Welcome to Progressive Pockets! I go by GG, that’s short for Genet Gimja. This is a show about trying to get just a little more alignment between our values- what we believe, the type of world we want to live in…and what we do with our money on a daily basis. I’m curious about the ways we shop, and invest, earn and invest our money. Do we have opportunities to make some gradual changes to live in more alignment?

For a lot of people when I ask them how they live out their values financially, a topic that comes up is donating. Where they give, how much, how often.

It’s a really common question that I receive too, asking for guidance. And I’m always happy to share some thoughts on that. I have benefited from nonprofits, I have worked for nonprofits, I have studied nonprofits, I have consulted to nonprofits. I have a lot of thoughts.

BUT it is August and that means it’s time for the celebrity giving series! So whether you’re en route to a summer vacation or you’re already at the beach or in your backyard sipping on some iced tea, I hope you enjoy this super relaxed episode about where Serena Williams donates her money.

Before we get into it, let’s talk about why this is even worth talking about. Celebrities and pop culture can be a great discussion starter that can lead us to think about our own lives and actions. So talking about celebrity giving can be fun just because we’re curious but I think it can also inspire us to rethink our own giving.

So let’s talk Serena Williams this week. Where does Serena, one of the greatest tennis players and many have said one of the greatest athletes of all time, donate her money?

• The Yetunde Price Resource Center: Serena and her family created this center in honor of her eldest sister, who was shot and killed very near the tennis courts where Serena and Venus Williams learned how to play tennis in Compton. Their sister Yetunde Price had been the valedictorian of her high school. She was a nurse and owned a business and she was a part time assistant to her sisters. She also had three little kids when she was killed. The Yetunde Price center provides resources and support to families affected by trauma in Compton, California. May she rest in peace.
• UNICEF: As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2011, Serena has supported initiatives like Schools for Africa and #EveryChildAlive, focusing on education for marginalized children and maternal health. I sort of did think that maternal health would become her signature cause after the awful experience she had when she had her first child. The day after she had her daughter Olympia Serena Williams felt like she was experiencing a pulmonary embolism. She’d had one before and she knew what they felt like. But the medical staff didn’t believe her, they dismissed her concerns saying she was just confused due to the medication. This is an experience that many women and especially black women face when dealing with the medical system. Anyway, she really fought for herself and refused to take no for an answer, she forced them to do scans and yes they did find multiple blood clots in her lungs. Crazy. Her recovery included multiple surgeries, it was a whole thing. And I really appreciated that she spoke up about her experience after it happened. I thought maybe this would become her thing- maternal health, maybe Black maternal health. But it doesn’t seem to be her primary focus.
• For a long time, I saw her donating to various things that popped up. For example, the Masks for Kids campaign: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Serena partnered with BELLA+CANVAS to donate over 4 million face masks to children in underserved schools across the United States.
• Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation: In 2016, Serena contributed her time to help construct the Salt Marsh Basic School in Trelawny, Jamaica.
• Instacart's #GiveFromTheCart Challenge: Serena partnered with Instacart to support Feeding America's programs fighting hunger in communities in need.
• Various other celebrity foundations: Serena has supported charities such as the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which I have to say has probably the longest list of celebrity donors out of all the charities I’ve looked at for this series, she has donated to I Heart My Girlfriends which was started by Kelly Rowland
• She has donated to Eva Longoria’s Foundation. There’s a theme when you look at celebrity giving that they tend to give to their famous friend’s foundations.
• But after sort of supporting things here and there, I think Serena Williams may have landed on what her social impact focus will be.
• Serena Ventures: Through her venture capital firm, Serena invests in companies founded by women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds, with 76% of founders in her portfolio coming from historically underrepresented groups. So let me tell you a little more about Serena Ventures:
• Serena Ventures is a venture capital fund founded by tennis icon Serena Williams in 2014, that’s about 8 years before she retired from tennis. I love that she was already laying the groundwork for her next chapter. Here are some interesting facts about Serena Ventures:
• Mission: The fund aims to empower women and founders from marginalized communities, with a vision "to invest in us," as Williams states.
• Focus: Serena Ventures invests in early-stage companies across various industries, including consumer products, information technology, healthcare, e-commerce, and wellness.
• Portfolio: The firm has invested in over 85 companies, with 14 of them reaching unicorn status (valued at over $1 billion).
• Diversity: 79% of the portfolio comprises underrepresented founders, 54% women founders, 47% Black founders, and 11% Latino founders.
• Notable investments: Some of the companies in Serena Ventures' portfolio include:
• MasterClass (valued at $2.75 billion in 2021)
• HUED (healthcare startup)
• Parfait (AI-driven customizable wig platform)
• Impossible Foods
• Noom
• Karat
• Team: The Serena Ventures team is composed exclusively of diverse female members involved in investment decisions and operations.
• Location: The firm is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, California.
• Leadership: While Serena Williams is the founder, the firm recently underwent a management change. Alison Rapaport Stillman, an original member, has departed, and Beth Ferreira, previously of FirstMark Capital, has joined as a full-fledged general partner.
• Impact: Serena Ventures aims to address the significant disparity in venture capital funding for women and people of color. Williams was motivated to start the fund after learning that less than 2% of VC money went to women, and even less to people of color.

So to recap, today we talked about where Serena WIlliams donates her money:

• Initially her charity work seemed to be a little bit focused on children and education and some about trauma and support for survivors of violence
• But then it looks like she matched her desire to have social impact with her love for business and entrepreneurship and has launched Serena Ventures. Serena Ventures is a venture capital fund that exists to fund people who are usually locked out of the traditional systems. She’s funding women, black and Latine founders.
• To be clear a venture capital firm is absolutely not charity work, she’s in it to make money, let’s be clear. 
• But if I had to look into my crystal ball, I would be surprised if, coming out of this work, she doesn’t create a very clear and consistent giving strategy. I absolutely expect we will see that from her. It’s exciting.

If you have more time today, here’s another episode to check out, episode 88 about where the singer and businesswoman Rihanna donates her money. This is probably my favorite episode so far of the celebrity giving series. There’s just something that is very aligned about the way that she’s thinking about her giving. It’s a great example of how to bring your identity and the things you care about and your background and putting all of that together to inform your giving strategy.

This was fun! What did you think? Drop me a line anytime at progressive pockets at gmail dot com. Which celebrities do you want to hear covered in this series?

If you have a moment, please send this episode to someone who you think might enjoy it!

Let’s end with a quote…

Money talks. You have power. It's been in your wallet the whole time. Andrea Longton in her book The Social Justice Investor

Let’s talk again soon!