DoorDash’s mission is to empower local economies. As part of our mission, we work to build and protect diverse, inclusive communities, help immigrant and refugee entrepreneurs with the resources they need to thrive, and maintain low-barrier-to-entry opportunities for people seeking to earn extra income. Additionally, our ongoing financial empowerment work helps strengthen Dashers’ financial well-being in partnership with organizations like the National Urban League, UnidosUS, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and WoodGreen Community Services.
Today, we’re bolstering our financial empowerment programming in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) – one of the world’s leading immigrant and refugee advocacy and humanitarian relief organizations. This programming is designed to help new arrivals benefit from access to supplemental earnings opportunities and financial literacy resources to earn money, save for financial milestones, and secure their financial future. Together with the IRC, we’re supporting a series of programs designed to empower immigrants and refugees navigating a new life in the United States:
New Driver’s Fund – Many immigrants and refugees do not have formal driving training and the process of obtaining a driver’s license can be cost-prohibitive, making it challenging for many people to begin earning and building a life in a new country. For example, resettlement in suburban regions posed additional challenges to many of the Afghan women who arrived in the U.S. as refugees and did not drive. To address this challenge, DoorDash is supporting IRC’s New Driver’s Fund in California, Texas, Washington, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York. This collaboration will provide refugees and immigrants with access to driver’s education courses and other services and opportunities, such as the DoorDash platform, to make progress towards economic mobility. It’s a part of our Pathways to Success initiative, a slate of programming to help those who face barriers to traditional employment access earnings opportunities on the Dasher platform.
Access to Financial Empowerment Resources – In expanding our financial empowerment program offerings available to Dashers, DoorDash is helping fund the Support for Afghan Financial Empowerment (SAFE) initiative, which was launched by the IRC’s Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) to empower Afghan families as they begin their journey to financial stability and economic security. The initiative offers financial coaching and education to Afghans and other immigrant and refugee communities, and is currently accessible in English, Dari, and Pashto. Over 6,000 people have attended financial education courses and over 1,000 people have completed financial coaching sessions to date. Our investment will help the IRC continue to operate the SAFE initiative and expand with future languages and enhancements, including a digital course specifically focused on the gig economy, relevant skills, and understanding of how the gig economy can support a client’s overall household finances.
Crisis and Emergent Needs Community Credits Fund – DoorDash will continue to provide the IRC with Community Credits to broaden access to meals and essential items for refugee and immigrant communities.
“Helping recent arrivals obtain driver’s licenses to begin to earn, and offering financial coaching and education so they can save, is one more way to support people who need help in a new country,” said Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean, Vice President for Communications and Policy, DoorDash. “We’re proud to expand our partnership with the International Rescue Committee that grows our existing financial empowerment work and supports immigrants and refugees as they navigate life in the United States.”
“Bold commitments from across sectors are needed to match the scale of today’s humanitarian crises,” said Madlin Sadler, Chief Operating Officer of the International Rescue Committee. “As the crisis in Afghanistan escalated last year, DoorDash stepped up to help the International Rescue Committee respond by providing Afghan families arriving in the US with groceries, meals, and essentials with DoorDash gift cards. In places around the country, this support helped to ensure families had groceries or hot meals in their kitchens as they transitioned to apartments in new neighborhoods. In Maryland, for example, deliveries were made to families running low on essentials ahead of a snowstorm. With DoorDash’s support, we will continue investing in the financial independence and empowerment of people from around the world resettling in and contributing to their new communities across the U.S.”
Since DoorDash’s founding, our work to support immigrants and refugees has included our partnership with Kiva to increase access to capital for immigrant-owned businesses, our Accelerator for Local Restaurants to provide restaurants, many of whom are owned by immigrant entrepreneurs, with grants and business education courses, and joining with other businesses to advocate for policies that support immigrants and refugees.
Some of our efforts over the last year have supported Afghan refugees and Ukrainian newcomers. During the onset of this year’s events in Ukraine, DoorDash joined a White House-led effort, Uniting for Ukraine, to support the arrival of 100,000 Ukrainians in the United States. We provided a $250,000 donation of Community Credits gift cards to Welcome.US and the coalition of organizations managing resettlement efforts for Ukrainian and other newcomer communities in addition to donating $1 million to the German Red Cross at the start of the crisis.
“In 2022, with DoorDash’s help, IRC staff have been able to ensure clients’ access to food and essential items, even in bad weather conditions. When Texas experiences freezing temperatures and icy weather, many roads, schools, and stores close. These closures disproportionately affect immigrant and refugee clients of the IRC and other low-income populations. Our team is now more equipped to support the needs of our clients in these crises.” – The IRC in Dallas
We’re proud to partner with the IRC to support immigrant and refugee communities to help people earn, grow financially, and meet their immediate needs while getting closer to accomplishing their long-term goals.
