Visa, a trusted network and world leader in digital payments, made more than $31 billion in revenue last year. As such, it’s in a good position to share some of its enormous wealth. The Visa Foundation invests in underfunded communities around the world, particularly in minority- and women-owned businesses. Graham Macmillan has been in charge of that effort for the past four years. Since then, the foundation has housed the homeless in San Francisco, fed the hungry in Ontario, and provided COVID-19 relief all around the world. Macmillan, who has extensive experience in both the corporate and nonprofit financial spheres, believes that the Visa Foundation’s work to empower women is particularly important. To that end, he takes a special interest in helping the “unbanked”: people—often female—who don’t have access to mainstream financial institutions.
In March, the American Red Cross recognized the Visa Foundation as its Philanthropic Company of the Year. Macmillan is especially proud of Visa’s 33-year partnership with the humanitarian organization, citing the American Red Cross’s commitment to helping victims of natural disasters. “What I would ask others to consider is ‘what’s the contribution you want to make to community and society through your role?’” he asked Worth readers. “It starts with doing just one thing in service to someone else.”
