Expanding Opportunity
February 07, 2023
Apollo Opportunity Foundation Awards Nearly $3M in Employee-Directed Grants Toward Nonprofits Working to Expand Opportunity
The Apollo Opportunity Foundation is a continuation of the work Apollo has underway to expand opportunity for underrepresented individuals across its workplace, marketplace and communities through targeted initiatives.
Today, Apollo announced that the Apollo Opportunity Foundation (the “Foundation”) has awarded nearly $3 million in grants to 11 nonprofit organizations working to advance economic prosperity. These are the first grant recipients since the Foundation launched in February 2022 with more than $100 million committed to invest over a decade to organizations working to expand opportunity for underrepresented individuals.
The Foundation, which is employee driven, will form long-term partnerships with grantee organizations. Over the last year, employees from across Apollo, including Athene nominated, nonprofits to receive funding. These organizations were evaluated and selected by the Grants Council, which is co-chaired by partners Christine Hommes and Earl Hunt and made up of employees representing Apollo’s different geographies and businesses. Following a rigorous review process by the Grants Council, these 11 organizations were selected based on the impact they’ve made to date and the alignment of their mission with the Foundation’s key pillars - (1) Career Education, (2) Workforce Development and (3) Economic Empowerment.
The inaugural grant recipients and their respective missions are:
- Braven: build cutting-edge career education into the undergraduate experience for underrepresented college students to land strong first jobs
- Echoing Green: discover emerging social entrepreneurs around the globe and grow their ideas to solve the world’s biggest problems
- Futures and Options: offer career development and internships for New York City public school students
- GAIN - Girls Are Investors UK: develop a pipeline of entry-level women and non-binary candidates for careers in investment management
- Girls Who Invest: propel more women into portfolio management and executive leadership roles in the asset management industry
- The Marcy Lab School: train students in a software engineering fellowship as an alternative to college
- National Education Equity Lab: deliver online college credit-bearing courses into teacher-led high school classrooms in underserved communities
- Per Scholas: provide no-cost rigorous technical training and access to employer networks to close the tech skills divide
- Project Iowa: offer support and training services to Iowans seeking better careers
- The TEAK Fellowship: unlock transformative education and experiences for NYC students to achieve college and career success
- Vedica Scholars: prepare professional women to achieve fulfilling careers through post-graduate programs
In addition to financial contributions, over the next year Apollo employees will also support each organization through ongoing engagement, including volunteering, strategic advisory work, and providing broader exposure to the Apollo platform. The Grants Council will continue to review and evaluate organizations nominated by their Apollo colleagues, and the Foundation will issue new grants on an ongoing basis.
Learn more about the inaugural grant recipients and the Apollo Opportunity Foundation.
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In October, the Apollo Opportunity Foundation (AOF) hosted its first ever Summit convening in New York City, bringing together more than 60 nonprofit leaders from AOF’s global grantee portfolio of 24 non-profits to engage with more than 480 Apollo employees.
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