Photograph courtesy of Kroger

The Kroger Co. has announced two ambitious initiatives through its Racial Equity Fund, totaling $1.1 million in philanthropic investments. They are the Changemaker grant and the Next Generation scholarship program, which will help build Black wealth and improve access to higher education, the company said in a statement.

Both are part of the Kroger’s Framework for Action: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion plan, which promotes greater change in the workplace and in the communities the organization serves and is a 10-point commitment to help build more equitable, inclusive communities.

The Changemaker Grant

The Cincinnati-based grocer said its Foundation’s Racial Equity Fund will award a combined $600,000 in Changemaker grants to build Black wealth and improve racial health equity in Ohio through partnerships with The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and FundNOIRE. As a continuation of the foundation’s previously awarded grants to Black Girl Ventures, Everytable, LISC and Thurgood Marshall Fund, totaling $3 million, the company said the Changemaker grant reflects the organization’s commitment to mobilizing its people, passion, scale and resources to transform its culture and communities.

“The Racial Equity Fund Changemaker grant supports Kroger’s commitment to invest not only in new and innovative strategies to build and sustain Black wealth but also strengthen long-standing partnerships with local institutions to advance health and social equity,” said Keith Dailey, president of The Kroger Co. Foundation and group VP of corporate affairs for Kroger, in a statement. “Kroger is proud to support the work these organizations are doing to uplift and inspire true change throughout Ohio.”

The retailer released a breakdown of the organizations. Those are:

• The Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio will receive a $300,000 grant to advance workforce development, financial literacy and social justice work in Southwest Ohio.
• The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will receive a $200,000 grant for its Hunger and Race Equity Programming: Freedom Foods Initiative to bring awareness and inspire activism around health disparities and equitable access to healthy food for underserved communities of color.
• FundNOIRE, a fund dedicated to helping 24 small black-owned businesses launch and grow by way of non-diluted capital over the next several years in Cincinnati, is receiving a $100,000 grant to advance and retain Black entrepreneurship in the region.

The Next Generation Scholarship Program

The retailer also announced that the Foundation’s Racial Equity Fund is investing $500,000 in the Next Generation scholarship program in partnership with LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tenn., part of the network of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis.

Kroger said the scholarship program will promote access to higher education for local students by awarding scholarships to graduating seniors of Booker T. Washington High School who are academically motivated and want to attend LeMoyne-Owen College in the fall semester.

“Kroger’s Framework for Action features actionable goals we want to implement to achieve success in our workplace and the communities we serve,” Teresa Dickerson, corporate affairs leader for the Kroger Delta division, said in a statement. “Through the Next Generation scholarship program, we’re thrilled to uplift and invest in local students and support LeMoyne-Owen College—the only HBCU in Memphis—and the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis.”

The application period for the Next Generation scholarship program will launch this spring via the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis website.