Pinterest is shining a light on underrepresented, and marginalized Canadian creators

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“The Creator Inclusion Fund is an amazing opportunity to shine a light on underrepresented Canadian creators and the work they’re doing every day to inspire people. At Pinterest, we’re working to build a more inspiring online environment and that’s fueled by diversity. Creators have always been at the heart of Pinterest, so we’re thrilled to be providing more of the resources they need to succeed.” ~ Steven Kawalit, Strategic Partner Lead at Pinterest

I don’t know about any other readers out there, but Pinterest has got to be one of my favorite social media platforms.

Launched in March 2010, Pinterest has become the platform for users to: discover, save, and share visual content such as images and videos. People like to use Pinterest for a variety of reasons, including:

Inspiration: Pinterest is a great platform to find inspiration for home decor, fashion, food, travel, and many other topics. Users can search for specific topics or browse through curated boards to find ideas and inspiration.

Organization: Pinterest allows users to create and organize boards, which makes it easy to save and categorize content for future reference. This is especially useful for planning events, projects, or even creating wish lists.

Community: Pinterest also offers a sense of community as users can follow other users or boards and interact with them through comments and likes. This creates a social aspect to the platform, which can be fun and engaging.

Visual appeal: Pinterest’s focus on visual content makes it an appealing platform for users who enjoy beautiful images and videos. Users can create visually stunning boards and share them with others, which adds to the overall aesthetic of the platform.

I was excited to learn that Pinterest has created a program specifically to elevate individuals from underrepresented communities. The program was started in 2021, because Pinterest saw a need to uplift creators from communities that have been disproportionately underrepresented including: Black, Latiné, LGBTQIA+, Asian, Indigenous people and people with disabilities.

Since the program’s first launch in 2021, it has provided financial and educational support to several individuals. This year, the Creator Inclusion Fund will provide resources to BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and people with disabilities across North America throughout 2023 with three cohorts. The first cohort will be on sustainability where participants can create content on: upcycling, foraging, farming, thrifting, gardening, and more.

Since its inception, the program has provided support and a path to success to dozens of creators from the: US, UK, and Brazil across industries like: Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Food. Creators involved in the program received training and deep industry insights from experts in the field, personalized consulting and a financial grant in cash and ad credits.

Pinterest recently announced the expansion of its Creator Inclusion Fund to five new countries: Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France. The Fund is Pinterest’s incubator program to elevate creators from historically marginalized communities through financial and educational support.

“Our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love, and inspiration is fueled by diversity of experiences, perspectives, and communities. Expanding this program will unlock more opportunities for disproportionately underrepresented creators and content producers to gain financial support, exposure, resources and reach new audiences looking to be inspired by their passions on our platform,” said Zeny Shifferaw, Creator Inclusion Lead at Pinterest.

All right creators: it is your time to shine. Creators from Canada can apply using this form starting April 4^th, 2023 through April 13^th, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.