Serena Williams and Bumble, a dating website and app where women always make the first move, are continuing their growing partnership, which began at Super Bowl 53 in 2019.
Williams and Bumble are teaming up now to promote their new campaign, Women of Courage. They will be selecting five women who have shown exceptional courage in some way, shape, or form this year.
Williams announced via her Instagram page that women can nominate themselves or other women through the Bumble app. The five women selected will be profiled in a virtual photoshoot, which will be featured in Vogue Magazine.
Before Bumble's Superbowl 53 ad in 2019, its founder, Whitney Wolfe Herd, started a grassroots campaign for the app - before it even launched. She took a handful of pink tennis balls, headed to a nearby tennis court, snapped some photos, and posted them on Instagram with the caption, "The Ball is in her court on Bumble."
Since then, the Williams-Bumble partnership has blossomed into various initiatives that empower women. Williams is also an investor in Bumble, and is specifically targeting investing in initiatives for women of color.
Bumble started as just a dating app in 2014, described by Herd as a feminist dating app, but has since evolved into a tool for empowering women through other initiatives and apps, like Bumble Bizz, Bumble BFF, and the Bumble Fund.
Williams has a fund of her own, called Serena Ventures. Serena Ventures and the Bumble Fund share a lot of overlapping goals, which is why their partnership was a no-brainer. The Women of Courage profile and initiative are part of their shared goals in promoting the empowerment of women in entrepreneurship and business.