DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The has announced Opportunity Beyond Borders, a three-year commitment to provide vulnerable youth with the skills and education needed to succeed in today’s global digital economy.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
The Western Union Foundation Unveils "Opportunity Beyond Borders" to Empower Forcibly Displaced and Marginalized Youth (Photo: Business Wire)
“As a global mobilizer of money, , along with the Western Union Foundation, is in a unique position to reach across borders to help people all around the world,” said Elizabeth Roscoe, executive director of the Western Union Foundation and Western Union’s head of corporate brand and purpose.
Unveiled at Concordia Summit, during the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the program will focus its $15 million investment on non-governmental organization (NGO) programs and research across five continents by 2022. Supported programs will equip people on the move with the technology and entrepreneurship skills needed to thrive in the jobs of the future as well as provide other critical supports like counselling, career guidance and scholarships.
“Our world is becoming increasingly digital and more global in exciting ways - and yet more people than ever before have been forcibly displaced by crises and natural disasters,” Roscoe said. “We understand the need to serve vulnerable populations, like refugees and marginalized youth, who are less likely to have access to the skills needed to participate in the global economy.”
The Western Union Foundation has already begun executing on its Opportunity Beyond Borders commitment. Some of these initiatives include:
Programs: Through the funding of programs like and which focus on innovation and business development skills programs for future entrepreneurs, we are able to support underrepresented youth in partnership with the Techstars Foundation. Learn more .
Research: Funding a multi-year joint initiative between the (CGD) and to generate global and local evidence for the need for policy changes that improve refugees’ formal labor market access (LMA). Learn more .
Grantmaking Challenge: Grassroots non-profits who align with our mission will have the opportunity to receive funding, with an open grant process launching in Fall 2019 across 25 key geographies. Additional details will be made available on wu.com/foundation in October.
Opportunity Beyond Borders follows the successful completion of , a goal set in 2015 to provide 50,000 women, youth, migrants and refugees with workforce training and education, enabling access to the global economy. Thanks to the generosity of Western Union and its partners, the Western Union Foundation has exceeded its goal, impacting the lives of more than 75,000 people. To learn more about Education for Better, see our wrap up report .
About the Western Union Foundation
The Western Union Foundation believes that education is the surest pathway to economic opportunity. After nearly 20 years of impact, we are continuing to deliver against our mission with our Opportunity Beyond Borders commitment, to invest $15 million by 2022, with a focus on empowering forcibly displaced and marginalized youth with the training and education needed to succeed in today’s technology-driven global economy. We also provide funding to communities in crisis through disaster relief and other humanitarian efforts, a key reason for forced migration. To date, more than $124 million has been given to fund projects and scholarships in 174 countries across the globe. The Western Union Foundation is a separate charitable corporation that is tax-exempt under 501(c)(3) of the US Internal Revenue Code, and receives support from The Western Union Company, its employees, agents and business partners. Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible for US income tax purposes. To learn more, visit wu.com/foundation or follow us on Twitter @TheWUFoundation.
View source version on businesswire.com:
