On Friday, Accion Opportunity Fund ( AOF ) and Ripple announced that the " Unlocking Opportunity Together " project won the bronze award in the Humanitarian Action & Services category of the sixth Anthem Awards.
AOF is a national non-profit lending organization and advocacy group that serves small businesses in the United States that lack sufficient services; Ripple is a provider of blockchain enterprise solutions. Both parties stated that this event tells the stories of small business owners across the United States.
In the words of small business owners themselves, “Unlocking Opportunity Together” discusses what affordable financing means and what Ripple Digital Leap Forward Accelerator represents for their businesses. This integrated marketing campaign includes specialized cooperative websites, videos, social media, email campaigns, media coverage, and offline events.
This event stems from the collaboration between AOF and Ripple, which began with the largest donation made by a fintech company to CDFI: Ripple donated $15 million to AOF using its RLUSD stablecoin. Both parties stated that this collaboration has supported 1,568 loans, $104.2 million in financing, 3,943 jobs, $208.4 million in economic output, and involved 67,868 learners.
"Before this project, I was just making guesses about various things," said Shandra Turner, the founder of Atlanta The Bougie Grazer. "Now I can review the analysis data, know where to look for information, and how to adjust my approach. This accelerator program has really helped me a lot."
The event website also featured other small business owners, including Sandwich Girl Cafe, TheraMotive, Bencasso, Apollo Office Systems, and Southside Mobile Veterinary Services.
Accion Opportunity Fund Chief Marketing, Product Strategy, and Communications Officer Elizabeth Ross - Ronchi stated: "The most effective way to demonstrate what capital acquisition can bring is to let small business owners tell their own stories. We are grateful to Ripple and all those in the team who have worked hard to bring their voices to the fore."
The winners of the Anthem Awards award are selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. For the sixth edition of the Anthem Awards, over 2,500 entries were received from 43 countries around the world, setting a new record for the largest number of submissions to date. The jury includes Land O, Lakes (Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer), Heather Malenshek, IBM (Senior Vice President and Chief Global Affairs Officer), the Dean of the Yale School of Public Health, Megan Ranney, the President and CEO of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Mariko Silver, as well as the Head of Global Digital Donations and Engagement at the United Nations Development Programme, Gwynne Gauntlett, among others.
Winners in the Campaign category of Humanitarian Action & Services also include Medecins Sans Frontieres, Habitat, for, Humanity International, World Food Program USA, and Petco Love.
Anthem Awards General Manager Patricia McLoughlin said, "The work that has a social impact will not stop just because the environment becomes more difficult. This year's Anthem winners have proven this. Faced with new challenges, they continued to build, continue to organize, and continue to provide support for the people and causes they serve. They have set a new standard of kindness, which is reflected both in their perseverance and in their achievements."
AOF and Ripple would like to thank the small business owners who shared their stories, the teams from the two organizations, as well as the consultants, agencies, and supporters who helped to make this event a success.
For more information about this event and the collaboration with AOF-Ripple, please visit aofund.org / partnerships-ripple.
About Accion Opportunity Fund
As a leading national non-profit small business lending organization and a community development financial institution certified by the U.S. Department of the Treasury ( CDFI ), Accion Opportunity Fund provides affordable loans, free business counseling, educational resources, and a support network to foster long-term success. The organization is not only a lender but also speaks up for small business owners who are ready to grow, thrive, and build a better future in underserved communities. For over 30 years, Accion Opportunity Fund has been expanding economic opportunities by creating pathways to access financial and knowledge capital.
About Ripple
Ripple was established in 2012 and is a leading provider of blockchain enterprise solutions in the fields of traditional finance and digital finance. Its solutions cover global payments, custody, liquidity, and fund management, offering one-stop services for the transfer, storage, exchange, and management of value. RLUSD, the stablecoin of Ripple, as well as the cryptocurrencies XRP that support these solutions, enable Ripple and its clients to shape the modern financial system.
About The Anthem Awards
The Anthem Awards was launched in 2021 by The Webby Awards with the aim of recognizing brands, non-profit organizations, and individuals that set a standard of goodwill on a global scale. The award covers seven core areas: belonging and inclusion, education/art and culture, health, human rights and civil rights, humanitarian action and services, sustainability/environment and climate, as well as technology. This season's partners and sponsors include NationBuilder, Sustainable Brands, NationSwell, The Bloom, Social Innovation Summit, and The Nonprofit Alliance. The award was co-founded by Ad Council, Born This Way Foundation, Feeding America, GLAAD, Mozilla, NAACP, NRDC, WWF, and XQ.
About The Webby Awards
The Webby Awards is referred to by The New York Times as "the highest honor in the internet industry" and is a leading international award organization that recognizes outstanding achievements in the internet sector. It covers websites and mobile sites, video and film, advertising/media/public relations, applications/software and immersive experiences, social media, podcasts, gaming, creators, and AI. The Webby Awards was established in 1996 and this year received over 13,000 entries from all 50 states of the United States as well as more than 70 countries around the world. The award is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences ( IADAS ). Its sponsors and partners include Adobe, WP Engine, Patreon, ElevenLabs, Framer, Meta, NAACP, KPMG, The Wall Street Journal, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, SXSW, The Podcast Show, and Authentic.
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