As CEO of Tieks, the wildly successful ballet flat company that launched in 2010, Kfir Gavrieli has his hands full with the small and big picture operations involved with running a major fashion brand. In addition to Tieks, Kfir established the Gavrieli Foundation as a means for giving back to worthy causes.
As a busy entrepreneur, it would be easy for Kfir to simply approve a few donations each month, reserving his main focus for the building of his brand. Yet, as Gavrieli has said, “Supporting women and underserved communities is at the core of Tieks’ ethos.” So, rather than just approving charitable donations, Kfir Gavrieli has devoted himself to effecting social change on a global scale. And, in the process, he’s paving the way for other entrepreneurs to follow his lead.
Kfir Gavrieli’s MicroLoan Revolution
While the Gavrieli Foundation believes in traditional forms of charity—it has held auctions to support refugee relief in Ukraine and handed out gift cards to front-line workers in recognition of their service during the COVID-19 pandemic—the core of Gavrieli’s efforts address the social responsibility he has assumed to lift up all women, not just the ones who can afford his Italian-leather ballet flats.
To that end, he directs significant funds to Kiva, a micro lending company that allows the Gavrieli Foundation to support women entrepreneurs, who Kiva believes to be key in the broader fight against global poverty.
Why follow this route? The mission is clear, according to the Foundation.
Rather than providing material goods or cash, micro loans provided by the Gavrieli Foundation – through Kiva – empower women to start and grow their businesses. These businesses become reliable sources of income and create independence and opportunity for these women, their families, and their communities. This approach is believed to be the most comprehensive, sustainable, and scalable solution to global poverty.
Already, those micro loans are having a major impact. To date, the Gavrieli Foundation is Kiva’s single largest lender, having contributed more than $10,000,000 to more than 55,000 female entrepreneurs in more than 70 countries. And, while the bulk of those donations were once focused on women living in underserved communities on other continents, Kfir Gavrieli has more recently begun to address the need for change here in the United States.
Creating New Pathways to Change
Seeing the impact of his entrepreneurial approach to charitable giving, Kfir Gavrieli has expanded the reach of his Foundation. He revealed that, “Tieks recently invested in a number of grassroots grant initiatives across the US that empower women and girls in various fields from coding to dance to business.” Those efforts are already making a difference in the lives of girls and women. “I’m extremely proud that we’ve been able to help support young girls attending summer intensive ballet camps, provide literacy grants for business curriculum and leadership coaching workshops, and support the funding of equipment and supplies for a coding summer camp, all of which help women and girls of color,” shared Kfir Gavrieli.
Perhaps even more importantly, in leading by example, Gavrieli has inspired a wave of entrepreneurs to step up and assume their social responsibilities, if examples like Kendra Scott and her Kendra Gives Back program are any indication. But rather than accept accolades for launching a charitable revolution, Kfir Gavrieli simply views his efforts as doing what can and must be done. As he has so aptly expressed, “When all people are given the same opportunity, everyone wins, and Tieks is committed to supporting causes that promote these values.”