Three New Corporate Investors Join Movement to Support Women's Health and Resilience in Global Value Chains
The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains welcomes new investors Amazon, lululemon, and Avery Dennison Foundation and plans for expansion in 2022
WASHINGTON, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Three corporate investors – Amazon, lululemon, and Avery Dennison Foundation – have made new contributions totaling $2 million to The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains, which will enable the Resilience Fund to expand its grantmaking into Southeast Asia in 2022. Alongside renewed commitments from founding investors Gap Foundation and The VF Foundation, the Resilience Fund is now more than halfway to its goal of being able to invest $10 million in women-led organizations around the world.
The Resilience Fund is a first-of-its-kind pooled funding initiative for companies, corporate foundations, and other donors to invest in the long-term health, safety, and economic resilience of women in global value chains and to catalyze a new era of corporate investment and philanthropy through pooled funding, democratized processes, and women-led change.
"It's more important than ever that leading retailers help ensure a safe, supportive work environment for women throughout the global retail value chain, and our contribution to the Resilience Fund for Women underscores our commitment to these working women everywhere," said LeighAnne DeWine, Head of Social Responsibility at Amazon. "We're pleased to join other businesses focused on supporting the long-term health and economic resilience of women."
"We are pleased to be supporting the Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains," said Esther Speck, Vice President of Global Sustainability and Social Impact for lululemon. "We know that when women and girls are able to reach their full potential, it drives positive impact across our communities, and supports the long-term health and resilience of women around the globe. This innovative fund is a next step towards a more equitable world, and is a unique opportunity to advance wellbeing."
"The Avery Dennison Foundation is proud to contribute to the Resilience Fund and support women across the global supply chain," said Michael Barton, Vice President/General Manager, Global Apparel Solutions, Avery Dennison RBIS and Trustee, Avery Dennison Foundation. "We look forward to partnering with our peers and NGO partners through this innovative funding model that empowers local organizations to identify solutions, and direct resources where they are most needed in the community."
The Resilience Fund was launched in May 2021 with three-year commitments by founding investors PVH Foundation, H&M Foundation, and the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation in addition to Gap Foundation and The VF Foundation commitments, as a joint initiative with BSR, the United Nations Foundation's Universal Access Project, and Women Win/Win-Win Strategies. Guided by a representative advisory board of feminist leaders alongside investors, the Resilience Fund provides unrestricted funding to women-led community organizations and women's funds that focus on women's safety, security, and sexual and reproductive health as long-term drivers of economic resilience.
In 2021, the Resilience Fund committed nearly USD$1 million in grants to these grassroots organizations and women's funds in Bangladesh and India with programmatic focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, economic empowerment, and more. In 2022, the Resilience Fund will expand to Southeast Asia, and the Advisory Board will consider further expansion into Latin America and Africa as new corporate investors join the Fund. With the Amazon investment, the Fund looks to continue to diversify its investor base into technology, consumer goods, finance, and agriculture sectors.
This year will also feature the launch of the Fund's Learning Hub, a digital (and in person) platform to enable real-time learning, dialogue, and networking between grantees, stakeholders, and investors. A major goal is to forge new, long-term connections between community leaders and corporate investors and drive new resources to women's organizations implementing solutions at the local level.
About the Resilience Fund
The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains is a first-of-its-kind pooled funding initiative for corporate and philanthropic investments in the long-term health, well-being, and economic resilience of women who form the backbone of global supply chains. The Fund was developed jointly by BSR, the United Nations Foundation's Universal Access Project, and Women Win/Win-Win Strategies in close collaboration with founding corporate partners and investors Gap Foundation, PVH Foundation, H&M Foundation, The VF Foundation, and the Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation.
Media Contact
Kate Schulman, UN Foundation, 2028626314, [email protected]
SOURCE The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains
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