For the past 5 years, DOVE® Chocolate has been committed to empowering women in the cocoa-growing communities of Cote d’Ivoire, with funding and programs that invest in their livelihoods and boost their financial well-being. But in 2021, a new challenge emerged: making their purpose of female financial empowerment relevant to the U.S. millennial audience they were trying to reach.
To find our way in with the target, we started from a difficult and impactful truth: That small businesses often face difficult financial headwinds when it comes to growth and development - and for women-run businesses, the challenges are even steeper, as they receive significantly less funding and financial support than their male counterparts. Add in the fact that most women lack a sense of financial community, having historically been shut out of financial conversations.
And from all of this, DOVE InstaGrants was born. To support female entrepreneurs and back their efforts, the campaign invited women across the country to pitch their small business ideas to us in 30-second videos on Instagram, using #DOVEInstaGrants. The reward? We'd fund the top three female entrepreneurs with $10K grants to help more their business forward...or simply get it started.
To find our way in with the target, we started from a difficult and impactful truth: That small businesses often face difficult financial headwinds when it comes to growth and development - and for women-run businesses, the challenges are even steeper, as they receive significantly less funding and financial support than their male counterparts. Add in the fact that most women lack a sense of financial community, having historically been shut out of financial conversations.
And from all of this, DOVE InstaGrants was born. To support female entrepreneurs and back their efforts, the campaign invited women across the country to pitch their small business ideas to us in 30-second videos on Instagram, using #DOVEInstaGrants. The reward? We'd fund the top three female entrepreneurs with $10K grants to help more their business forward...or simply get it started.
Over the course of the campaign, we received inspired entries from over 260 female entrepreneurs, with businesses spanning sectors from farming and tech to wellness and education. It also netted 137.6M impressions and 1037 media placements, with targeted pitching to lifestyle, business, and trade media – as well as media who cover female-led companies, grant programs, and women’s empowerment programs. And most importantly, it gave 3 women the funding they needed to move their ideas – and their businesses – forward.
