Leading Women's Empowerment Brand Black Girls Rock!® Joins Forces With Microsoft For A Multi-year Partnership

REDMOND, WA and NEW YORK, April 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Tech leader Microsoft and Beverly Bond, founder and CEO of the award-winning women's empowerment, lifestyle, and philanthropic brand BLACK GIRLS ROCK!^®,  announce a strategic partnership to build technology infrastructure and empower more Black girls to become leaders through access to culturally relevant programs, leadership development, and STEM skills. The goal of this alliance is to strengthen the transformative work of BLACK GIRLS ROCK!^® with the technology and scale of the Microsoft's ecosystem.

"It's remarkable to be championed by a towering institution like Microsoft to propel the work we've been doing at BLACK GIRLS ROCK!^® to educate, empower and inspire the next generation," said Beverly Bond. "This partnership gives BLACK GIRLS ROCK! the support necessary to expand our work to help more girls find their voices, define their truths, and forge the futures they envision."

BLACK GIRLS ROCK!^® has been dedicated to inspiring, elevating and celebrating Black women and girls since 2006 through content, advocacy and events which elevate women's voices and engage Black girls in critical conversations. The organization is committed to mentoring, enriching, and educating the next generation of young women leaders by giving girls the tools needed to develop leadership skills, refine critical thinking, and increase civic engagement. This new collaboration with Microsoft will enable the brand to scale and launch new programs designed to affirm Black girls and cultivate their leadership potential.

"Microsoft shares BLACK GIRLS ROCK's commitment to empowering women and girls. We also recognize the challenges facing women, especially Black women, are complex – no one organization can solve them all. That's why we're excited to partner with Beverly and BLACK GIRLS ROCK! to bring together our efforts to educate and inspire the next generation of innovators," said Marcie Nymark, Director of Strategic Partnerships for Microsoft.

Microsoft continues to facilitate innovation and technology solutions with nonprofits and social entrepreneurs around the world, enabling them to drive greater impact for the causes and communities they serve. The company will bring a variety of resources, programs, and tech solutions to support three key initiatives:

BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Book Club – LAUNCHING IN APRIL

The partnership will officially kick-off later this month with the launch of the BGR! Book Club a new initiative designed to promote community, empowerment, literacy and leadership. Each month the book club will select an inspirational thought-provoking text to read and discuss. The author will join us for a live virtual interview conducted by a BLACK GIRLS ROCK!® alumna and powered by Microsoft Teams. Microsoft Store will host each book club event which will be followed by an interactive virtual workshop designed for students and inspired by the book's core themes and motifs.

BLACK GIRLS ROCK 15-year Anniversary Fundraising Gala - JUNE

The BLACK GIRLS ROCK fundraising gala will be a core component of the 2021 BGRFEST! featuring a number of musical performances including The Queen of Funk - Chaka Khan. Microsoft will be the presenting sponsor of the event and will be extending the fundraisers' efforts through its Give with Bing program. BLACK GIRLS ROCK! will be featured through Give with Bing allowing fans and supporters to give to the nonprofit simply by searching.

BLACK GIRLS LEAD Leadership Conference - JULY

The BLACK GIRLS LEAD conference brings together teen girls to participate in workshops, panel discussions, and lectures led by world-class educators, artists, business moguls, scientists, entertainers and other influencers. Historically a weeklong, in-person event, demand for the BLACK GIRLS LEAD conference has always surpassed capacity. Powered by Microsoft Teams, the conference can scale exponentially, serving more girls and creating a connected community of youth leaders.

The partnership will officially kick-off with the launch of the first BLACK GIRLS ROCK!^® Book Club and workshop April 14, at 12pm EST/9am PST featuring Bond's book BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Owning Our Magic. Rocking Our Truth! and facilitated by BLACK GIRLS ROCK alumna Kathie Duperval. The virtual event is free and open to the public. Register via Microsoft Store events.

For more information https://www.microsoft.com/inculture/black-girls-rock?ocid=AID3031648_QSG_524438

For Press Kit

For press requests please contact:

BLACK GIRLS ROCK — pr@blackgirlsrockinc.com

Microsoft/Listen: Sarah Bronilla — sarahbronilla@wearelisten.com

About BLACK GIRLS ROCK^®

BLACK GIRLS ROCK!™ is a leading women's empowerment organization created to counter the misrepresentation, marginalization and objectification of Black women in the media and to help lift systemic barriers to success for women and girls of color. The annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK® Awards is the biggest celebration of  the nexus of achievements of exemplary women of color who break boundaries, blaze trails, and set trends across sectors. Black Girls Rock Inc., the 501(c)(3) nonprofit entity of the brand, is devoted to the healthy positive identity development of young women and girls by providing programs that support critical thinking, leadership development, sisterhood, innovation, civic engagement and career exposure.  For additional information on "BLACK GIRLS ROCK®, visit http://www.blackgirlsrock.com/.

ABOUT MICROSOFT

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

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SOURCE Microsoft