ELC Announces Inaugural ‘Beautiful Forces’ Grants

Estée Lauder has announced its inaugural Emerging Leaders Beautiful Forces grants. Through a partnership via the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund (ELELF) and grantee, Vital Voices Global Partnership, the new initiative will deepen the brand’s investment in supporting emerging women leaders globally and helping to advance their influence and impact.

ELELF—launched in 2022 as a charitable fund under the Estée Lauder Companies Charitable Foundation—supports global organizations that provide opportunities for leadership development, cultivate supportive communities and advocate for emerging leaders who have a daring vision for positive change.

Vital Voices, the global non-profit investing in women leaders, was selected as the inaugural program partner of the ELELF.

The Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Beautiful Forces grants will support Vital Voices network alumni who are leading NGOs, businesses, or implementing projects that advance a bold idea, according to Lauder.

An initial award of $200,000 will be allocated between four recipients who demonstrate innovative thinking, a desire to challenge the status quo, and the ability to take calculated risks to solve a problem impacting their communities, according to Lauder.

The awardees of the 2024 Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund Beautiful Forces Grants are:

Amina Mohamed, Canada: Founder of Cameras for Girls, an organization that challenges gender disparities in media, equipping girls in Africa with cameras to empower them with greater access and opportunity in media-based careers. This grant will allow the organization to launch a train-the-trainer program, increasing access to programs by up to 20%.

Consuelo Hermosilla González, Chile:  Founder of Fundación Antonia, an organization thatworks to eliminate intimate partner violence by providing free care and support to survivors, while raising awareness to eradicate gender violence in Chile. This grant will enable the execution of a variety of workshops, training sessions and skill-building programs to educate communities on domestic violence prevention.

Olasumbo Adeleke, Nigeria:  executive director of Gender Power Africa, which works to improve the livelihoods of small holder farmers, especially women and youth, in rural communities through economic empowerment, training and capacity building. This grant will help enable the creation of a climate-smart shea nut processing facility in Nigeria, expanding the output of shea butter from 2 tons per month to 3 tons per day while providing additional jobs and skills training for women in the community.

Renata Koch Alvarenga, Brazil:  Founder of EmpoderaClima, a youth-led organization that raises awareness about the impacts of climate change on women and the role of gender-transformative climate education. This grant will enable the execution of workshops on disaster preparedness, the creation of an interactive platform with learning resources, as well as data collection and mapping to support disaster management.

“With the launch of the Beautiful Forces grants, we are doubling down on our commitment to change the face of leadership by further investing in a new generation of emerging leaders,” said Stéphane de La Faverie, ELELF founder and executive group president, The Estée Lauder Companies. “We’re proud to support these inspiring women from around the world, helping them achieve their goals and take their ideas to the next level to create further impact in their communities and beyond.”

“The Beautiful Forces grants will take our partnership with the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Fund to the next level, further investing in emerging women leaders who dream big and aim to conquer the enormous challenges we face today,” said Alyse Nelson, President and CEO, Vital Voices Global Partnership. “Their vision for change is ambitious and we’re thrilled to be able to support them in the next step of their leadership journeys.”

Since the launch of the ELELF, Estée Lauder and Vital Voices created the VV Visionaries Leadership Program, a custom online and offline leadership development program for emerging leaders globally, which to date has trained 400 women leaders from more than 60 countries, with the eighth cohort beginning next month.

Recipients of the Estée Lauder Emerging Leaders Beautiful Forces grants were honored at a private celebration in New York alongside the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly.

In addition to its support for Vital Voices, the ELELF supports women’s leadership organizations Black Girl Ventures and the Center for Asian Pacific American Women. The Estée Lauder brand is also an ongoing supporter of Kode With Klossy, the non-profit founded by brand ambassador Karlie Kloss.