Mastercard Kicks Off Strivers Initiative Multi-City Educational Road Show & Fearless Fund Grant Effort, Reinforcing Commitmen...
March 12 2021 - 10:34AM
Business Wire
To Celebrate Strivers, GRAMMY® Livestream
Concert Event Features Ella Mai, Ari Lennox, and Tierra Whack
Performing from Black Women-Owned Businesses
As an extension of its Strivers Initiative, Mastercard kicks off
its virtual, multi-city educational road show in partnership with
Create & Cultivate, the women’s online community and digital
platform, to drive awareness on the state of women and
minority-owned businesses in four cities across the U.S. and
launched a grant contest in collaboration with Fearless Fund, a
venture capital fund built by women of color for women of color, to
award grants to Black women-owned businesses with an emphasis in
road show cities.
The Strivers road show will stop in four cities, starting with
Los Angeles on Saturday, March 13th, and continue in Atlanta, New
York and New Orleans. Each event will include local small business
experts, community members and small business owners to drive a
dialogue around the needs of Black women business owners in that
city, closing with a virtual shopping segment highlighting local
businesses.
“We’ve heard firsthand from many Black women-owned businesses of
the devastating effect of the pandemic, forcing them to close doors
or suspend business for months on end. Couple that with the
systemic barriers they’ve had to overcome in the first place to get
to where they are and it’s clear this is an issue that needs to be
addressed,” said Cheryl Guerin, EVP Marketing and Communications in
North America for Mastercard. “We’re committed to fostering
dialogue and taking action to support the economic progress of
Black, female business owners in cities across America ensuring
they have access to the funding and digital resources needed to
grow and thrive.”
In Los Angeles, Fearless Fund, in partnership with Mastercard,
awarded two local Black women business owners, Megan Smith of Megan
Renee and Angela Stevens of Conscious Curls, each with a Priceless
Surprise of $10,000 grant to help support and grow their business.
From a sustainable clothing line that embodies strength, confidence
and unapologetic femininity, to a high-quality hair extensions line
that empowers and educates women on the beauty of hair, while
donating to various organizations, these women are not only running
businesses, they are giving back and supporting their
communities.
To further underscore their commitment to this community,
Fearless Fund, in partnership with Mastercard, also launched the
Fearless Strivers Grant Contest* to provide Black female small
business owners across the U.S. who’ve been hit hardest by the
pandemic with additional grants and tools to help grow their
business.
“Our mission since day one has been to support women and
minority-owned businesses across the country and we are thrilled to
continue those efforts through the Strivers Road Show”, says Arian
Simone Co-Founder and General Partner of Fearless Fund. “Now more
than ever, women of color entrepreneurs need financial support,
guidance, and access to tools that will help their businesses get
off the ground. This is still only the beginning of our work to
create actionable change.”
These efforts build on Mastercard’s sustained efforts to build a
more inclusive digital economy and previously announced
half-billion-dollar commitment to support Black communities over
the next five years. Specifically, in Los Angeles, Mastercard has
made progress against this commitment by partnering with Accion
Opportunity Fund, a Community Development Financial Institutions,
to provide capital, access to credit, and support securing PPP
loans to hundreds of Black small business owners.
Through mastercard.com/smallbiz visitors can learn more about
these efforts, as well as shop Black Women-owned businesses, share
their stories on social media and support their work.
GRAMMY® Week Celebration and Live Stream Event
Mastercard will continue the conversation and celebration around
Black women entrepreneurs during GRAMMY week. On Saturday, March
13, Mastercard will hold FEARLESS: A Celebration of Strivers, a
livestream concert event that spotlights the contributions of Black
women in music and business, featuring performances by three
artists who will take the stage at women-owned small businesses.
This includes:
- Ella Mai performing live from The Braid Bar: Los Angeles,
CA
- Ari Lennox performing live from iwi fresh: Atlanta, GA
- Tierra Whack performing live from Amalgam Comics &
Coffeehouse: Philadelphia, PA
Viewers will not only experience a truly unique musical event,
but will also have the opportunity to hear from small business
owners from across the country, make a contribution to Fearless
Fund and learn how to apply for the grant contest if they are a
Black, female business owner.
To tune into the livestream follow @mastercard on Instagram,
Twitter and Facebook and to discover other Priceless at-home
experiences in celebration of GRAMMY week visit
priceless.com/GRAMMYs.
*Fearless Strivers Grant Contest Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. THIS IS A SKILL BASED CONTEST. Void where
prohibited. Open to black females who are legal U.S. residents
(including DC), 18+ and the principal owner of a U.S.-based small
business (as described in the Official Rules). Ends 5/23/21. For
Official Rules & complete details, Click here.
About Mastercard
Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments
industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital
economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions
safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks,
partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help
individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses
realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ,
drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our
company. With connections across more than 210 countries and
territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks
priceless possibilities for all.
www.mastercard.com
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210312005361/en/
Media Contacts Sarah Ely sarah.ely@mastercard.com |
(914)249-6714 Margaret Williams Margaret.williams@mastercard.com |
(914)249-2926
MasterCard (NYSE:MA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
MasterCard (NYSE:MA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024