Chicago startup The Mom Project wants to support "family-friendly" businesses with a new $500,000 fund that aims to boost employment and support companies during the coronavirus crisis.
The Mom Project announced Wednesday that it has launched the Stronger Together Fund, a $500,00 fund that will provide grants to small businesses that have been hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mom Project, a job platform that connects employers to viable female candidates with a focus on moms looking to re-enter the workforce, said the grants will help companies extend current staff and stimulate hiring plans to onboard more moms during the crisis.
"Right now, our community of moms and businesses need us more than ever," Allison Robinson, CEO and founder at The Mom Project, said in a statement. "The Stronger Together Fund is an extension of our commitment to the potential of moms in the workforce and we will invest in what we are uniquely qualified to do; bring companies and moms together to make businesses and families stronger."
The Mom Project also unveiled other initiatives to help working moms during the pandemic. It has put an increased focus on 100% remote roles through its job platform, is opening up its resume building tools like Resume Rev and 5-Day Resume Guide to all users to help more moms improve their resumes, and it's offering pro-bono career coaching through its Unity Program.
Founded in 2016, the startup has worked with about 2,000 companies including Facebook, Nike, Etsy and Uber to place women into jobs. The Mom Project has raised around $11 million to date, and recently announced that tennis superstar Serena Williams joined the company as a strategic advisor.
