The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation, formerly known as the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, provides support for the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) in South Africa.

The organization is registered as a Section 21 company in South Africa and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the U.S.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation (OWLAF) was created in 2002 to open and operate the OWLAG in South Africa. As of 2015, the OWLAF’s annual revenues exceeded $10 million.

The academy is a free, residential school for academically talented girls in grades 8 through 12. The girls come from disadvantaged families and without the academy, they would not have a chance at an education.

Oprah says, “The school will teach girls to be the best human beings they can ever be; it will train them to become decision-makers and leaders; it will be a model school for the rest of the world.”

The class of 2017 achieved a 100 percent pass rate and 100 percent bachelor degree pass rate.

Oprah herself gives annually to OWLAF and gifted nearly $150 million as of 2017. Individual donors and corporate sponsors make up a smaller portion of the foundation’s annual income.

In 2006, HP promised to give half a million dollars worth of equipment and technical support to the foundation over the course of three years to be used at OWLAG.

Starbucks partnered with the foundation in 2015 by selling a special tea blend and donating a portion of each sale to OWLAF.

Girls who attend OWLAG don’t stop getting support from OWLAF once they finish high school. Started in 2015, OWLAG Corporate Day brings businesses to campus to provide job resources to graduates.

These businesses offer internships, summer jobs, and full-time employment to girls as they exit OWLAG. The foundation is currently recruiting more businesses for future Corporate Day events.

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