The Anthem Fund
The Anthem Awards organizers launched The Anthem Fund in 2022, to support emerging individuals and organizations actively working to advance the causes that are being recognized in the Anthem Awards. In our inaugural year, the fund partnered with AnitaB.org, a global organization for women and non-binary technologists. This year, we are excited to announce our partnership with Billion Oyster Project. Alongside the fund, The Anthem Awards has joined Pledge 1% to increase its impact on the community, and joining the movement to donate time or resources to a nonprofit or cause of its choice.
Billion Oyster Project is the 2024 Anthem Fund recipient to aid their mission in restoring oyster reefs: one of the most crucial components of global marine ecosystems. More than nurseries for hundreds of species, oyster reefs help filter pollutants that affect water quality and protect shorelines from storm damage. Yet, they are rapidly disappearing in New York Harbor. Through public education initiatives, BOP’s oyster reef restoration is maintaining the region’s biodiversity, and nurturing a new generation of climate activists and conservationists.
Pete Malinowski, Executive Director at Billion Oyster Project on receiving the fund: “Our team at Billion Oyster Project is determined to engage one million people in the effort to restore one billion oysters to New York Harbor. Being recognized by The Anthem Fund reinforces the important work we are doing to ignite New Yorker’s passion for our natural environment and revive oyster reefs — the “ecosystem engineers” of our local waterways.”
In line with The Webby Group’s mission to work at the intersection of tech, culture and accessibility, the fund will go towards the AnitaB.org mission to envision a future where the people who imagine and build technology mirror the people and societies for whom they build it. They work to connect, inspire, and advance women in computing, and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative.
“We are incredibly honored to be recognized by The Anthem Awards for our work in supporting and advancing women and non-binary technologists, especially at a time when people from marginalized groups need equitable access to resources more than ever and when organizations need the benefits of building a strong, diverse tech workforce,” said Brenda Darden Wilkerson, President & CEO of AnitaB.org. “We know that when women are employed, empowered and supported, communities are healthier and happier in every way, and this donation helps us move in that direction.”
