In 2020, the Booz Allen Foundation established a $1 million Innovation Fund through which we provided grants to 21 nonprofits, startups, and small businesses to support U.S. communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result of this initiative, the Foundation enabled our community partners to ship 11,500 pieces of personal protective equipment, send 1,161 care packages to people affected by violence, deliver 4,500 hours of cognitive behavioral support, and transition 56 unemployed workers into new jobs, among other far-reaching impacts.
In 2021, we completed the first-round grant term and launched a second round, with five first-round grantees receiving additional funding. Community partners completed all grant projects by Spring 2022.
Going forward, the Foundation is intensifying our commitment to helping young people from under-resourced communities discover inclusive pathways to careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Initial focus areas include building STEM efficacy and persistence, increasing educator effectiveness, and accelerating job-specific skill development.
To help us achieve these goals, we are starting pathbuilder grant cycles in Washington, DC, and San Diego, CA, to create new opportunities for diverse talent to explore STEM and prepare to join the technology workforce. A 2022 generous $2 million grant from Booz Allen makes this critical work possible.
Booz Allen employees, with their extraordinary passion, expertise, and dedication, contribute in their own ways to the Foundation’s reach. In 2022, the Foundation launched an employee-nominated grant cycle with a $200,000 Equity Grant donated by Booz Allen. This program empowers employees to nominate organizations in their communities for grant consideration while a team of their peers, representing the firm’s business resource groups, evaluate the grant submissions for funding recommendations. The impact of these Foundation grants is even greater when combined with pro bono consulting and employee-led volunteer service.
Measuring and continuously improving every Foundation initiative remains a priority. By applying a new impact framework, developed with the Mission Measurement organization, we are ensuring that social outcome-based guideposts guide all of our philanthropy as we move forward.
Please contact our team to discuss ways in which to support and work with the Foundation.