Target’s committed to co-creating an equitable future for all, delivering on our Target Forward strategy to help everyone thrive. And today, we’re proud to announce we’re investing $100 million through 2025 to help fuel economic prosperity in Black communities across the country. We’ll do it by supporting local, Black-led organizations to ensure that resources are specifically designed for the communities they serve.
“As one of the largest retailers in the U.S., we know we have the responsibility and opportunity to use our resources to help end systemic racism and accelerate economic prosperity for Black communities,” says Amanda Nusz, senior vice president, corporate responsibility, and president of the Target Foundation. “With this commitment, we aim to support the next generation of Black talent, expand the impact of Black-led movements and voices, and create economic opportunity in Black communities across the country.”
This $100 million investment is yet another example of Target’s Racial Equity Action and Change strategy in action, building on the initial $10 million commitment we made in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd and the 10,000 hours of pro-bono consulting services we provided for Black-, Indigenous-, and People-of-Color-owned small businesses in the Twin Cities. It also follows new commitments in 2021, including our plan to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025 and committing scholarships and ongoing professional resources to 1,000 Black students through Target Scholars to support the next generation of Black talent.
Over the past year, we’ve listened to Black community members across the country to better understand what resources are most needed to help eliminate barriers and advance social justice, and as part of this new investment, Target will focus on infusing resources directly into Black communities, including:
- Providing scholarships and support to students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and being a founding supporter of the PENSOLE Lewis College of Business & Design in Detroit (more on that below)
- Expanding our funding of Black-led nonprofits
- Sponsoring programs that elevate Black stories and voices
Say hello to the PENSOLE Lewis College of Business & Design
With this latest investment, we’re a founding supporter of the PENSOLE Lewis College of Business & Design (PLC), which aims to be the nation’s first re-opened historically Black college. The school honors its roots as the Violet T. Lewis College of Business, founded in 1928 in Indianapolis, as a secretary school for Black women that moved to Detroit in 1939. Following redesignation, PLC will be the country’s first HBCU to focus on design, supporting aspiring Black designers, engineers, and business leaders, and will offer free tuition.
Why support an HBCU? HBCUs outperform non-HBCUs in retaining and graduating Black students, and particularly first-generation college students and those from low-income backgrounds. As founding supporters, we’ll help bolster those efforts by supporting PLC’s operations and its students, and we’re committed to working alongside PLC to identify other ways to provide support through collaboration, mentoring and much more. This investment is yet another example of how Target’s partnering with HBCUs to support Black students, including launching our annual HBCU Design Challenge in 2020.
Supporting Black-led nonprofits
Target and the Target Foundation will expand our support of Black-led nonprofits doing groundbreaking work to advance racial equity and create economic opportunity in Black communities. One example: supporting the Minnesota Holistic Black-Led Movement Fund, part of the Philanthropic Collective to Combat Anti-Blackness & Realize Racial Justice, helping provide grants that support the transformative procedures, practices and solutions that drive racial equity and justice.
Elevating Black stories and voices
To help build awareness and a greater understanding of Black experiences, Target and the Target Foundation will support programs and events that more broadly share Black stories and voices, like the PBS NewsHour series “Race Matters,” which encourages national dialogue about racial issues in America.
Looking Forward
In the months and years to come, we’ll continue to listen to, learn from and co-create alongside Black communities and our partners, making adjustments to ensure we’re providing support when and where it’s most needed.
For more on our efforts, check out our Racial Equity Action and Change strategy.
