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New York, NY–Despite the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on fundraising, Diamonds Do Good (DDG) announces it is still set to grant $150,000 to diamond industry beneficiaries most in need of immediate assistance to sustain their programs. 

Putting action behind the rallying cry that ‘Diamonds Do Good’, this year's grant recipients include programs in the diamond mining communities of Tanzania, Botswana, and the Northwest Territories of Canada. Additionally, in recognition of the devastating toll the COVID-19 pandemic has had on frontline healthcare workers in the United States, for the first time, $30,000 of DDG’s total grant dollars will be given outside the industry to the Brave of Heart Fund, which aids the families of healthcare workers who lost their lives to COVID-19.

“Although the Brave of Heart Fund is outside DDG’s normal purview of beneficiaries, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted everyone around the world this year. It is only right that we do what we can to help in these unprecedented times,” said Anna Martin, DDG president.

Industry-related grants will support girls’ education, entrepreneurship, youth empowerment and higher education opportunites. In Africa, grants are being given in Tanzania to support girls' education via the Flaviana Matata Foundation; in Botswana to empower youth afflicted with HIV through the ‘Let Youth Lead’ program of Sentebale; and for scholarships to youth from indigenous communities in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Diamonds Do Good scholarships will be again be given to youth seeking special technical training for diamond industry jobs, as well as entrepreneurship and environmental studies programs administered through the Mine Training Society.

These programs will not only promote meaningful change in these communities, but offer more examples of the many ways that Diamonds Do Good. Jewelers who tell these stories at the counter help customers to feel good in every way about their natural diamond purchases.