Company: Ares Charitable Foundation, New York, NY
Nomination Submitted by: Michelle Armstrong
Company Description: The Ares Charitable Foundation (the “Ares Foundation”) is a 501(c)(3) qualifying organization sponsored by Ares Management Corporation ("Ares"), a leading global alternative investment manager. Established in 2020, the Ares Foundation seeks to accelerate equality of economic opportunity through grants to nonprofit organizations globally and has awarded $60 million in funding to date.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year - in Canada and the U.S.A.
 Nomination Title: Ares Charitable Foundation
- Which will you submit for your nomination in this category, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the achievements of the nominated organization since 1 January 2022, OR written answers to the questions for this category? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Briefly describe the nominated organization: its history and past performance (up to 200 words):
Total 200 words used.
The Ares Charitable Foundation is a 501(c)(3) qualifying organization sponsored by Ares Management Corporation that envisions a world in which people benefit from equitable access to knowledge, resources and opportunities so that they achieve their full potential. Our mission is to accelerate economic equity and equality by supporting nonprofits and initiatives that provide career preparation and reskilling, encourage entrepreneurship and deepen individuals’ understanding of personal finance. We launched in 2021, but began our work in earnest in 2022 and have since awarded grants totaling $58 million to organizations in Asia, Europe and North America that help reduce economic disparities. For example, our Signature Initiatives help expand access to quality green jobs as the world rapidly moves toward a more climate-resilient economy; strive to enable wealth-building opportunities for employees through ownership in the companies where they work; and aim to diversify the talent pipeline ready to enter the alternative investment management industry. Our employee-directed grants engage Ares team members, who volunteer time, talent and treasure to help determine philanthropic giving. These grants help prepare low-income women to transition out of poverty, examine barriers to young people’s workforce entry, promote disability workforce inclusion and encourage intergenerational entrepreneurship, as just a few examples.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Outline the organization's achievements since the beginning of 2022 that you wish to bring to the judges' attention (up to 250 words):
Total 248 words used.
Grantmaking Highlights:
Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow (“CREST”) is our five-year, $25 million initiative to reduce economic inequity by preparing and reskilling marginalized populations – especially women, people of color and people of low socioeconomic status – for professions in the growing green economy. Executed with Jobs for the Future (“JFF”) and World Resources Institute (“WRI”), we are helping 25,000 people in the U.S. enter green jobs over five years and strengthening the sustainability best practices of 1,000 micro, small and medium enterprise workers in India's automotive and textile sectors. We are also supporting entrepreneurs to scale green businesses that will lead to job creation.
We funded CARE International UK to gather and disseminate evidence on unpaid care work as a critical barrier to women’s economic justice. Outputs included a policy brief, collection of case studies on women entrepreneurs, high-profile event with Members of Parliament, and ongoing advocacy among a broad network of political and civil society influencers. These activities helped the organization advocate the UK government’s accountability for its commitment to support women and girls globally.
We have also helped shine a light on the challenges that people with disabilities in the labor force face. Our funding produced an original television special called “Breaking Barriers: Embracing Disabilities in the Workforce,” which explored how employers can better tap into the underutilized talent of disabled persons to diversify the workforce and address worker shortages. The program is currently in contention for an Emmy Award.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Explain why the achievements you have highlighted are unique or significant. If possible compare the achievements to the performance of other players in your industry and/or to the organization's past performance (up to 250 words):
Total 249 words used.
CREST has positioned the Ares Foundation as a thought leader in workforce readiness grantmaking that helps spur climate solutions. We believe that we are one of the first foundations to identify the link between career preparation and reskilling and climate change mitigation. As such, we hosted a roundtable at COP28 entitled “Skilling for the Green Future: Strategies to Close the Gap Between Employer Demand and Worker” while preparing a climate-ready workforce – with a focus on women – was a key topic during the global convening. The World Economic Forum also invited us to participate in its Big Bets Accelerator initiative that challenges philanthropies to collectively invest $1 billion in climate change mitigation activities while we continue to present about CREST in global conferences.
Our advocacy of women’s economic justice allowed us to participate in “Caring Economies as a Pathway to Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Justice,” a Parliamentary event that examined the inequity in women’s unpaid care work, which is often carried out as invisible labor. We joined a panel discussion that included Members of Parliament, UK government representatives, and women entrepreneurs.
Moreover, the success of our grant-funded “Breaking Barriers: Embracing Disabilities in the Workforce” television program has spurred a three-part series that will air nationally across the U.S., with Episodes 2 and 3 exploring strategies to break barriers for older adults and justice-impacted individuals. These episodes will air in the summer and fall 2024, helping to showcase the importance of workforce inclusion for all populations.
- You have the option to answer this final question: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 14 words used.
The URLs provided link to assets highlighted in the responses to the above questions.
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