Thirty Years of Leadership: Catalyzing Economic Opportunity

This year, the Citi Foundation proudly celebrates three decades of community impact through philanthropy. Our journey has been defined by an unwavering commitment to our North Star – promoting economic progress and improving the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. This focus has compelled us to continually listen, learn and adapt to ever-changing needs, meeting the moment for the communities we serve.

Like others, our path has not been linear and through every headwind and tailwind we have evolved. In the aftermath of the devastating September 11 attacks in New York City, we funded scholarships for survivors and families of victims. When the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the global economy into profound uncertainty, we infused nonprofits with philanthropic capital to support small business survival and recovery. And today, as natural and humanitarian crisis events occur with ever-growing frequency, we stand ready to support preparedness, response and recovery efforts across our footprint. 

But our story is about more than responsive action. It is also about catalyzing innovation. It is about breaking down siloes, building bridges, incubating new ideas and scaling solutions that unlock opportunity. Our philanthropy has helped visionary community organizations reach individuals and families across more than 80 countries and territories, changing the trajectories of their lives and livelihoods. 
 

An Enduring Approach: Shaping the Field, Building Bridges and Driving Innovation

The Foundation has long been a first mover, deploying philanthropy to seed new ways of addressing deeply rooted challenges. We are willing to invest early dollars in novel ideas and to stay the course by helping scale solutions that work. With this mindset, our early support propelled the efforts of U.S. Community Development Financial Institutions and international micro-finance institutions working to increase access to credit for low-income households. Our investment in research, capacity-building and infrastructure created a foundation for the nationwide expansion of Children's Savings Accounts. We were one of the first funders to adopt a new approach to financial education, promoting positive consumer practices to fundamentally improve households’ balance sheets by reducing debt and increasing savings. And more recently, we built on this groundwork by continuing to support cross-sector conversations and field-shaping research on financial health, examining trends that will shape future generations’ economic outcomes. 

This pioneering spirit is complemented by our fierce belief in the power of partnership. Our work has been shaped by collaboration with other grant-makers and by funding subject matter experts to research what works and why. And, perhaps most important of all, it is guided by the experience of our grantees who serve as a bridge to the communities we aim to reach. Community Progress Makers, which launched ten years ago in the U.S., embodies this approach with flexible funding and technical assistance to visionary nonprofits driving progress in their local communities. 

Other initiatives like Pathways to Progress and the Global Innovation Challenge exemplify how philanthropic dollars—bolstered by deep partnership and the flexibility to pursue bold ideas—can catalyze innovation across pressing issues like food insecurity, homelessness and youth employability. It’s capital that can unlock a career in software development for a young mother in Peru; shelter a family in crisis after an earthquake in Morocco; launch a youth-led enterprise in Vietnam to get amputees affordable prosthetic products; and propel a platform to combat food waste by connecting community organizations with businesses holding a surplus in the Czech Republic, Ireland, Slovakia, the U.K., Kenya and Indonesia. We invest in solutions that stand to launch and scale, building more resilient communities around the world.

In thirty years, we have seen a great deal of change. We have evolved what we do. Yet throughout these three decades, our commitment to expanding economic opportunity for low-income communities has remained steadfast. This work over the years has brought me personally to a wide range of communities all around the world: urban and rural, large and small, developed and developing, those responding to crisis and those building resiliency. At every step, I have been inspired by the optimism and belief that we can harness our ingenuity to make a positive impact today and for future generations. I am very proud of the Foundation’s leadership in this arena and am as enthusiastic and humbled as ever to continue this journey alongside my team and our partners.