The U.S. Bank Foundation is partnering with a nonprofit that equips girls from all walks of life — especially young women of color and from underserved communities — with business and leadership skills.
Girls With Impact, which calls itself a mini-MBA, hosts quarterly virtual programs, including five-week summer camps and 10-week online academies, that teach its participants (girls, or those who identify as girls, between 12 and 18 years old) how to start their own businesses.
The organization reports that 23% of participants are Black or African American, 22% are Hispanic/Latino and 19% are Asian.
Its partnership with the U.S. Bank Foundation will expand the organization’s reach into New York City. Girls With Impact will recruit participants through schools and community partners across the city over the next six months, and U.S. Bank will underwrite participants from low- to moderate-income families to enable more young women to join.
The program fee is typically $395, but no participant is turned away.
U.S. Bank employees will also nominate and recruit low- and moderate-income participants, as well as mentor graduates. Girls With Impact will host a free online workshop that outlines a day in the life of a U.S. Bank banker in August. (The details of that workshop have not yet been worked out.)
The institution is based in Minneapolis but has a significant presence in New York.
“At U.S. Bank, we draw strength from diversity,” said Reba Dominski, chief social responsibility officer for U.S. Bank, said in a press release. “We are excited to help Girls with Impact expand their work to New York City to help more young women develop the skills that they need to succeed in the future.”
“If banks want to build diverse talent pipelines, we are it,” said Jennifer Openshaw, CEO and founder of Girls With Impact. “I think the banking industry is especially important because that is where we see a drop of women at the top and a crying need for more diverse talent.”
The U.S. Bank Foundation also supports programs centered on workforce education, neighborhood stability and arts and culture through its Community Possible grants, and matches qualifying donations made by U.S. Bank employees to nonprofit organizations or higher education institutions.
