NEW YORK – February 1, 2021 – KKR today announced the recipients of the second round of KKR Relief Effort grants awarded through the KKR Small Business Builders (SBB) and KKR Grants programs. The $50 million KKR Relief Effort was created by KKR and its employees last year to support those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic dislocation. In the latest round of grants, 52 small businesses and 35 nonprofits were selected to receive financial assistance and hands-on support from KKR, the firm’s employees, and its partner organizations.

“We created the KKR Relief Effort to help the people and businesses that make up our communities and are faced with significant challenges as a result of the pandemic. Nearly a year later, the need for this support is at an all-time high and we continue to stay focused on caring for small businesses and working with nonprofits that are having an outsized impact,” said Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Presidents and Co-Chief Operating Officers of KKR.

In the second round of the SBB program, KKR awarded $10,000 each to 52 small business owners across the U.S., Europe, and Asia Pacific, with 25 states across the U.S. represented. 85% of these businesses are owned by women, 60% are owned by Black, Latinx, Asian, or Multiracial individuals, and 31% are owned by veterans or military spouses. The top industries supported in the latest round are Health and Wellness, Social Enterprise/Education, Food and Beverage Services, and Consumer Goods/Retail. The grants will support these small businesses to help them maintain day-to-day operations and jobs, while also supporting their future growth. To date, the SBB program has awarded grants to 107 small businesses around the world.

Through the KKR Grants initiative, which is focused on identifying and supporting nonprofits whose work supports priorities related to Opportunities, Communities, and Heroes, KKR awarded more than $7.5 million to 35 nonprofit organizations that are playing critical roles in addressing the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Grant recipients included both international nonprofits and locally focused organizations in the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany. To date, the KKR Relief Effort has allocated approximately $10 million to 60 nonprofits through the KKR Grants program.

“Our grant programs are identifying immensely talented leaders, diverse entrepreneurs, and compelling nonprofits – many of whom have been traditionally underfunded or underrepresented,” said Ali Hartman, KKR’s Head of Global Citizenship. “Together, with their knowledge and our investment, we hope to provide innovative, impactful solutions to the shared challenges our communities are facing in these unprecedented times.”

SBB and KKR Grants are available to organizations around the world with recipients selected in rounds on an ongoing basis.

·       Small businesses can learn more and apply for SBB grants at kkr.helloalice.com. The current round of applications is open until February 10, 2021.

·       The application for nonprofits is available at www.kkr.com/grants. The next round of applications is open until February 8, 2021.

KKR’s Relief Effort is helping address challenges facing our shared communities through four key pillars: supporting portfolio company employees; engaging our employees as leaders and change-makers; assisting small businesses; and providing strategic grants and partnerships.  

About KKR Small Business Builders

KKR Small Business Builders is a grants-based program created to support small business owners who are struggling to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. KKR has joined forces with small business experts at Hello Alice and GEN Global to identify diverse and dynamic small business owners in need of assistance. Through SBB, KKR is awarding $10,000 grants to small business owners who will also receive support from KKR employees and the Hello Alice platform to help them better sustain their operations, maintain or create jobs and manage or pivot their business model. For more information, please visit kkr.helloalice.com.

About KKR Grants

KKR Grants is a global effort focused on identifying and supporting the most innovative and effective nonprofits whose missions are aligned with priority areas, including delivering immediate aid to vulnerable populations impacted by the pandemic, providing innovative pathways of workforce recovery and development, and supporting our heroes including teachers, first responders, essential workers and front-line medical professionals. KKR is supporting these organizations with financial grants and strategic support. For more information, please visit www.kkr.com/grants.

 

KKR Small Business Builders Round 2 Recipients

 

Vania Abdul-Badee 360 Marketing & PR, LLC | Camden, NJ   Rochelle Brenner Action Karate Mt. Airy | Philadelphia, PA   Alessandro Biggi Avocaderia | Brooklyn, NY   Belinda Bates Bates Distributors and Suppliers | Southfield, MI   Lilly Benitez Blade Craft Barber Academy | Dallas, TX   Eugene Tan Bondi Valley Pty Ltd | Sydney, Australia   Joan Kanner Bottoms Up Bagels | Baltimore, MD   Beverly Malbranche Caribbrew | Newark, NJ   Emily McHugh Casauri | Fort Pierce, FL   Katherine Tesch Circus Academy of Tucson | Tucson, AZ   Faith Lee Bird & Branch | New York, NY   Jessie Weinzatl Coastal Massage and Wellness | Jacksonville, NC   Tara Darnley Darlyng & Co. | Greensboro, NC   Darlene Crask Ices Plain & Fancy | St. Louis, MO   Vivian Ross Elephant in the Room Counseling Services |   Augusta, GA   Yvonne Cox Emmanuel Adult Day Center | Bridgeton, MO   Jewell Singletary Gratitude Griot | Newark, NJ   Monika Reti Hipcooks | Portland, OR   Catherine Jaffee House of Pod | Denver, CO   Shelley Wiseman Knauer-Wiseman | Solebury, PA   Kevin McLaughlin Larema Coffee House | Rocky Mount, NC   Corie A. Lange MamaCellas Pizza Station & Catering | Lima, OH   Khadijah Robinson Nile | Washington D.C.   Carmen Brown NJ Home Health Care | Jersey City, NJ   Kristina Han Own Your Wonder | Washington, D.C.   Kelly DiNardo Past Tense | Washington, D.C.

Zayana Harriday Peace Homes 2 | Southfield, MI   Priyanka Raha PopSmartKids | Bellevue, WA   Karim Abouelnaga Practice Makes Perfect | New York, NY   Kristin Kagetsu Saathi | New York, NY   Krittika Khandelwal Sanskrit | Duluth, GA   Courtney Bromwich Sawnee School of Ballet | Cumming, GA   LeToya Garland School of Breaking | Aurora, CO   Victoria Sesay Sesay Enterprises | Johns Creek, GA   Pearl Ubaru SiSTEM Tutoring Agency | Houston, TX   Jereatha Nichols Smart Economic Development | Orangeburg,        SC   Mary Chris Ong SOMA MVMT | Maplewood, NJ   Stella Husch Strive Recreational Therapy | Clarkston, MI   Brittany Holtz STUDIO B POWER YOGA | Harrisburg, PA   Grace Melek Success Fitness & Training Center | Maplewood, MN   Usifo Ighedosa Tabor Group Inc. | Sugar Land, TX   Cassiopeia Sledge The Black Mall | Chicago, IL   Emmett Soldati Teatotaller | Somersworth, NH   Heather Harrison The Bake Shop | Edgewater, FL   Leo Pollock The Compost Plant L3C | Providence, RI   Miquel Henderson The Studio Mind|Body | Boulder City, NV   Maria Duerson Umbrella Functional Consulting & Support Team | Croydon, PA   Linda Skwarcan Veni’s Sweet Shop | Niles, MI   Courtney Blagrove Whipped – Urban Dessert Lab | New York, NY   Lakischia M. Smith WHO DAT BarberShop | Harvey, LA   Sarah Anderson Yoga on Beacon Hill | Seattle, WA   Ivano Cafolla Zazuents | Donnybrook, Ireland

 

KKR Grants Round 2 Recipients

COMMUNITIES

Support for food security, safe housing, public health, and crisis relief

Bob Woodruff Foundation New York, USA   Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) Berkeley, USA   Charles B. Wang New York, USA   Children’s Health Fund New York, USA   COMP-U-DOPT INC. Houston, USA   First Friends of New Jersey and New York Kearny, USA   Hestia London, UK   ImmigrationHelp.org Boston, USA

ImmSchools New York, USA   Literacy Lab (DBA LitLab) Mill Valley, USA   New York Cares New York, USA   NY Common Pantry New York, USA   Peninsula Bridge San Mateo, USA   Point Source Youth New York, USA   The Trevor Project West Hollywood, USA

 

OPPORTUNITIES

Support for innovative pathways of workforce recovery and development

Association Coup de Pouce – Partenaire de la réussite à l’école Lyon, France   Breakthrough New York New York, USA   BridgeYear Houston, USA   Centro Community Partners Oakland, USA   Dame Kelly Holmes Trust Bath, UK   Echoing Green New York, USA   Global Kids New York, USA

Impetus London, UK   International Justice Mission London, UK   Matriculate Brooklyn, USA   PENCIL New York, USA   Techtonica Richmond, USA   Upwardly Global New York, USA   Youth Action New York, USA

 

HEROES

Support for teachers, first responders, essential workers and front line medical professionals

Association to Benefit Children New York, USA   ENTREPRENDRE POUR APPRENDRE Paris, France   Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity London, UK

Place2Be London, UK   Silicon Valley Education Foundation San Jose, USA   ZuBaKa gGmbH Frankfurt, Germany

# # #

About KKR

KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, credit and real assets, with strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.

 

About Hello Alice

Hello Alice is a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community of more than 250,000 business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building the largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. Our partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote scale. Founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all by providing access to all owners, including women, people of color, veterans, and everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. To learn more, visit www.helloalice.com, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

 

Media Contact:

Cara Major or Miles Radcliffe-Trenner

212-750-8300

media@kkr.com