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Taking Action for Racial Equity and Social Justice

Closing the racial wealth gap remains one of the most pressing and persistent challenges of our time.

About Us • Values in Action • Advancing Social Justice • Taking Action for Racial Equity and Social Justice
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As a company committed to building an inclusive economy and leading with purpose, we believe we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to do our part in closing the racial wealth gap. In 2020, we introduced a $535 million commitment designed to help address economic inequality, particularly for those hit hardest by the pandemic, as well as bolster our own internal programs and drive transformative change. Since then, we have allocated 100% of that funding and are continuing to identify new opportunities to expand our impact and create meaningful change.

We believe that financial health and security are essential to ensuring that everyone can live their lives with dignity and respect, and can pursue a better future for their families and communities. We will continue to advance our mission of expanding economic opportunity for those we serve – in diverse communities across the world – through purpose-led actions.

An update on our progress

Our Commitment

Strengthening Black-Owned Businesses

Creating an Ecosystem of Support

Increasing Access to Capital

Supporting DIE&B at PayPal

Strengthening Black-Owned Businesses

Strengthening Black-Owned Businesses

A disproportionate number of Black-owned businesses were forced to shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional financing methods were falling short and these businesses needed capital to survive. In June 2020, we partnered with the Association for Enterprise Opportunity on a $10 million PayPal Empowerment Grant Program to help Black-owned small businesses stabilize and reopen. We pledged an additional $5 million to the Empowerment Grant Program in December 2020 to help Black-owned small businesses as they continued to face challenges and uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grants were provided to nearly 1,400 Black-owned businesses —with 62% of recipients being women and 53% being sole proprietors. Almost all (90%) of our grant recipients are still operating as of February 2021.

Strengthening Black-Owned Businesses

Creating an Ecosystem of Support

Creating an Ecosystem of Support

To rebuild and succeed over the long-term, Black-owned businesses require an ecosystem of support. We provided $5 million in grants to 20 leading nonprofit community partners working to sustain underserved businesses across the U.S. in their recovery. These organizations offer businesses a variety of services and support – from lending to technical assistance to leadership development. As part of this initiative, we expanded the PayPal Gives Employee Matching Gifts program, matching donations and volunteer hours contributed by PayPal employees to these organizations.

A 12-month impact report from the nonprofit community partners found that of the businesses that reported outcomes:

  • 90% stayed in business
  • 73% maintained or grew their workforce
  • 52% experienced growth in revenue
  • 39% made the transition to digital commerce
Creating an Ecosystem of Support

Increasing Access to Capital

Increasing Access to Capital

Communities of color lack access to the capital needed to create financial stability and build wealth. Our Economic Opportunity Fund is a $500 million commitment to support and strengthen Black and underserved businesses and communities over the long term, helping to drive financial health, access and generational wealth creation. The funding has been allocated to high-impact treasury investments in minority-owned and focused financial institutions, as well as to 19 Black and Latinx-led venture capital funds.

Increasing Access to Capital

Supporting DIE&B at PayPal

Supporting DIE&B at PayPal

We continue to take a hard look across the company to understand how we can better support a culture of inclusion and belonging. We committed $15 million to strengthen PayPal’s internal Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging (DIE&B) programming to broaden diverse talent pipelines; educate, inspire, and engage our employees; and advance advocacy and partnerships to support racial and social justice. In 2020, we embarked on multi-year partnerships with CodeHouse, INROADS and the National Association of Black Accountants to support the recruitment, hiring and career advancement of Black and underrepresented employees.

We are also driving thought leadership and partnerships to understand how we can bridge the racial wealth gap and fostering opportunities for public policy advancements to support entrepreneurship and racial equity.

Supporting DIE&B at PayPal

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