Global investment firm KKR has announced grants totaling $1.5 million to small businesses and nonprofits in support of global economic recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grants were awarded through two of the cornerstone programs of the $50 million KKR Relief Effort launched last year by KKR and its employees. Through the KKR Small Business Builders program, the firm awarded $10,000 to seventy-two small business owners, 69 percent of whom are women, 81 percent identify as minorities, and 24 percent are veterans or their immediate family members. KKR also has pledged an additional $1.5 million to support small businesses through its continued partnership with multichannel entrepreneurship platform Hello Alice and global partner GEN Global.

In addition, through the KKR Grants program, the firm awarded $4.7 million to twenty-eight nonprofits in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden. Recipients include organizations that provide support for food security, safe housing, public health, and crisis relief, including New Neighbors Partnership in New York City, Off Their Plate in Boston, and West Valley Community Services in Cupertino, California; provide support for innovative pathways of workforce recovery and development, including Hudson Guild in New York City and the Scholarship Academy in Atlanta; and provide support for teachers, first responders, essential workers, and frontline medical professionals, including Save the Music Foundation in New York and STEM Library Lab in New Orleans.

"We continue to be inspired by the resilience and perseverance of our communities and small businesses, and we are pleased to expand our partnership with Hello Alice and GEN Global," said Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, co-presidents and co-chief operating officers of KKR, in a statement. "As we have already seen, the path to a global economic recovery is not straightforward and we plan to continue our KKR Relief Effort programs to support the high-impact organizations and businesses playing a critical role in rebuilding and strengthening our communities."