*This blog originally appeared on eBayinc.com
This summer, the eBay Foundation asked employees to help decide where to give $3 million in grants to support entrepreneurs from untapped communities around the world in response to the tremendous challenges they are currently facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Called Global Give: Rapid Response, our goal was to quickly address the critical needs of these small businesses — while also giving our employees a way to engage and show their support now more than ever. For 2020, we built on previous iterations of our employee engagement-powered Global Give program, while adapting to the current pressing and immediate needs of nonprofits in these unprecedented times.
“We know that entrepreneurs – particularly those who are untapped or under resourced – and nonprofits are facing enormous challenges this year,” said Allie Ottoboni, President of the eBay Foundation. “In response, we shifted the Global Give program to bring our global colleagues together, connect them with the challenges entrepreneurs are facing in their communities and get critical funding to expert nonprofit partners — quickly.”
Amid COVID-19, small businesses and entrepreneurs are struggling to survive and rebuild — and this is especially true in traditionally untapped communities, including Black, Indigenous, People of Color, women and refugees. With the assistance of eBay Foundation’s Global Give: Rapid Response program, entrepreneurs are able to access relief and build resiliency.
“Through eBay’s support, we can level the playing field for female founders (across the U.K.) to successfully start and grow their businesses,” said Dirk Bischof, Chief Executive of Hatch Enterprise. “We see this journey as a marathon, not a sprint, and having strong partners to support us is absolutely critical to achieving our mission.”
Beginning in July, we asked employees to learn about and vote for nonprofits that our company should support with grants, based on applications sourced by the eBay Foundation. Employees contributed 16,000 votes to organizations supporting entrepreneurs around the world. As a result of the enthusiastic and committed response of our employees, eBay will distribute $3 million in total grant funding to 53 organizations around the world.
One of this year’s grantees, nonprofit Women of Will, supporting micro-credit financing for women and their communities in Malaysia.
“Black Girl Ventures (BGV) identifies, disrupts and directs flows of financial and social capital into the hands of Black and Brown Women Founders,” said Shelly Bell, Founder of BGV. “eBay Foundation funding will advance over 100 women founders through our incubator platform providing access to community, capital and capacity.”
As a purpose-driven technology company, we strive every day to empower people and create economic opportunity. eBay is committed to helping our local and international communities through the pandemic. We leverage our resources, platform and people to create a more equitable global economy, and we engage eBay employees to make a greater impact in communities around the globe.
This new round of grants from the eBay Foundation, which provides crucial support to traditionally untapped entrepreneurs from communities most impacted by the pandemic, is part of the nearly $15 million in giving the Foundation has committed during the pandemic to nonprofits and organizations around the world. This commitment includes a bonus matching gift program — up to $1 million — to support employee donations and volunteering in response to the pandemic.
As eBay celebrates our 25th anniversary this month, we are pleased to further build on our strong history of giving. Established in 1998, the eBay Foundation was the first corporate foundation to be endowed with pre-IPO stock, and we’ve since given over $50 million to nonprofits around the world. This year, we have navigated global challenges and changes that have required a renewed look at how we are best using our resources to support our communities, focusing on unleashing the power of inclusive entrepreneurship to build economically vibrant and thriving communities. We are proud to act as a catalyst for change and to support entrepreneurs and small businesses — particularly those that are untapped or under resourced.
Learn more about our mission and impact work at ebayinc.com/impact.