Uplifting Women through our Community Partnerships

As we continue to celebrate women this month, BMO is committed to driving progress and promoting an inclusive society for every woman.  Through our partnerships, we strive to remove barriers to access for girls and women across the United States through mentorship and helping to promote economic and housing equity.   

Girls Mentorship 

We’ve partnered with Iowa-based Chrysalis Foundation, Girls Leadership and Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative in California to encourage girls to be the best they can be.

Chrysalis Foundation invests in the safety, security, education, and economic empowerment of girls and women. Our support helps to advance the organization’s middle and high school programming for girls including mentorship, financial literacy education and post-secondary preparation.

Girls Leadership teaches girls to exercise the power of their voice through programs grounded in social emotional learning. We support Girls Leadership’s work at Latitude High School in Oakland as it facilitates a leadership program aimed to help girls identify their current challenges and create solutions. 

We also support Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, helping them to mobilize women in the sports community to empower girls and children with disabilities. Since 2005, the organization has served 24,000 children, with 9,000 women athletes volunteering to benefit 63 elementary schools in the Bay Area.

Economic Equity for Women 

Our commitment to addressing issues that women face is highlighted through our work and partnership with Apna Ghar, California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute (CBWCEI), Deborah’s Place, the Downtown Women’s Center, Grameen America Inc (GAI) and Homegirl Café.  

CBWCEI’s works to uplift the voices and issues of Black women in California through programs and initiatives that undo systemic social, economic, and physical barriers. Recently, we participated in their Conversation for Black Women Tour, aimed to connect Black Women with resources needed to build an economic action plan. 

To help create a better life for women and their families, we partner with Grameen America Inc. GAI removes economic barriers to business by providing affordable, no-fee microloans with no collateral or credit score qualifications. The organization also has programs and services that increase access to healthcare and resources for low-income women of color.

Additionally, in 2023 we committed $1 million to Homeboy Industries to support its social enterprise programs and the regional expansion of its workforce development and training hub.  As one of Homeboy Industries’ social enterprises, Homegirl Café provides training and support to formerly gang-involved women to gain employment. The organization’s goal is to provide a safe space for women who have experienced domestic violence and the challenges of single parenthood.  

Aligned with Homegirl Café, our partnership with Apna Ghar helps to offer services for immigrant women and children domestic violence survivors, including emergency shelter, emergency hotline, counseling, legal advocacy, supervised visitation and education and outreach. Since 1990, the organization has reached more than 100,000 survivors and community members across Chicago to end gender violence. 

Housing Equity for Women 

To address housing insecurities, Deborah’s Place opens doors of opportunity for women in Chicago by proving supportive housing and services to promote healing, goal achievement and recovery from the experience of homelessness. In 2022, the organization helped over 600 women, 68% of whom had been chronically homeless. Because of Deborah’s Place, 94% of the women reached were able to maintain stable housing.

With a mission to provide permanent housing and wraparound services for women with histories of chronic homelessness in Los Angeles County, we support Downtown Women’s Center’s Permanent Supportive Housing program. Last summer, we filled and delivered 2,400 hygiene kits to support the vision of a Los Angeles with every woman housed and on a path to personal stability. 

BMO is committed to driving progress to remove barriers that women face. These partnerships reinforce our Purpose to Boldly Grow the Good and is a part of Empower 2.0, our more than $40 billion Community Benefits Plan supporting organizations across the United States.