Priorities
MetLife’s 2030 DEI Commitments include pledges of 800,000 employee volunteer hours with a focus on supporting historically marginalized individuals and their families, and $150 million from MetLife Foundation to support underserved and underrepresented communities. To advance these commitments, MetLife Foundation launched a multi-pronged strategy to drive inclusive economic mobility by addressing the needs of such communities around the world. MetLife Foundation grants align with the UN SDGs and across three strategic giving portfolios:
Supporting DEI in our Grantmaking
MetLife’s commitment to DEI extends beyond our internal efforts (see Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and aligns with MetLife Foundation’s strategic grantmaking. MetLife Foundation aims to help close income and wealth gaps among low-income and historically marginalized people through partnerships with nonprofit organizations such as:
- Ascendus, a nonprofit working to secure financial health and wealth for low- to moderate-income business owners through access to capital and support. The “Get Ready” Credit Program for Black and Latino small business owners is an innovative program designed to raise the credit scores and access to capital for 50 entrepreneurs across New York City.
- The Baobá Fund, an organization dedicated to the promotion of racial equity for the Black community in Brazil. The fund provides 50 Afro-Brazilian high school seniors with scholarships to a university entrance exam preparatory course, psychosocial support, mentoring and coaching support.
- The National Disability Institute (NDI) works to build better financial futures for people with disabilities and their families. NDI creates financial health and training tools that Black and Latino small business owners and entrepreneurs with disabilities can access for free. As a result, NDI is helping more than 1,500 people with disabilities launch businesses and achieve economic security.
MetLife Foundation’s Priorities in Action
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| Inclusive Fintech 50 (IF50) | Village Capital1—ADAPT: Social Innovation for a More Resilient Future | ||||
| is a global competition that identifies early-stage fintechs driving financial inclusion and resilience. Since 2019, the IF50 competition has attracted 1,343 eligible applicants, who are addressing limitations in financial services delivery for low-income and underserved customers. These emerging fintechs operate in over 237 countries, reach over 338 million customers, and have raised over $3.4 billion. | ADAPT identifies startups that help communities and individuals respond to global challenges impacted by climate change, healthcare, wellness and economic mobility and that provide solutions that fundamentally shape and strengthen social resilience. | ||||
| Generation: You Employed | Women’s World Banking (WWB) | ||||
| MetLife Foundation is partnering with global employment nonprofit Generation to improve inclusion in entry-level tech sector roles through original research that will deepen our understanding of barriers to entry in tech hiring and provide practical steps that employers, policymakers and others can take to increase equity in the tech hiring process. | brings gender intentionality to expand financial and economic inclusion in India through training and support for 5,000 women agents who will provide access to financial services to an estimated 2 million rural low-income women. It also opens access to affordable credit to nano- and micro-entrepreneur women. | ||||
| ASHOKA | |||||
| Through promoting public awareness and institutional change, Ashoka aims to create a new narrative on aging populations focused on "new longevity"—a concept of becoming a lifelong contributor by leading healthy and purposeful lives as we age. |
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| Aspen institute Financial Security Program's Benefits21 | NPower | ||||
| convenes experts from the public and private sectors to close benefit gaps and to reimagine benefits in the U.S. for the 21st-century workforce. The impact of the initiative produces tools and insights, convenes policymakers and financial security leaders, and promotes policy innovation toward modern benefits for all workers. | is a national nonprofit working to create pathways to economic prosperity by launching educational training and support programs leading to digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities. The organization provides tech skills training to 2,100+ young people and military veterans annually, and 81% of program graduates are placed in high-quality jobs or continue their education. | ||||
| Vision To Learn | |||||
| delivers mobile vision clinics to screen 800,000 K-12 students and will provide glasses to over 170,000 students over the next two school years. Glasses are custom made and fit for the students within about three weeks of the exam and warrantied for one year. |
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