Aveda has announced its Aveda Cares — a multimillion-dollar relief program to help salons recover from COVID-19 closures. The Aveda Cares program will provide critical funds for small business salon owners — and much more.  

Salons and spas that carry Aveda products are independently owned — and includes more than 6,000 small businesses in the United States alone. Many are vastly affected by recent state-mandated closures.

April Anslinger, Aveda SVP and North America General Manager said, “We’ve watched small businesses take a major hit over the last several weeks, and that includes our thousands of independently owned salon partners across the United States which have closed their doors to protect their staff and their guests. Now, as a result of this, they face future financial uncertainty. They have done their part to protect their communities, and now we want to do our part to help them reopen as soon as they are able.”

Photos above via Instagram/aveda and Aveda.com

Aveda’s Mission Is To Raise $1.5 Million

Through the efforts of its Aveda Cares program, Aveda hopes to raise at least $1.5 million to enable the provision of grants through The Salon and Spa Relief Fund. Aveda is kicking things off with a $600,000 donation.  

The fund will allow salons to apply for grants in denominations of $2,500 and $5,000 to help restart their businesses.

Aveda Cares Initiatives

The Aveda Cares program will help Aveda salons recover with these 6 initiatives:

● A $1.5M+ fundraising effort that begins today in celebration of Hairstylist Appreciation Day, which falls on April 30th
● Providing monetary contributions via Aveda’s loyalty program (see ‘Consumers Can Join the Effort’ below)
● An increased online commission program (see ‘Salon Commissions’ below)
● Extended terms for applicable salons for outstanding balances
● 1000+ hours of free virtual education (see more about this below)
● A weekly virtual owners forum (see below)

Anslinger adds, “These salons and stylists are caring and creative people who have helped us all feel great about ourselves and our hair. Now it’s our turn to take care of them.”

Consumers Can Join The Effort

Consumers can help by making a donation directly to the Salon & Spa Relief Fund, or add a donation during check-out on Aveda’s website. 

Aveda Loyalty Members have the option to turn their Pure Privilege Points into dollars, which will be donated to the Salon & Spa Relief Fund.

Aveda Increases Salon Commissions

Aveda’s Salon A-Commerce program, which launched in 2018, allows salon owners to easily set up a webpage that seamlessly integrates e-commerce with their existing website.

As part of the Aveda Cares program, Aveda has increased salon commissions to 40% from April 1 through June 30th. Commissions have been increased for all incoming sales via salons’ or artists’ direct URLs. All Aveda Concept and Lifestyle locations are eligible for the A-Commerce program.

Free Virtual Education & Salon Owner Forums

Beginning March 30th, Aveda kicked off an 8-week, $2.6 million in value education program, available for free to Aveda stylists and salons. Lead stylists and experts in hair cutting and coloring, styling, skin care and makeup are teaching the virtual classes. 

Kevin Molin, Aveda’s VP of Global Education, says, “We want to help our network stay connected: we recognize that this time can be challenging, especially for Artists who are accustomed to working one-on-one with their clients every day. Since launching the program at the end of March, we have seen record attendance for our classes and many new relationships form virtually.”

Programming includes virtual classes led by the Global Artistic Team: Ian Michael Black (color), Bea Watson (styling), Janell Geason (makeup), Ricardo Dinis (cutting) and Helga Hefner (skincare) and the North America Artistic Team: Lupe Voss (color), Britt Dion (styling), Anne Skubis (makeup), Brad Van Dyke (skincare), and Tatum Neill (social media).

Weekly Salon Owner Forums virtual forums are helping everyone stay connected, and provide  advice on restarting businesses. 

Aveda has provided toolkits with recommendations on how salons can stay engaged with their clients via social media, tips on how to amplify Google My Business, and hosted discussions around how to re-onboard staff and whether to consider expanding their hours.

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