Corporations Ramp Up Support for COVID-19 Response Efforts (May 1-15, 2020)

As COVID-19 spreads globally and in the United States, corporations and their foundations are stepping up with funding to meet the needs of individuals and vulnerable populations impacted by the virus. The  roundup below captures some of the corporate activity in response to COVID-19 over the last two weeks. (In many cases, larger gifts have been covered separately as part of PND’s daily news feed.) Items are sorted in alpha order by company name.

For more coverage, check out PND’s COVID-19 page and Candid’s COVID-19 popup page.

The Akamai Foundation, a charitable fund endowed by Cambridge-based Akamai Technologies, has announced a $1.1 million commitment in support of global COVID-19 relief efforts. The commitment includes grants totaling nearly $500,000 to twenty-nine organizations providing medical care, support for health clinics, food assistance, and emergency child care in sixteen countries where Akamai employees live and work.

Amazon has announced a commitment of $3.9 million over three years through its Amazon Future Engineer program to CodeVA in support of that organization’s efforts to provide computer science education and training to high-needs school in Virginia. Since the COVID-19 public health emergency began, the nonprofit has conducted live online code-along events, including free bi-weekly AP computer science exam prep sessions, and has developed unplugged computer science education resources for students lacking good Internet connectivity.

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation has announced grants totaling $260,000 to address food insecurity in Ohio communities. Grants include $135,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, $100,000 to Feeding America, $50,000 to the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, and $25,000 to the Children’s Hunger Alliance. The foundation also announced commitments totaling more than $1.9 million to nonprofits serving communities and families elsewhere hit hard by COVID-19. Recipients include United Way‘s Statewide Coronavirus Recovery Program ($25,000), Virginia’s Feeding America food banks ($125,000), the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education ($100,000), Boys & Girls Clubs of America ($135,000), and Senior Services of Southeast Virginia ($37,000).

The Avista Foundation in Spokane, Washington, has announced a second round of grants in support of COVID-19 relief efforts, including $129,000 to local United Way agencies and $100,000 to forty-five food pantries across the utility company’s service area.

The Avon Foundation for Women has announced emergency grants totaling $1 million to help address the surge in domestic violence resulting from COVID-related shelter-in-place restrictions around the globe. Grants were awarded to fifty organizations in thirty-seven countries providing support for at-risk women and children, including Women’s Aid (United Kingdom), the National Shelter Network (Mexico), and the Family Planning Association (India).

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $825,000 to forty community-based organizations providing healthcare, childcare, and other services for essential workers; emergency food shelf and delivery services for vulnerable populations; assistance for people facing economic insecurity, homelessness, or housing insecurity; and anti-xenophobia and anti-bias efforts related to COVID-19.

The Booz Allen Foundation has announced the launch of a $1 million Innovation Fund to support the development of creative solutions to the wide-ranging impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The fund will award grants of up to $100,000 to help nonprofits, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, innovators at colleges and universities, and startups and small businesses harness the power of data, technology, and intellectual capital to improve COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.

Cambia Health Foundation in Portland, Oregon, has announced a $3 million commitment in support of efforts to meet the needs of underserved communities and frontline providers while strengthening healthcare infrastructure in the region. The funding includes grants totaling $1 million to four community health associations — Oregon Primary Care Association, Washington Association for Community Health, Association for Utah Community Health, and Idaho Primary Care Association — that support the work of Federally Qualified Health Centers. Grants also were awarded to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and other organizations to provide tools, information, and training for faster COVID-19 symptom assessment and management, strengthen compassionate patient and family communications, and speed the adoption of telehealth services.

The Catalyst Housing Group has announced the launch of the Essential Housing Fund, which will focus its initial efforts on reducing rental housing costs for teachers in Marin County, California, where the local school district faces significant state budget cuts as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Seeded with a donation of $100,000 from Catalyst, the fund will help qualified teacher households secure discounted rents in a rental community Catalyst recently acquired in partnership with the California Community Housing Agency.

The First Responders Children’s Foundation in New York City has announced a $1 million commitment from Cisco Systems in support of first responders working to address COVID-19 outbreaks across the United States. The gift will provide financial assistance to emergency medical technicians, firefighters, paramedics, police officers, dispatchers, and medical personnel treating COVID-19 patients, as well as college scholarships for the children of those who have died working on the front lines of the pandemic.

In the wake of COVID-related school closures, the Duke Energy Foundation has announced grants totaling $382,000 in support of K-12 education groups in Indiana focused on summer reading, STEM, and experiential learning programs.

Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation has announced a $200,000 partnership with First Descents to launch an outdoor adventure program designed to help nurses and other healthcare professionals cope with traumatic stress stemming from their work on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. First Descents, which provides adventure-based healing experiences for young adults impacted by cancer and other serious health conditions, will create wellness programs aimed at nurturing supportive peer relationships for a thousand healthcare workers in cities hard hit by COVID-19, including Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and New York City.

Emergen-C, a health-beverage company, has announced a $500,000 grant to Americares in support of the organization’s efforts to deliver much-needed protective supplies — masks, gowns, gloves, and disinfectants — and provide skill-building workshops and emotional support for frontline health workers.

Entergy Corporation has announced contributions totaling $1.3 million from shareholders to its COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund in support of United Way and other nonprofits working to assist customers and communities in Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, and Texas impacted by the virus. Grants awarded to date include $100,000 from Entergy Louisiana to help create the Fueling the Fight fund with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation; a donation of more than $385,000 from Entergy Mississippi to create the Mississippi Relief Fund, with funds to be shared by fifteen area nonprofits; and a $300,000 contribution from Entergy Texas to the Southeast Texas Relief Fund in support of nine nonprofits serving twenty-two counties.

Georgia Pacific‘s Angel Soft brand has pledged up to $2 million to the #GiveTogetherNow initiative, a rapid-response fund launched to provide direct cash assistance to families impacted by COVID-19. In addition to contributing $1 million to the fund, the brand will match up to $1 million in additional donations.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has announced a $500,000 donation and an additional $500,000 dollar-for-dollar match from Gilead Sciences for all new donations to its Emergency Grants for Pandemic Relief initiative. The initiative also received $300,000 from the MAC Viva Glam Fund, $250,000 from ViiV Healthcare, and $100,000 from the P. Austin Family Foundation. The funds will enable Broadway Cares to provide grants to HIV/AIDS and service organizations across the country whose resources have been stretched by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Hancock Whitney in Gulfport, Mississippi, has announced commitments totaling $2.5 million in support of vulnerable Gulf Coast communities impacted by COVID-19. Investments include $1 million for the restocking of local food pantries; $600,000 for the purchase of protective supplies for residents in low- to moderate-income communities as well as first responders; $800,000 in support of housing relief, including legal services for those fighting illegal eviction; and $100,000 for the Hancock Whitney Associate Assistance Fund.

Intercontinental Exchange has announced grants totaling $10 million in support of frontline responders in the thirty-five cities where it has offices. Grants were awarded to forty-one nonprofits, including Atlanta Partners for Education, Atlanta Community Food Bank, Boston Foundation, Greater Chicagoland Food Depository, National Emergencies Trust (United Kingdom), New York Community Trust, New York City Police Foundation, and Telangana CM Relief (India).

Intouch Group, a pharmaceuticals marketing solutions agency based in Overland Park, Kansas, has announced a donation of more than $100,000 to Heart to Heart International, an NGO focused on improving access to healthcare services. The funding will support the organization’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, enable it to provide infection prevention and control (IPC) training to nonprofits, and match Intouch employee donations toward the distribution of HHI hygiene kits, which include items such as gloves, cloth face coverings, and hand-sanitizing wipes.

Mary Kay has announced cash and product donations worth nearly $10 million in support of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its impacts on vulnerable populations. Efforts to assist frontline responders and others include the manufacture and donation of hand sanitizer to hospitals and healthcare systems, CARE, and other organizations; grants awarded through the Mary Kay Foundation to domestic violence shelters; and donations in support of efforts to secure COVID-19 tests, ventilators, and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Mastercard and the PepsiCo Foundation have announced the launch of Westchester Strong with Healthcare Heroes, a two-year, $1 million fund in support of White Plains Hospital staff working on the front lines of the public health emergency. Initially, the program will focus on funding the purchase of critical supplies such as personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as the hospital’s efforts to meet government requirements to increase its capacity, before shifting to supporting the well-being of frontline staff.

Northern Trust has announced that it is providing $100 million in low-cost funding to assist community development financial institutions working to provide loans to small businesses and nonprofit organizations under the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The funding includes $50 million to the Self-Help Fund, $25 million to the National Development Council‘s CDFI Subsidiary Grow America Fund, and $10 million to immito, the SBA subsidiary of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Northwestern Mutual has announced a gift of more than $200,000 through the Northwestern Mutual Foundation to Children’s Wisconsin to help provide PPE as well as food relief and support. The donation includes $100,000 for replacement lenses for Controlled Air Purifying Respirators used by medical teams and more than $6,000 in meal gift cards for healthcare workers and inpatient families at the Children’s Wisconsin MACC Fund Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Northwestern Mutual also is partnering with the Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Florentine Opera, and First Stage, which have tasked their costume-making departments to sew masks, gowns, and face shields for hospital staff.

The Sozosei Foundation, a U.S.-based private foundation established by Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, has announced grants totaling $438,000 to four nonprofits providing support services to patients, healthcare workers, and families impacted by COVID-19. Recipients include the American Kidney Fund‘s Coronavirus Emergency Fund, which received $150,000 to provide financial assistance to low-income dialysis and post-transplant patients who are struggling to pay for essentials; the National Alliance on Mental Illness; Mental Health America; and Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and its foundation have announced contributions totaling $150,000 to nonprofits in northern and central California working to address food insecurity among vulnerable senior citizens during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Part of a $1 million commitment announced in March, the grants will support fifteen organizations, including Meals on Wheels.

The PepsiCo Foundation has announced a $50,000 contribution in support of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina‘s 2020 Stop Summer Hunger Program. According to the foundation, the public health emergency has negatively affected access to food and other essentials in communities across the country, including twenty-two million students who received low-cost or free meals via the National School Lunch program before schools were closed. PepsiCo and its foundation previously announced commitments of more than $50 million to help provide meals for vulnerable populations impacted by COVID-19, PPE for healthcare workers, and testing and screening services.

Regions Foundation, an Alabama-based nonprofit initiative of Regions Bank, has announced grants totaling $260,000 as part of the bank and foundation’s $5 million commitment to COVID-19 relief efforts. Ten nonprofits assisting small businesses impacted by the coronavirus, including Business and Community Lenders of Texas, Neighborhood Concepts, Inc. – North Alabama Revolving Loan Fund, and the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, will receive grants.

The St. Louis-based Reinsurance Group of America has announced that the Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, the SSM Health Foundation – St. Louis Urgent Response Fund, the American Red Cross, and the St. Louis Community Foundation‘s Gateway Resilience Fund and COVID-19 Regional Response Fund. The foundation also is matching employee donations to nonprofits helping those directly impacted by the pandemic.

Ross Stores and the Ross Stores Foundation have announced a joint commitment of $1.5 million in support of local and national nonprofits providing essential COVID-19 relief services, including educational resources for students, support services for families of first responders, and PPE for healthcare workers. Grant recipients include the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, First Book, and food banks in New York City and California.

SunCoast Credit Union in Tampa has announced a $1 million commitment — the largest in its eighty-six-year history — in support of relief efforts in the communities where it operates. To be awarded through the SunCoast Credit Union Foundation, the grants will support local nonprofits working in the areas of health care, food insecurity, and education.

Based in Toronto and Cherry Hill, New Jersey, TD Bank Group has announced an initial commitment of $25 million to the TD Community Resilience Initiative. The commitment includes a pledge of $13 million to help meet the immediate, short-term needs of current TD grantees; community initiatives designed to support individuals’ financial security, including income stability and affordable housing; and $2 million in support of frontline healthcare workers and community health centers in Canada. Another $2 million will fund a matching- employee-donation program for COVID-19 relief efforts, while $10 million awarded through the bank’s annual grantmaking program will support innovative recovery efforts.

United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has announced a $5 million contribution from the Texas Instruments Foundation in support of COVID-19 relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts in North Texas. The gift brings to over $11.6 million the total United Way Metropolitan Dallas has raised to address immediate and long-term needs in the areas of education, income security, and health outcomes — $2.9 million of which was awarded to more than two hundred community-based organizations.

Small business software maker Thryv has announced a third round of grants through its foundation‘s Small Business COVID-19 Grant Program. Grants of between $2,500 and $15,000 were awarded to small businesses struggling to survive in the face of the public health emergency, including Girl Contracting (Philadelphia), Kathy Mays Lakeview Café (Huntington Beach, California), and Taylor’s Tacos (Chicago).

The farmer-owners of Tillamook County Creamery Association in Oregon have announced a $4 million relief plan to help employees, communities, and industry partners respond to and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. As part of the effort, the company will significantly increase its direct-to-community product donations and grants in support of nonprofits and community organizations. Grant recipients include the Oregon Food Bank ($200,000), the Oregon Community Foundation ($100,000), Tillamook County Action Resource Enterprises, Inc. ($20,000), the Tillamook County Wellness program ($15,000), the Tillamook Early Learning Center ($10,000), and the Oregon State University Foundation ($5,000).

And the United Health Foundation has announced a $500,000 grant to University of Chicago Medicine in support of expanded COVID-19 testing in underserved communities. Part of the foundation’s $70 million commitment to address the impacts of COVID-19, the grant will be used by UChicago Medicine and South Side Healthcare Collaborative clinics and community hospitals to test up to a thousand residents a day on the South Side, one of the hardest-hit areas in the city, and provide personal protective equipment and contact tracing training for clinical staff.

Verizon has announced a $2.5 million grant to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to assist small business owners impacted by the coronavirus. In the third round of funding awarded through LISC’s Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund, two hundred and tw