Gucci launches community fund and scholarship program

Gucci is announcing a new global program called Gucci Changemakers as part of the fashion company's continuing effort to foster diversity and inclusion through community action.

The multiyear program includes a $5 million fund with a particular focus on building strong connections and opportunities within communities of color. It's enlisting a council made of community leaders who will select nonprofit partner organizations in key cities. There will also be a $1.5 million four-year scholarship program in North America that aims to bring a more diverse pool of students to enter the fashion industry. It's also launching a company-wide volunteering program that covers such issues as homelessness.

The initiative follows Gucci's announcement last month of a long-term diversity and inclusion plan following an uproar over an $890 sweater that resembled blackface.