Blackstone Charitable Foundation Announces Grants Program to Foster Veterans Employment
$250,000 Awarded to Organizations Supporting Veterans Employment
New York, November 11, 2013. The Blackstone Charitable Foundation today announced that it is releasing a Request for Proposal (RFP) targeting organizations that focus on veterans’ employment and business development. Eligible organizations will be considered to participate in The Blackstone Charitable Foundation’s $250,000 Veterans Grants Program. Grants will range in size from $10,000 to $50,000.
This is the latest initiative in a series of programs Blackstone has introduced as part of its Veterans Hiring Initiative. In April, Blackstone committed to hiring 50,000 veterans across its portfolio of companies over a five year period in support of the White House’s Joining Forces initiative. The following September, the firm hosted its inaugural Veterans Hiring Summit, designed to help hiring executives within corporations learn how to attract and hire veterans and to help the U.S. military and veterans organizations learn how they can facilitate this recruitment initiative.
“The men and women of the United States Military and their families make considerable sacrifices in service to our great nation,” said Stephen A. Schwarzman, Blackstone’s Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO. “When they leave active service, our country has a responsibility to help them find employment that leverages their considerable skills and talent and support them in their transition. Blackstone is pleased to support the national effort to hire veterans and knows that our portfolio companies will only benefit by hiring extremely capable and motivated veterans.”
“The Veterans Grants Program will identify organizations and programs that directly support veterans and offer them the opportunity to build successful careers after their active service,” said Amy Stursberg, Executive Director of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation. “Together with the training and support programs we are developing within our portfolio companies, these grants will help American veterans transition to private sector employment, adapt their skills and succeed in new work environments.”
Organizations will have until Friday, February 14th at 5pm EDT to respond to the RFP. A committee of Blackstone employees will review the submitted proposals and submit their recommendations to the board of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation for final selection. Grants will be awarded between March and April of 2014.
This year’s RFP and criteria can be viewed at http://www.blackstone.com/foundation.
About The Blackstone Charitable Foundation
The Blackstone Charitable Foundation was founded at the time of The Blackstone Group’s Initial Public Offering in 2007 with substantial commitments from the Firm’s employees. Influenced by the enterprising heritage of the firm and its founders, The Blackstone Charitable Foundation is directing its resources and applying the intellectual capital of the firm to foster entrepreneurship and job creation in areas hardest hit by the global economic crisis. Through its investment expertise across several asset classes and geographies, Blackstone has a unique perspective on the global economy and a heightened understanding of how entrepreneurial activity is often the crucial catalyst in the growth of successful businesses, industries and communities. (For more information, see http://blackstone.com/citizenship/the-blackstone-charitable-foundation.)
Contacts:
Questions related to the RFP should be submitted to [email protected].
Media inquiries:
Oriane Schwartzman
Blackstone
+1 212 390 2250
[email protected]