Advancing Social and Racial Equity  

Our employees spoke, and we listened. More than 60 years ago, Enterprise founder Jack Taylor included a commitment to diversity and inclusion in our guiding principles. In November 2020, we expanded that commitment in response to employee feedback and social discourse.

As part of the Enterprise ROAD Forward initiative, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation pledged $55 million to organizations that advance social and racial equity. Donations are intended to increase Respect, Opportunity, Achievement and Diversity (ROAD) for young people of color in underserved communities through a focus on early childhood development, youth health and wellness and career and college preparation. 

The Foundation also partnered with four national nonprofit organizations – The Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, United Negro College Fund, Girls Inc. and Parents as Teachers – for this initiative. For more information, visit EHI.com. 

Within our own walls

And we’re involving our employees in the effort as well. We are empowering employees to identify the most pressing issues in their communities and decide how to spend an additional $35 million over five years. In July 2021, we awarded our inaugural set of local ROAD Forward grants to 690 nonprofits, to the tune of $7.06 million. In June 2022, we awarded more than $7 million in local ROAD Forward grants to nearly 700 local nonprofit organizations. The grants will help address social and racial equity gaps in the communities we serve.

In addition to local grants, this initiative supports of 17 national organizations across Europe, such as National Literacy Trust (U.K.), The Girls Network (U.K.), Children's Books Ireland (Ireland), Children for a better World e.V. (Germany), Sport Dans la Ville (France), and Fundación MAPFRE (Spain), among others.

In a closely connected initiative, the Foundation pledged an additional $65 million to Enterprise's Fill Your Tank, a program launched in 2016 to address food insecurity – an issue that also disproportionally affects people of color.

The ROAD Forward initiative mirrors our internal efforts to advance social and racial equity within our organization – from our mentorship programs, to introducing new training and development and diversity councils, to forums that drive honest dialogue on the issues we all face.

Giving back

Strengthening our communities and giving back in the places where we live and work is the foundation of who we are. We are committed to being involved in the support of community endeavors at a local level, and on a national scale.

To further support our employees in these efforts, Enterprise introduced a benefit in 2020 called My Purpose. My Time. that gives each employee paid volunteer time each year toward an organization or cause of their choice. We hope this initiative further provides our employees with the chance to strengthen their community relationships. 

We also amplify our employees’ community service efforts by allowing employees to submit grant requests for nonprofits where they regularly volunteer. In fiscal year 2020, the Enterprise Holdings Foundation donated $57.5 million worldwide, with 98% of those grants fulfilling employee requests.