The Diamond Empowerment Fund has approved $240,000 in grants to African charities.

The funds were made possible by DEF’s Diamonds in the Sky event, which was held in Las Vegas in May. 

The beneficiaries are: the African Leadership Academy, a university prep school in Johannesburg; the Botswana Top Achievers Program, a program to send top high school students to college; the CIDA City Campus, South Africa’s only nonprofit university with a four-year business degree; and the Flaviana Matata Foundation, which provides education opportunities to youth in Tanzania.

The Flaviana Matata Foundation is a new beneficiary for the organization; the others have been supported by the DEF in the past. 

“We are thrilled to be supporting these four amazing programs,” said Phyllis Bergman, president of the DEF board of directors. “Each of these organizations has a mission of empowerment through education, which reflects the core of DEF’s mission. We are thankful for the support of our partners and look forward to continuing to spread the message that through the industry’s efforts, Diamonds Do Good.”

JCK