Latest news with #BIPOC-led
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Steve Sarowitz shuts down Wayfarer Foundation amid Blake Lively-Justin Baldoni legal battle
In a stunning development, billionaire philanthropist Steve Sarowitz has abruptly closed the Wayfarer Foundation , a major charitable organization that had given nearly $60 million to over 200 nonprofits, after a series of escalating personal threats tied to a high-profile lawsuit involving Hollywood stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni . The closure, which took place at the end of June 2025, left many nonprofits scrambling and shocked the philanthropic world. The decision came after Sarowitz received an anonymous threat referencing the Lively-Baldoni legal dispute and targeting his family's safety, prompting him to move his giving to a more private, less transparent donor-advised fund. In April 2025, the Wayfarer Foundation was thriving. Sarowitz and his team were hiring new staff, planning major events, and expressing optimism about the foundation's future. 'We're in a period of profound growth. The Foundation is committed to its mission,' Sarowitz told grantees. However, on April 28, a small fire broke out at Sarowitz's Chicago-area home. Later that same day, he received an anonymous threat demanding $80,000 and referencing his daughter, a student at Northwestern University. The threat specifically cited allegations from a lawsuit filed by Blake Lively against Sarowitz, Baldoni, and Wayfarer Studios. As the threats escalated over the week, Sarowitz and the board made the unanimous decision to shut down the foundation. Grantees were informed that existing commitments would be honored, but no public explanation was initially given. Lively vs. Baldoni & Sarowitz The legal troubles began in December 2024, when Blake Lively filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by Justin Baldoni during the filming of 'It Ends with Us' and accused Sarowitz of funding a retaliatory smear campaign. Both Baldoni and Sarowitz denied the allegations, and a defamation countersuit was dismissed in June 2025. The threats against Sarowitz's family referenced these legal battles, adding a layer of personal risk to the already intense public scrutiny and making the situation even more volatile. The foundation's impact: Since its launch in 2021, the Wayfarer Foundation made a significant impact in the nonprofit sector. In its first year, it awarded $9.5 million in grants to 49 organizations, focusing on social justice and marginalized groups. The following year, it distributed $9.6 million to 107 grantees, with a strong emphasis on gender equality and racial justice. By 2023, the foundation's grantmaking peaked at $19 million, supporting 153 organizations—78% of which were BIPOC-led. In total, the foundation gave out nearly $60 million to over 200 organizations, providing multi-year, flexible funding. As of 2022, the foundation's assets stood at $89.6 million, with Sarowitz contributing approximately $160 million of his own fortune. Sarowitz explained that his decision to close the foundation was driven by a desire for privacy and safety. He opted to shift his giving to a donor-advised fund (DAF), which allows for greater anonymity and less public disclosure. 'DAFs can be more flexible and allow us to move more money with fewer resources,' Sarowitz told Forbes. The abrupt closure left many nonprofits in a difficult position, with some organizations in the midst of renewal talks suddenly facing uncertainty about future support. Live Events The closure of the Wayfarer Foundation has had a profound impact on the nonprofit community. Christopher LeMark, CEO of Coffee, Hip Hop & Health, expressed his shock, saying, 'I was shocked when I heard the news. It's hard to put into words how much they were doing for us.' Isha Miller, Executive Director of Chocolate Milk, shared her concerns: 'We'd just started the conversation for renewed funding. Now, everything is up in the air.' Mary Carl, Executive Director of Miracle Messages, highlighted the broader implications, stating, 'Wayfarer was a model for effective philanthropy. Its closure is a huge blow to small nonprofits.' Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Business Standard
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
upGrad Learner Makes the Case for Simplifying Remittances to Africa Through Product-Led Fintech
Even in 2025, it's faster and sometimes cheaper to fly from New York to Lagos than to send $200 being well into the digital age, cross-border remittances between North America and Africa remain unnecessarily slow, costly, and opaque. The paradox? The bottleneck isn't technology, it's product management. The World Bank estimates that remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa reached a record $56 billion in 2024 (World Bank, 2024), primarily from migrants in the U.S. and Canada. These transfers are lifelines - supporting education, healthcare, small businesses, and family survival. Yet users continue to face delays, high fees (often 8–10%), poor exchange rates, and complex compliance hurdles. This broken system isn't from a lack of innovation as fintech startups are multiplying. What's missing is a user-first, localized product strategy combined with forward-looking regulatory and blockchain infrastructure. The remittance revolution is already underway. Whether it succeeds or not will depend on whether product managers, developers, and regulators can deliver digital solutions that are as simple and trustworthy as sending a text. Technology Is Not Enough - The Product Gap Too many FinTechs design with Silicon Valley in mind, not Lagos or Accra. Their apps boast sleek interfaces but miss the operational friction on the ground: inconsistent internet, informal economies, complex onboarding due to KYC and FX controls, and the enduring dominance of cash. For example, 60% of African transactions are still cash-based (AfDB, 2023), yet many remittance apps force recipients into digital-only endpoints, excluding those without smartphones or bank accounts. Migrants don't want flashy dashboards—they want speed, reliability, and startups getting it rightlike LemFi and Expedierunderstand this intimately. LemFi: Multi-Currency Simplicity for the Diaspora LemFi, an Africa-focused fintech, has captured market share by prioritizing the real pain points of immigrants: onboarding, FX fees, and payout flexibility. Users can open accounts in minutes, hold multiple currencies, and transfer money with zero fees at competitive exchange rates. With operations now spanning over 20 countriesincluding Nigeria, Kenya, India, and PakistanLemFi integrates with regional banks and payment systems, ensuring fast delivery and compliance. Crucially, LemFi's success is product-driven. Its multi-currency wallet model, partnerships with regulators, and commitment to user-centric design have helped retain over 70% of early users (PYMNTS, 2024). It is a case study in building for complexity while delivering simplicity. Expedier: Credit, Trust, and Community While LemFi focuses on remittance speed and accessibility, Expedier, Canada's first BIPOC-led global money appgoes a step further by integrating credit-building into everyday transactions. Whether paying rent, utilities, or sending funds to Ghana, users can improve their credit scorescrucial for the 100+ million credit-invisible people across North America and Africa. Expedier's upcoming 'One Card' will allow users to spend from any linked account in any currency globally, with automatic FX conversion. For small businesses dependent on liquidity, this can be a game-changer. Expedier's BIPOC lens ensures that empathy, lived experience, and inclusion shape every product decision. RegTech and Crypto:The Infrastructure Layer Fintechs Ignore While LemFi and Expedier represent the product experience layer, another missing piece is infrastructure. Fintechs must stop treating compliance and settlement rails as afterthoughts. Regulatory technology (RegTech) and crypto-based solutions can drastically improve speed, cost, and transparency. U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) laws and African FX controls create friction at every stage of a transaction. AI-powered KYC/AML tools like Trulioo and Onfido can cut onboarding time from days to minutes. Chainalysis enables real-time transaction monitoring. Yet adoption among Africa-focused Fintechsremains slow. Crypto, especially stablecoins like USDC and USDT, offers fast, low-cost cross-border transfer rails. A hybrid modelfiat on-ramp → stablecoin corridor → local payoutbalances speed with regulatory compliance. Firms like Yellow Card and Chipper Cash already leverage this. Stellar's partnership with MoneyGram is another promising example. Yet, fears around volatility and compliance continue to deter mainstream adoption. This is shortsighted. Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa are developing crypto frameworks; Fintechs that co-create with regulators, rather than avoid them, will win. The Product Management Imperative: Build for the Last Mile The biggest lesson from all of this? The real challenge in remittance isn't tech—it's product delivery. Every transaction is a trust exercise across borders, systems, and expectations. The most successful remittance products are built not just for efficiency but with empathy. As a product manager in fintech, I've seen this up close. I once watched a Nigerian freelancer lose 15% of her week's earnings due to FX manipulation and delaysdespite using a 'top-rated' remittance app. Had she used a stablecoin or a better-regulated platform, she would have received the funds in minutes, at minimal cost. Solving these problems means: Designing onboarding for local realities (e.g., Nigeria's BVN system). Embedding compliance into UX (like Wise does). Investing in user education and transparent pricing. Creating offline or agent-assisted endpoints for unbanked users. Partnering with local institutions, not just integrating APIs. So What? Why It Matters If you're part of the African diaspora, this is personal. If you work in fintech, it's professional. And if you care about global economic justice, it's structural. Every dollar saved on remittance fees puts more into classrooms, clinics, and small businesses across Africa. More efficient remittance systems boost GDP, reduce poverty, and foster financial inclusion. For African economies, remittances already exceed foreign aid and many types of investment. Yet legacy systemsWestern Union, MoneyGramstill dominate, extracting margins and offering little transparency. That era must end. Conclusion: Smarter Products, Fairer Systems The future of remittances between North America and Africa isn't just faster or cheaper, it's smarter. It's built by product managers who understand the user's journey. It's backed by infrastructure that combines compliance and crypto. It's governed by partnerships that align with local realities. Fintechs must stop building for pitch decks and start solving for pain points. They must treat compliance as a product feature, and stablecoins as more than a managers must obsess over why a grandmother in Accra didn't get her money—and then fix it for everyone else. Africa's remittance revolution won't be led by code. It will be led by product leaders who listen. Biography upGrad learner OlubamiseOlusoji is a Nigerian-Canadian Cybersecurity Program Manager currently consulting for a leading global cryptocurrency firm. He is pursuing a Doctorate in Business Administration with a focus on Digital Leadership from Golden Gate University, San Francisco - powered by over a decade of experience driving digital transformation across fintech and retail, Olusoji brings deep expertise in SOC 2 compliance, RegTech integration, agile security frameworks, and blockchain-powered remittance systems. His insights are shaped by firsthand experience navigating the high costs and complexities of cross-border money transfers between Africa and North America.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dojo Fresh Brings Plant-Based Protein to More Meals With Support From the Non-GMO Project
Asian American Family-Owned Brand Receives Equitable Transfer Program Funding to Renew Non-GMO Verification Dojo Fresh Bellingham, WA, May 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Non-GMO Project announced today that Dojo Fresh has been selected as a recipient in the fifth round of its Equitable Transfer Program (ETP), which provides financial support to BIPOC-led brands in the natural products industry. Dojo Fresh will receive funding to renew its Non-GMO Project verification across its line of plant protein by Oliver and Penny Pau, Dojo Fresh produces plant protein mixes that provide a simple way to prepare high-protein, meatless meals while offering control over ingredients and preparation. Motivated by a desire to support better health through diet, the company uses clean, minimally processed, high-quality ingredients — prioritizing non-GMO sources to align with its mission. This commitment to integrity led Dojo Fresh to achieve Non-GMO Project verification for its product, ensuring customers can trust the quality and sourcing of its ingredients."Rather than turning to highly processed meat substitutes, we drew inspiration from Asia's longstanding tradition of plant proteins," said Oliver Pau, co-founder of Dojo Fresh. "These foods have been celebrated for being naturally nutritious — not engineered to mimic meat. As an Asian American-owned business, we honor these food traditions while creating versatile plant protein mixes that are adaptable to different cuisines and modern cooking styles."The family-owned brand will use the funding to renew Non-GMO Project verification for its three signature products: Original Plant Protein Mix, Taco Seasoned Plant Protein Mix, and Fennel & Sage Plant Protein Mix."Dojo Fresh embodies why we created the Equitable Transfer Program," said Megan Westgate, founder and CEO of the Non-GMO Project. "They're not only providing clean, non-GMO options but also building a community around their cultural heritage of plant-based cooking."The Equitable Transfer Program, launched in 2023, has now completed five funding rounds supporting BIPOC-led companies in the natural products space. Other current recipients include Choputa and Todo Verde. ### About the Non-GMO ProjectThe Non-GMO Project is a mission-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a retail food system that promotes and restores health in humans, communities, and the broader collective of life on Earth. Through its Food Integrity Collective, Non-UPF Verified program, and Non-GMO Project Verified mark, the organization promotes transparency and health in food systems. Since 2007, the Non-GMO Project Verified seal has remained North America's most trusted third-party verification for GMO avoidance. Learn more at and About Dojo FreshDojo Fresh is a family-owned business with a mission to make healthy eating accessible to everyone. The company is dedicated to helping people incorporate more plant-based meals into their diets without sacrificing taste or convenience. Dojo Fresh products are carefully produced in small batches in Hillsborough, NC. Learn more at Attachment Dojo Fresh CONTACT: Alex Tursi Non-GMO Project 360-255-7704 alex@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Black farmers face setbacks over Trump budget cuts: ‘We are in survival mode'
For the last several weeks, Jocelyn Germany has been asking herself 'is it safe for us to exist' as Black farmers?, since US Department of Agriculture cuts have put her work in jeopardy. Germany is the farmer advocate of Farm School NYC (FSNYC), an urban agriculture education center focused on food sovereignty and social, economic and racial justice. Around 85% of Farm School NYC's funding comes from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The center was in the process of launching a New York City-wide pilot initiative focused on food justice, crop management and urban farming advocacy. But National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) $300,000 community food projects grant that would have funded it was terminated, effectively immediately. Forced to scramble, FSNYC scaled down the programming and adopted a sliding scale for tuition. The cuts affected other plans, including public courses on food stewardship. Funding that would have allowed the center to distribute mini grants and grow community capacity has also been paused. FSNYC recently discussed cutting some of its own employee benefits to free up resources for the now impacted programming. 'Our main goal is to keep Farm School in operation,' Germany said. The impact of USDA cuts has rippled through farming and agriculture communities, which are mobilizing to stanch the damage. Farm School NYC is part of the Black Farmer Fund, a consortium of BIPOC-led/owned farms and entities that work on agricultural policy and strengthening local food systems throughout the north-east. The group was founded to share resources in an already difficult funding environment; rather than compete with each other, they collaborate on joint fundraising and programming. Now, they share an estimated $1.2m gap due to defunding. For Farm School NYC and Black Farmers United – New York State (BFU-NYS), the USDA's termination or freezing of National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants and Natural Resources Conservation Service contracts put programs and salaries at risk. 'We are in survival mode,' Germany said. Over the past year, Farm School NYC began taking baby steps to transition some of its funding away from government dollars, but 'the sudden defunding was not the way we wanted to do it', added Germany. Made up of growers, advocates and food educators, BFU-NYS just became an independent organization after being a fiscally sponsored project under Farm School NYC. It lost a five-year, $660,000 contract with the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service agency. The contract was to fund three annual statewide 'Bridging Land, Agriculture, and Communities' conferences, with the inaugural one planned for April. About a week after Donald Trump's inauguration, Black Farmers United got an email explaining that because their work fell under diversity, equity and inclusion programming, the USDA would end their contract. This year's conference was canceled, but BFU-NYS plans to host one in 2026 with or without government funding. The organization is seeking private donors to make that happen. The abrupt withdrawal of funding has left the organization holding the bag for an event that was just around the corner – and all its costs. 'We have done the background work, got participating partners, submitted deposits and signed contracts,' said Dr Kuturie Rouse, BFU-NYS's executive director of development. The organization is now unable to reimburse full-time staff for extra time spent coordinating the conference or recoup the cost of supplies. On top of that, BFU-NYS must pay vendors and other collaborators despite no longer having the USDA money or this year's conference itself. 'The organization is already at a loss,' Rouse said. BFU-NYS also lost its Green Futures program. The program helps young adults battle food insecurity, establish community gardens and pursue agriculture as a career. Last year, it launched a pilot program with a South Bronx middle school where students grew watermelon, callaloo, lettuce and other fruits and vegetables. The students then gave that food to their school cafeteria to feed the student body. BFU-NHYS now hopes to partner with other local schools to continue and grow the initiative. Aside from the loss of money and programming, Rouse said that the mental health of BFU-NYS staff has taken a hit. After the inauguration, staff were bombarded with racist emails and social media comments. 'It was hate mail just because of our name and who we support and sponsor.' He clarified that while 'Black' is on the organization's name and it focuses on communities of color, it is a nondiscriminatory organization that 'work[s] with any and everyone'. And, at this extremely critical and stressful time, mental health support from another ecosystem partner will not happen. The Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust (NEFOC) supports climate stewardship and regenerative farming. It also serves as an incubator for several regional land projects. Christine Hutchinson, a founding board member of the land trust, shared that a $200,000 collaborative program focused on farmers' mental health from Maine to Delaware is now on hold indefinitely. NEFOC is one of several organizations that contributed to it. 'People are really rocked,' Hutchinson said. It's been difficult for Monti Lawson, the founder of the Catalyst Collaborative Farm, to see so much funding halted because he encouraged many farmers and other partners to take advantage of these USDA programs. The farm, which invites queer and Bipoc people to the land to farm and organize, offers many free, donation-based or sliding-scale events – all possible due to previous funding. 'For government and even philanthropy, QTBipoc was a very sexy word,' Lawson said. Lawson has been connecting with past funders and community members. 'In this particular moment, there are so many people who are reaching out, trying to be comforted, trying to be connected to others,' Lawson said. The land trust's Hutchinson pointed out that the impact of defunding will vary. 'A larger farm in a different place has access to resources that our farmers just don't have access to,' Hutchinson said. Farmers from Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust are already starting with lower levels of federal support, and their capacity to replace those funds will likely be much lower. Meanwhile, farming organizations are trying to document what is happening as funding evaporates. The Hudson Valley Young Farmers Coalition, of which Lawson is a part, is collecting New York-based farmer testimonials to track the impact of cuts. The National Young Farmers Coalition is doing the same across the country. On the ground, though, the Black Farming Fund members and other agricultural organizations are trying to secure funding and their futures. In mid-February, Farm School NYC launched an emergency fundraiser to meet its severe funding gap, support its scholarship fund, launch revamped courses and pay farmer facilitators. Thus far, it has raised $750. The precarity of federal funding has the consortium's members looking elsewhere for funding. Farm School NYC has been assembling advocacy toolkits and helping facilitate contact with legislators. BFU-NYS recently launched a mobilization strategy that includes prioritizes funding from state and local government. Rouse noted that one of the non-profit's biggest supporters is New York State representative Khaleel Anderson, who chairs the state's food and farming nutrition policy task force. Through Anderson's support, BFU-NYS has had its own line item in the New York state budget for the past three years. Right now, Anderson is pushing for Black Farmers United to get increased support. BFU also wants to tap into New York City council discretionary dollars to fund local initiatives such as its Green Futures program and social responsibility grants from businesses that remain committed to diversity and inclusion. Some advocates believe that now is the time for those with power and privilege to march on the streets and that QTBipoc, immigrant and food justice communities – often on the frontlines – should take a step back. One of the first things longtime food justice advocate Karen Washington did was put out a call on her LinkedIn, asking her network to donate to cover the funding gap. Washington is co-founder of Orange county, New York's Rise & Root Farm. 'There are foundations, hedge funds, venture capital groups, and Wall Street executives who can write a check in an instant without losing a cent.' In an interview, she asked: 'Where are the people that voted for this? Where is the outrage?'
