On September 24, Estée Lauder announced the launch of its first “Beautiful Forces Grants” as part of its initiative to support women’s leadership. Realized through a collaboration with Vital Voices, this fund aims to provide investment support to further empower influential female leaders around the world. Vital Voices, a non-profit organization that invests in women leaders globally, has been selected as the inaugural program partner for the “Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund (ELELF).”
The ELELF established in 2022, is a charitable fund under the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation, supporting organizations globally. The fund’s mission is to provide opportunities for leadership development, foster supportive communities, and empower leaders with bold visions to drive positive change.
The “Beautiful Forces Grants” will target female leaders within the Vital Voices network who lead NGOs, businesses, or projects. The total funding of $200,00 for the first year will be allocated between four recipients who demonstrate innovative thinking, challenge the status quo, and take calculated risks to solve pressing community issues.
The recipients of the 2024 “Beautiful Forces Grants” are as follows:
Amina Mohamed (Canada): Founder of “Cameras for Girls,” which aims to eliminate gender disparities in media by providing African girls with cameras. This grant will fund a train-the-trainer program, increasing participant access by up to 20%.
Consuelo Hermosilla González (Chile): Founder of “Fundación Antonia,” an organization dedicated to eradicating intimate partner violence. The foundation provides free support to survivors and raises awareness about gender-based violence. This grant will help fund workshops, training, and skill-building programs aimed at preventing domestic violence.
Olasumbo Adeleke (Nigeria): Executive Director of “Gender Power Africa,” which works to improve the livelihoods of women and youth through economic empowerment and training. The grant will support the creation of a climate-adaptive shea nut processing facility in Nigeria, increasing shea butter production from 2 tons per month to 3 tons per day, while providing new jobs and training opportunities for local women.
Renata Koch Alvarenga (Brazil): Founder of “EmpoderaClima,” a youth-led organization that raises awareness about the impact of climate change on women and promotes gender-transformative climate education. The grant will fund disaster preparedness workshops, the creation of an interactive platform with educational resources, and data collection to support disaster management efforts.
Stéphane de La Faverie, ELELF Founder and Executive Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies, commented, “With the launch of the Beautiful Forces grants, we are doubling down on our commitment to change the face of leadership by further investing in a new generation of emerging leaders. We’re proud to support these inspiring women from around the world, helping them achieve their goals and take their ideas to the next level to create further impact in their communities and beyond.”
Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, added, “The Beautiful Forces grants will take our partnership with the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund to the next level, further investing in emerging women leaders who dream big and aim to conquer the enormous challenges we face today. Their vision for change is ambitious and we’re thrilled to be able to support them in the next step of their leadership journeys.”
The grant recipients were honored at a private ceremony in New York, held in conjunction with the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.