Liz Claiborne Foundation Grantmaking Since 1981 the Liz Claiborne Foundation has been the central vehicle for our charitable giving. To date, we have made over $30 million dollars in grants to nonprofit organizations around the country.
Today, the Liz Claiborne Foundation focuses on women's economic security, and we are committed to investing in nonprofit organizations that prepare women to enter the workforce. Through our grants, nonprofit organizations are creating career pathways for women, helping them to take steps toward economic independence.
This means ensuring that women from disadvantaged communities have the hard and soft skills needed to be successful in their chosen field. Whether re-entering the workforce or entering the workforce for the very first time, the Liz Claiborne Foundation grantees offer women innovative job readiness trainings and remove barriers so women may secure employment. While we recognize that women may start with different skill sets, our end goal is the same – meaningful employment that leads to long-term self-sufficiency.
Over the years, this has translated into direct support for microenterprise development programs and business skills trainings for child care providers, as well as traditional and non-traditional employment training programs for women. Because we place particular emphasis on supporting programs that help women affected by domestic violence, our grantmaking also focuses on essential life skills, such as financial literacy, that may have been hampered due to a history of abuse.
Foundation grants are limited to organizations in communities where we have our main offices. Presently, eligible communities include: the five boroughs of New York City; Hudson County, New Jersey; Butler County, Ohio; and Los Angeles County, California. A small portion of our grants are occasionally directed to national initiatives addressing women’s issues.
