The MasterCard Foundation

Weber Shandwick works with The MasterCard Foundation to raise awareness of its mission to advance microfinance and youth learning to promote financial inclusion and prosperity in developing countries. We have been a partner to the $5 billion Foundation since it was established in 2006 through the generosity of MasterCard Worldwide at the time of its initial public offering. The Foundation operates independently of MasterCard Worldwide; programming decisions are determined by its Board of Directors with the President and CEO.

In the early years of our engagement, we helped inform the development of the organization’s positioning, including its mission and vision. We also collaborated on the creation of an executive visibility program through which the Foundation’s President and CEO became a contributor to Stanford Social Innovation Review’s Opinion Blog, The Daily Beast and The Huffington Post. She is also a frequent speaker at high-level gatherings, including the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting and World Economic Forum on Africa.

Our team is currently working with the Foundation to develop and implement long-term media and reputation strategies. Our media strategy has helped generate coverage of Foundation programs on BBC World Update and in Fast Company and Forbes, among other regional, national and international outlets. We recently supported the launch of the Foundation’s $500 million Scholars Program, which will educate and employ 15,000 talented yet financially disadvantaged youth who will lead change in Africa. We built the program microsite,www.mastercardfdnscholars.org, and created dynamic content ranging from video interviews with scholars and university leaders to an infographic about the education opportunity on the continent.

Joseph Munyabanza, a MasterCard Foundation Scholar from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explains how living in a refugee camp inspired him to pursue education and help others to do the same.