Sustainability Report For Our Communities Priorities

Priorities

MetLife Foundation seeks to drive inclusive economic mobility by addressing the needs of people with low income around the world. Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, MetLife Foundation makes grants across three strategic giving portfolios:

MetLife Japan, MetLife Foundation and The Nippon Foundation celebrate the opening of an elderly care facility in Japan, as part of the Better Life Better Place for the Elderly and Children program.

Economic Inclusion

Supports efforts that upskill and reskill talent, develop an entrepreneurial mindset and connect talent to paid employment with family-sustaining wages.

Financial  Health

Supports efforts that build financial health and resiliency through budget management, savings and access to credit.

Resilient Communities

Supports efforts that open up and expand access to mental and physical well-being resources and environmental causes for a more resilient planet.

Examples throughout this section all tie to one or more of these priorities while supporting other critical needs. Please visit MetLife Foundation’s website for a full list of grants, resources and other information.

In recognition of the achievement and the Foundation’s work in New York City and New York State, Mayor Eric Adams and New York Representative Brandon Williams issued proclamations, with the Mayor declaring September 14, 2023, MetLife Foundation Day in New York City.

Economic Inclusion

Inspiring Girls
Inspiring Girls International is a global nonprofit dedicated to raising the aspirations of young girls around the world by connecting them with inspiring female role models. MetLife Foundation made a $242,000 grant for programs in Italy, Poland, Spain and the U.K. MetLife women hosted schoolgirls as part of the “Inspiring the Women of the Future” program. The program allows the girls to hear from leaders directly and gain insights into the world of work, their careers and personal journeys, and access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)‑focused workshops.

Financial Health

BRAC
Through a $1.8 million grant, MetLife Foundation funds BRAC’s Ultra Poor Graduation (UPG) model, which enables 3,300 ultra-poor women and households in urban and rural areas of Bangladesh to develop socio-economic resilience and economic empowerment, improved food security and nutrition, increased confidence and higher social inclusion. Women receive tailored, hands-on coaching and mentoring from UPG’s trained frontline staff throughout the program.

Resilient Communities

Nonprofit Enterprise Self-Sustainability Team (NESsT)
MetLife Foundation made a $100,000 grant to NESsT to contribute to the growth of environment-focused social enterprises in the Amazon Basin (Brazil) through mentoring, coaching and increasing the technical capabilities of leaders. NESsT supports local enterprises in areas of high biodiversity of the rainforest and contributes to a transition toward sustainable forest management and land use.

How We Support Our Communities

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In 2023, MetLife Foundation launched a new initiative to address the growing income and wealth divide in the U.S. The two-year, $10.5 million pledge supports nonprofit organizations and leaders proximate to the issues who are on the front lines supporting people with low income in communities where MetLife has a presence.

Accelerating Commitment to Equity Innovation Fund (ACE Innovation Fund) is a $10 million commitment over two years that aims to democratize access to capital for nonprofits addressing the income and wealth divide in communities that have been historically disadvantaged. The Foundation selected 24 nonprofits across seven cities to receive up to $400,000 each in grants to implement and accelerate programs that will work to dismantle systemic barriers to the income and wealth gap. MetLife Foundation is partnering with Urban Institute and Community Resource Exchange to measure impact and deliver technical assistance to the cohort of grantees.
Community Impact Grant Program (CIGP) supports grassroots organizations addressing essential needs of people with low income. MetLife Foundation awarded $491,000 in grants to 38 nonprofit organizations that provide vital services to more than 100,000 people with low income in cities where MetLife has a presence.

The full list of grant recipients for the CIGP and ACE Innovation Fund is available on MetLife Foundation’s website.

Student participating in an art class at Munson, a museum in Utica, New York, that has received a grant from MetLife Foundation to support its community art classes and programming. Photo Credit: Mark DiOrio.

MetLife and MetLife Foundation continue to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). In 2023, MetLife Foundation supported multiple technology-focused programs and an entrepreneurship challenge for HBCU students in North Carolina through a partnership with Pathway OZ. MetLife also partnered with Toyota HBCU Classic for the second consecutive year. The football game featured Morehouse College and Albany State University and brought together fans, students and alumni from more than 100 HBCUs to MetLife Stadium.

MetLife Foundation works to close the income and wealth divide for people with low incomes through partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Since 2022, MetLife Foundation has awarded NPower $1.85 million in grants to upskill and reskill young adults and military veterans and their spouses to prepare for a career in technology through training, apprenticeships and connections to employment. MetLife Foundation’s support expanded technology training for a new site in Raleigh, North Carolina, trauma-informed teaching and mentoring, support for the Command Shift Coalition—a program that accelerates women of color in tech—and ongoing alumni support and wealth tracking. This support will reach more than 3,000 NPower trainees and alumni.

In 2020, MetLife Foundation pledged $10 million over 10 years to support environmental causes, and, as of year-end 2023, $8.3 million had been contributed. The Foundation’s 2023 partnerships establish and expand collaborations aligned with MetLife’s activities on biodiversity and nature-based solutions, some being:

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) MetLife Foundation’s grant to TNC seeks to build climate resiliency among Indigenous and traditional communities by helping them restore healthy landscapes in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The program will reach at least 600 people highly vulnerable to climate impacts.
EcoRise with support from MetLife Foundation, deployed its award-winning environmental education program, Sustainable Intelligence, to schools that disproportionately experience climate change impacts and environmental stressors. The program will reach more than 16,000 young people across the U.S.

MetLife and MetLife Foundation supported disaster response around the globe in 2023. From earthquake response efforts in Morocco and Turkey to continued support for the people of Ukraine, MetLife colleagues and MetLife Foundation contributed $1.3 million to disaster response and recovery efforts.

Since 1984, MetLife Foundation has made impact investments alongside traditional grants to generate positive societal benefits, create value for communities and catalyze inclusion and equity. To date, the Foundation has invested $90 million.

As part of its commitment to Upstate New York, MetLife Foundation made a $1 million impact investment in Launch NY Seed Fund II, LP, a fund that invests in high-growth startup companies to drive local employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Launch NY is the most active seed fund in New York state by number of transactions.

Learn more about how MetLife also makes impact investments through its General Account investment portfolio.

Launch NY staff and entrepreneurs. MetLife Foundation invested in Launch NY’s Seed Fund II.

MetLife Remains a Strong Partner for New York

In 2023, MetLife and MetLife Foundation announced a five-year, $30 million pledge to Upstate New York, with $5 million in philanthropic support and impact investments from the Foundation and $25 million in impact investments from MetLife.

The Foundation has already made over $1.4 million in grants to local nonprofits, including Food Bank of Central New York, Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties and Munson.