. A panel of judges, including Kroger associates and leaders, external partners, and local community foundations, evaluated the proposals and selected four finalists that collectively will receive $3 million to accelerate their visions. “We launched our Framework for Action: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan with the goal of harnessing Kroger’s collective energy to advance racial equality in our culture and our communities,” said Keith Dailey, Kroger’s group vice president of corporate affairs and president of The Kroger Co. Foundation. “The intent of The Kroger Co. Foundation’s Racial Equity Fund is to catalyze innovative approaches to help create more equitable, inclusive and stronger communities. The Build It Together cohort reflects a group of enterprising organizations that are committed to creating lasting change for communities of color. We’re honored to partner with them.” The Kroger Co. Foundation’s Build It Together grant recipients include: Black Girl Ventures (Washington, D.C.) Founded in 2016 by serial entrepreneur and computer scientist Shelly Bell, Black Girl Ventures’ (BGV) mission is to provide Black and Brown women founders with access to community, capital, and capacity building to meet business milestones that lead to economic advancement through entrepreneurship. BGV scales tech-enabled, revenue-generating businesses under $1 million to create racial and gender equity and an inclusive free market. BGV operates five chapters (Birmingham, AL; Durham, NC; Houston, TX; Miami, FL; and Philadelphia, PA) and has funded over 130 Black and Brown women, held over 30 BGV pitch programs across 12 cities, leveraging over $600,000 in funding, and served more than 600 participants. BGV will use its $500,000 Build It Together grant to launch two Change Agent Fellowship cohorts, respectively in Cincinnati, OH and Detroit, MI, to achieve the mutual goal of increasing racial equity. The program expands the capacity of Black and Brown women founders, connecting them with sponsors, mentors and peers and providing training through entrepreneurship workshops and access to BGV’s network of investors and partners.
Everytable (Los Angeles, CA) Everytable’s groundbreaking social franchise model is pioneering a new way to produce food that dramatically reduces the cost of healthy, fresh, and prepared meals, providing a viable alternative to fast food. The organization’s mission is to transform the food system to make fresh, delicious food accessible to everyone, everywhere through grab-and-go storefront markets in communities with extreme scarcity of healthy food options. Everytable’s social equity franchise program removes barriers to business ownership for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs with the goal to eliminate racial wealth disparities and expand access to healthy food.
attending HBCUs. Through scholarships, capacity building, strategic partnerships, and innovative planning, TMCF serves as a critical access point for students, from college to career.
TMCF will use its $1 million Build It Together grant to adapt its successful innovation and entrepreneurship program to focus on food insecurity and food waste, particularly in low-income and underserved Black communities. The challenge will combine the program model to bring the winning ideas to market, leveraging expertise from Kroger and its partners like Feeding America, as well as the community focus of HBCUs and the research capacity of these educational institutions. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HBCU leadership Everytable will use its $1 million Build is focused more than ever on harnessing It Together grant to expand an innovative expertise to address basic needs – food, public-private funding structure to spur an shelter, and health – for communities. increase in business ownership for Black entrepreneurs, and people of color (POC) The Build It Together cohort will leverage broadly, with the goal of opening 40 POC- funding from the Foundation to implement owned franchises over the next two years. innovative programs and initiatives over the next 12 months and beyond. LISC (New York, NY) The Local Initiatives Support Corporation “We’re eager to partner with these four (LISC) is the country’s largest community exceptional organizations to create a brighter, development organization. With offices in more equitable future for the communities we 36 cities and a rural program that serves over serve,” said Sunny Reelhorn Parr, executive 2,200 counties in 45 states, LISC’s dedicated director of The Kroger Co. Foundation. team is committed to creating economic “As a purpose-led organization, we know opportunity for all. that actions speak louder than words. We remain committed to not only illuminating LISC will use its $500,000 Build It Together the important, impactful work of groups grant to launch a long-term partnership to like these but also sharing our resources and advance Project 10X, the organization’s delivering on the promises of our Framework ambitious strategy to close the racial health, for Action to accelerate meaningful change wealth, and opportunity gaps in America. in our culture and country.” The organization’s proposal aims to support food-system businesses and community To learn more about Kroger’s Framework for organizations working for equitable food Action: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion plan, access, led by and serving Black, Indigenous visit TheKrogerCo.com/StandingTogether. and people of color. About Kroger Thurgood Marshall College Fund At The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), we are (Washington, D.C.) Fresh for Everyone™ and dedicated to our Established in 1987, the Thurgood Purpose: To Feed the Human Spirit®. We Marshall College Fund (TMCF) is the are, across our family of companies, nearly nation’s largest organization exclusively half a million associates who serve over 11 representing the Black college community. million customers daily through a seamless TMCF member schools include publicly shopping experience under a variety of supported Historically Black Colleges and banner names. We are committed to creating Universities (HBCUs) and Predominately #ZeroHungerZeroWaste communities by Black Institutions (PBIs). Publicly supported 2025. To learn more about us, visit our HBCUs enroll over 80% of all students newsroom and investor relations site. 29
The Columbus & Dayton African American 2021 The Columbus African American News Journal • February 2015
