Bumble’s Pride Campaign is Committed to BLM
Bumble, the popular dating app that provides women the power of initiation, has announced that they will be making significant donations to LGBTQ+ organizations that are centered around supporting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The move to double down company efforts is a response to recent protests by the Black Lives Matter Movement, synchronous with Pride month. Bumble will be taking nominations for supportable organizations until June 30. An online registration form can be found on the app, which is free for all users.
So far, a million dollars has been dispersed to organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center, Black Women’s Health Imperative, community bail funds, and the Austin Justice Coalition. Anyone with a Bumble account has the opportunity to request a donation for an organization they are affiliated with, nominate a group within their community, or choose from a list of organizations the platform is currently supporting. Each organization that is vetted and subsequently accepted will receive up to $5,000 dollars.
“As a mission-driven company, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our platform is not merely safe and inclusive, but actively anti-racist,” said Clare O’Connor, Bumble’s head of editorial Content. “Since day one, we’ve had a zero-tolerance policy towards hate speech, racism, bigotry, misogyny, and abusive behavior of any kind on our app. It’s important for us to honor the legacy of the BIPOC folks who started the fight for equal LGBTQ+ rights.”
Related Article: Why the Queer Community Needs to Stand With Black Lives Matter
Nationwide, consumers are taking a stance against systemic racism in the U.S. by refusing to spend money at businesses who exploit the prison system for cheap labor, which many see as a modern form of slavery. To combat these unethical and profit driven practices, companies like Bumble are taking direct action to show solidarity with Black Americans in the fight to dismantle white supremacy.
Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014 with the intention of challenging the antiquated rules of dating by creating a platform where women have a paralleled sense of equality. Furthermore, the company has set itself apart from “hook-up” apps such as Tinder by creating three separate modes of communication. In 2016, Bumble BFF’s was launched and designated towards developing lasting friendships. A year later, in 2017, Bumble Bizz was introduced as a networking platform for small businesses and career expansion. Bumble’s Pride month campaign is available to all three modes, serving over 43 million users worldwide with nearly 100 million downloads.
“Pride and racial justice aren’t mutually exclusive,” says Kyra Seay, Bumble’s special projects manager. “As ongoing supporters of Pride month, we have to acknowledge the BIPOC who founded this movement and those who continue to fight for their rights today. Trans people of color have been on the frontlines of fighting for fundamental human rights for decades—such as leading the Stonewall Riots, which are widely credited with starting the gay liberation movement. Today, it’s more important than ever to honor that history and work to support LGBTQ BIPOC.”
Edit: OFM updated Bumble’s user statistics to better reflect the accuracy of information.
