Last updated on December 28, 2022

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Stevie Cogan
Director of People @ Yotpo
June 2nd, 2020

We stand strongly in solidarity with the Black community. Learn more about the six organizations we’re supporting. 

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We know that equity requires systemic change, and we are committed to defending and amplifying the voices of those who face discrimination, exclusion, and overt and covert racism.

Yotpo will donate $25,000 across six organizations that are committed to dismantling the institutional means by which the Black community is oppressed and harmed: Equal Justice Initiative, NAACP, Black Lives Matter, Campaign Zero, The Bail Project, and National Bailout.

Additionally, Yotpo announced that we will match up to $25,000 of our community’s donations to these organizations — and we were able to exceed this goal within just 48 hours! The response has been overwhelming.

If you’re able, please continue to financially support these and other organizations that are important to the cause. You can learn more about these organizations below; these descriptions have been compiled from each organization’s website.

Black Lives Matter

#BlackLivesMatter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. By combating and countering acts of violence, creating space for Black imagination and innovation, and centering Black joy, they are winning immediate improvements in their lives. Learn more about Black Lives Matter here.

Campaign Zero

Campaign Zero is a police reform campaign. The plan consists of ten proposals, all of which are aimed at reducing police violence: ending broken windows policing, utilizing community oversight, limiting use of force, independently investigating and prosecuting, representing the community, promoting body cams/filming the police, justice training for police officers, ending for-profit policing, demilitarization, and promoting fair police union contracts. Learn more about Campaign Zero here.

Equal Justice Initiative

The Equal Justice Initiative is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenging racial and economic injustice, and to protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society. The Equal Justice Initiative provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. They challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment and provide re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people. Learn more about the Equal Justice Initiative here.

NAACP

The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. Their objectives are as follows:

  • To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens
  • To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States
  • To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes
  • To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights
  • To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination
  • To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP’s Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution

Learn more about the NAACP here.

National Bail Out

The National Bail Out collective is a Black-led and Black-centered collective of abolitionist organizers, lawyers, and activists building a community-based movement to support their folks and end systems of pretrial detention and ultimately mass incarceration. They are people who have been impacted by cages. They are queer, trans, young, elder, and immigrant. Learn more about National Bail Out here.

The Bail Project

The Bail Project National Revolving Bail Fund provides free bail assistance to low-income individuals who are legally presumed innocent, and whom a judge has deemed eligible for release before trial contingent on paying bail. They enable clients to return home to their families and communities while awaiting their court dates. Learn more about The Bail Project here.

We encourage you to donate directly and consistently. If you’re unable to financially support, there are still many ways to make an impact:

  • Use social media to bring awareness to the work of these organizations
  • Support black-owned businesses
  • Call and write to your local representatives and ask for change
  • Listen and educate yourself
  • Have these conversations with your family, friends, and coworkers
  • Create a long-term plan that you can commit to and act on, on a daily basis
  • Hold yourself accountable

We are deeply committed to educating ourselves and promoting anti-racism as a company and as individuals, and this is only the beginning of the actions we’re taking. To our partners, customers, and broader community — we urge you to speak out and to take action.