On Monday (November 23) Enterprise Rent-A-Car’s philanthropic foundation, Enterprise Holding, announced it will donate $120 million to help causes fighting for racial equality.
Its new ROAD Forward (Respect, Opportunity, Achievement, and Diversity) funding initiative will fund organizations who address inequality in early childhood development, college and career preparation, and youth health and wellness, according to a report by CNN.
The ROAD Forward grant will give $5 million to several organizations including: the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, the United Negro College Fund, Parents as Teachers, and Girls, Inc.
The company will give an additional $65 million to nonprofits around the world fighting food insecurity.
Enterprise will be setting aside the remaining $35 million for its more than 70 global employee teams to allocate funds to local organizations in their communities.
Carolyn Kindle Betz, President of Enterprise Holdings Foundation told CNN that ROAD Forward was started in response to the murder of George Floyd.
“Just watching the events that unfolded this summer, you were angry, you were sad, but you knew you had to do something,” Betz said. “We wanted to do something that was not only impactful, but also a long-term commitment that supports as many communities as possible.”
In addition to the ROAD Forward program, Enterprise is planning to address diversity, equity, and inclusion internally.
“We’re not where we want to be just like most companies today,” Chris Tabourne, Enterprise’s head of diversity and inclusion said, adding that the ROAD Forward, “caused us to say we need to make more of an inward look to make sure everybody has an equal opportunity for success.”
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