The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS, announced it will award more than $ 7.4 million in global diversity and inclusion grants to 36 different organizations. Grants will support inclusiveness and economic empowerment opportunities for women and diverse people across the globe.
 
“The UPS Foundation seeks to engage, empower and lift-up those of us who have been underserved and underrepresented in communities around the world,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer at UPS. “Collaborating with our partner organizations, our focus on empowering and championing women and diverse people will create stronger, more resilient societies, and, ultimately, a more inclusive and diverse global workforce.”
 
Organizations receiving grants focus on: building economic empowerment through microloans and financial planning, fostering workplace inclusion, and driving global leadership development to ensure women and young girls reach their full potential. An overarching focus is on empowering women to pursue their dreams in business and make a difference in their societies.
 
Among the recipients, The UPS Foundation is continuing its partnership with Accion International, a nonprofit looking to build a financially inclusive world. The grant will support the organization’s work in Nigeria, where last year, The UPS Foundation’s support helped Accion bring high-quality, affordable financial services to nearly 125,000 individuals – 68 percent of whom were women. Over the next three years, Accion will expand to 50 branch locations, reaching nearly 750,000 individuals by 2020.
 
Other grants focused on empowerment for women include:
 
· Funding to assist Opportunity International in expanding its financial and training services to reach more than 40,000 low-income Columbian women

· Support of Catalyst for Women’s learning website, which provides leadership training and business skills to women around the world

· Partnering with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts to increase participation of young women and to expand the leadership potential and capacity of WAGGGS’s member organizations
 
In addition to empowerment for women, other 2016 diversity grants from The UPS Foundation focus on the following:
 
Economic empowerment grants:
 
· 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 NYC

· 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
 
Education empowerment grants:
 
· Funding the Muhammad Ali Center’s UCREW Program that provides students with opportunities to learn the fundamentals of social entrepreneurship, and the development of social enterprises

· Improving literacy, school engagement, college readiness and youth development, awarded to Africare, CHOICES Education Group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the National Black Child Development Institute and the Nick Lowery Youth Foundation

· 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

· 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