The Tory Burch Foundation is a non-profit 501(C)3 organization that provides economic opportunity to women and their families in the United States.
Fashion designer, mother and entrepreneur Tory Burch launched her Foundation in 2008. Based on her own experiences as a working parent, Tory believes that one of the most powerful ways to create change is to economically empower women. Under her direction, the Tory Burch Foundation helps women access financial tools which improve their lives.
Women are the majority of poor citizens in the United States, with 13 million women living in what the Census Bureau calls “deep poverty”. Women are less likely to qualify for medical benefits or unemployment insurance. In the U.S., having a baby is a leading cause of a person’s income dipping below what's needed to cover basic living expenses. Single mothers are at the highest risk of poverty and are the most likely to be self-employed entrepreneurs. Recent studies show that women, especially mothers, have also been disproportionately affected by the recent crisis.
These “micro-entrepreneurs” – so called because of the smaller, or micro, size of their businesses – support their families and are the front line investors in their communities. They are more likely to be denied a loan by a traditional bank and face higher levels of financial discrimination.
As terrible as these statistics are, they don’t fully illustrate the human point – that poor working mothers often cannot sufficiently meet their or their children’s basic needs of food, shelter, clothing or education.
The Tory Burch Foundation’s first partner, ACCION USA, provides the loans and financial services small business people need to succeed. ACCION USA is a leading microlender in the United States, having provided loans from $500 to $50,000 to more than 11,000 small businesses nationwide. ACCION USA serves low-to-moderate income clients; 40% are women and more than 80% are minorities. Since its 1991 founding, ACCION USA has proven that low-income and small business clients historically repay these vital loans at an impressive 92%, representing countless inspiring success stories. ACCION USA offers financial literacy programs and support to people trying to establish credit histories, a critical first step to economic success. ACCION USA’s work enables clients to increase family incomes, create jobs and revitalize communities.
NEWS & EVENTS
Click here to see Tory and some of the women we've helped profiled on CBS Evening News
Click here to watch Tory discuss the Foundation on Bloomberg TV
Click here to watch Tory talk about the Foundation on CNBC
Click here to watch a profile of the CNN Heroes blue ribbon panelists
Click here to read Tory's op-ed in The Daily Beast's Giving Beast
Click here to read about the Foundation in Fortune
Click here to watch Tory's interview with ABC What's the Buzz
Click here to read about Tory's Foundation launch in Los Angeles |
