Ally Financial drives awareness of diversity initiative with entrepreneur contest
With partnerships in the Black community, the bank was able to shine a light on the lack of diverse talent that receive backing from venture capital, earning Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative in PR Daily’s 2020 Corporate Responsibility Award.
It takes real investment to influence the diversity of your community.
For Ally Financial, the team wanted to influence the discussion around bringing more diverse talent to the table, responding to a 2017 study that showed that only 1% of venture capitalist startups have Black founders. To respond, the team created the “Moguls in the Making” program, bringing students from HBCUs to compete in a pitching contest in Detroit.
The team also partnered with Sean “Big Sean” Anderson and other Black social media influencers to spread the message. Winners of the contest received $5,000 scholarships, a Macbook Air computer, and an internship offer from Ally Financial. CEO Jeff Brown was so impressed by the students that all 50 received internship offers from the bank, and 16 accepted for 2019.
The campaign also offered positive media coverage. An op-ed featuring input from Big Sean ran in the Detroit Free Press and the program itself drove over 218,394,168 earned radio, TV, digital impressions—with notable placements on BET, NBC, Fox and ABC Detroit affiliates, as well as Forbes, Buzzfeed and the Detroit Free Press.
The program also brought in 15 new Ally Financial employees from diverse backgrounds.
View More Corporate Social Responsibility Awards 2020 Winners.
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