From the killing of George Floyd to the brutality we are witnessing and experiencing across the country and in our communities during a devastating global health crisis, this is a particularly painful time for America.
The systemic racism that continues to plague our society is wholly unacceptable. And we understand the anger, frustration and calls to change a system that for too long has been unjust. Black Lives Matter and we must do everything in our power to fight for justice and equality. We want to share with you the initial steps we are taking as an organization in that fight – both in our workplace and in our communities across the country.
For our communities: Gopuff is supporting and elevating organizations who have long been doing critical work to fight for Black communities and communities of color, including in the important areas of anti-racism and equality.
Gopuff as an organization donated $150,000 to REFORM Alliance, whose mission is to dramatically reduce the number of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system, and up to $150,000 to Philly Startup Leaders, where our support will help facilitate grants to founders from underrepresented communities, helping these founders start building scalable tech companies in Philadelphia.
Our co-founders, Rafael Ilishayev and Yakir Gola, made individual contributions to Color of Change, an organization that leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities and advance solutions for racial justice, and The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization that pays bail for people in need, through their National Revolving Bail Fund.
Our co-founders Rafael and Yakir will also be launching a fund, committing $500,000 to support Black- and minority-founded startups. They have a passion for and commitment to coaching and mentoring, but also understand how important it is to have a champion when you are starting out as an entrepreneur.
For our Gopuff team: We know that further change needs to come from within. Diversity has always been a priority – but we know we need to hold ourselves to an even higher standard. We have announced to our employees important initiatives across education, engagement, inclusion and recruitment and will continually seek opportunities to further improve. We’ll be leveraging Employee Resource Groups and working with third parties to evaluate employee feedback to make the most impactful changes to our business.
Systemic racism and implicit biases are unfortunately ingrained in nearly every element of our society. In order to properly address and challenge these injustices, we’re committed to a lifetime of hard work, education, understanding and action. Our work is only just beginning.
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