- Goldman Sachs Foundation will commit $1 million to Echoing Green as a solution to the lack of access to capital for Black women entrepreneurs and to accelerate social change for urgent issues facing communities.
- Echoing Green will establish a cohort of Black women Fellows to develop projects addressing housing, education, healthcare, digital connectivity, access to capital, workforce development, financial literacy and climate justice; all critical needs in underserved communities.
- The partnership advances Goldman Sachs’ commitment to positively impacting the lives of one million Black women over the next decade.
New York, NY — Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women today announced a new partnership with Echoing Green to accelerate the impact of Black women social entrepreneurs through its world-renowned Fellowship program. Goldman Sachs Foundation will provide Echoing Green with a $1 million grant to develop a new cohort of Fellows who are leading programs to positively impact and radically transform the futures of Black women and girls across the U.S.
Through the new partnership, One Million Black Women and Echoing Green will drive transformation by increasing access to capital for early-stage Black women social entrepreneurs whose work is designed with and for their communities.
“We are so proud to develop a partnership with Echoing Green to support Black women as social innovators,” said Asahi Pompey, Global Head of Office of Corporate Engagement and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation. “Giving Black women a platform to invest in their ideas is essential to driving meaningful community solutions, because we know that those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions.”
The Fellows’ projects will address housing, education, healthcare, digital connectivity, access to capital, workforce development, financial literacy and climate justice.
The Fellows will access seed funding, strategic partnerships, coaching, mentorship, technical and network support, as well as life-long connections to a global network of philanthropists, investors and entrepreneurs. The first cohort supported by One Million Black Women will be announced in the spring of 2022. Applications will be accepted from October 19 – November 2. To apply for Fellowship, visit echoinggreen.org/apply.
Cheryl L. Dorsey, president of Echoing Green, said, “I am thrilled that Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women is partnering with Echoing Green to invest in the voices, visions, and lives of Black women and their communities. Through our partnership, we will support the leadership of Black women who leverage social innovation as a tool to create transformative solutions for their communities. One Million Black Women is an exemplar of the tangible and sustained impact the corporate and philanthropic sectors can have in building a world where all people can truly thrive.”
The new partnership marks the latest investment for Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women, which has committed $10 billion in investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic support to impact the lives of at least one million Black women over the next decade. One Million Black Women is designed and implemented in partnership with Black women leaders and their organizations, to ensure it is informed by, reflective of, and responsive to Black women’s viewpoints. In partnership with the One Million Black Women Advisory Council, which consists of 17 Black business and community leaders; and Black women-led organizations, One Million Black Women has hosted 47 listening sessions and engaged more than 18,000 women across the country since launching in March to help inform where investments can make the most impact.
For more than 30 years, Echoing Green has worked at the intersection of social justice and social innovation, supporting entrepreneurs to create a just, equitable, and inclusive society. Through the launch of its Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund last year, Echoing Green is building on its lifelong commitment to investing in and developing next-generation leaders. Over the next three years, the fund will support 500 social enterprises whose work focuses on advancing racial equity and build new onramps to social innovation by delivering training and programming to 5,000 emerging leaders. Additionally, Echoing Green will engage 10,000 corporate employees, including those at Goldman Sachs Foundation, to support social innovation leaders and provide programming to advise social entrepreneurs on their business challenges as well as highlight innovators who lead efforts to dismantle inequitable systems.
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About One Million Black Women
In partnership with Black women-led organizations and other partners, Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women is a commitment of $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic support to address the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations, which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. One Million Black Women seeks to narrow opportunity gaps for at least one million Black women over the next decade at key moments in their lives – from birth to school, career to retirement, home ownership and everything in between.
