Apple and Apple Employees Donated $100 Million to Various Charitable Causes in 2019

[MacRumors]

In a news story about an Apple employee who has started a barbershop for at-risk youth, Apple today said that between its own donations and employee donations, it donated more than $100 million to charitable causes in 2019.

Apple says that 21,000 Apple employees donated their time and donated $42 million to causes they care about. Combined with Apple's 1-for-1 donation match and $25 match per volunteer hour, the total amount donated climbed to over $100 million.

Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson said the company has a mission to "change the world for the better, and give back to the communities in which we live and work."

"Apple employees like Jaz embody this culture of giving every day, volunteering over a quarter of a million hours last year. We share a deep commitment to our local communities and doing what we can to cause more good."

Much of Apple's story focuses on Jaz Limos, an Apple Park Visitor Center manager in Cupertino who launched Saints of Steel, a nonprofit pop-up barber shop for at-risk youth and people looking for employment and housing.

Saints of Steel was largely funded by Apple. 80 percent of the donations for the first year came from Benevity, a corporate giving program used by Apple, and 74 percent of that donation was made by Apple.

In its first year, the organization was almost fully funded by volunteers and donations from Apple. "Our board, when we first started, was primarily made up of Apple employees who just jumped in and rolled up their sleeves," Limos says. "We saw the power of Benevity and the company match program, because it funded the majority of our ability to run this program."

More info on Saints of Steel and Apple's donations can be found in the full Apple Newsroom article on the topic.

Article Link: Apple and Apple Employees Donated $100 Million to Various Charitable Causes in 2019

 

[Baymowe335]

Good job Apple.

Anyone saying "it's not enough" just doesn't get it.

 

[Solomani]

And far more than Amazon's Bezos donation of $690,000 to the devastating Australian wildfires fund....

Jeff Bezos net worth is around $117 billion.

 

[timidpimpin]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

 

[Bin Cook]

$2,000 per employee?

 

[CalMin]

And far more than Amazon's Bezos donation of $690,000 to the devastating Australian wildfires fund....

Jeff Bezos net worth is around $117 billion.

And how much have you donated?

 

[iapplelove]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

 

[Smearbrick]

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

Yep... definitely not news.

 

[I7guy]

And how much have you donated?

We donate thousands to heart disease and cancer. My net worth however is not $117B.

however kudos to Apple.
[automerge]1579196785[/automerge]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

Kudos to Apple and their employees.

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

Well kind of. It’s nice to know that “big heartless” companies do have a heart.

 

[citysnaps]

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

Because it inspires some people, customers, etc to donate as well. I understand that probably does not include yourself.

Also, many people like to know about a company's philanthropy they do business with.

 

[ksnell]

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

Sadly, society is. If this information was NOT published, there would be a new story about how horrible Apple is for not donating.

The good news is this money will be used much more efficiently than if it were collected as tax.

 

[MistrSynistr]

I want macrumors users to get billions and see how much they donate from their altruistic heart once their cost of living/interests/hobbies change due to the money they now possess.

Will be wild.

When they give that mouse a cookie to ALL their family members and find them coming back for more because they blew it all in a few months. When "friends" come out of the woodwork for "favors". When you get robbed repeatedly because your name was on the news about the lotto win.

 

[Stevez67]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

There's nothing in the definition of "donation" that specifies it has to be anonymous.

 

[JosephAW]

And far more than Amazon's Bezos donation of $690,000 to the devastating Australian wildfires fund....

Jeff Bezos net worth is around $117 billion.

I wonder what percentage of net worth Mr. Cook donated last year?

 

[citysnaps]

Another day, another opportunity to craft an ulterior motive to crap on Apple.
[automerge]1579197196[/automerge]

I wonder what percentage of net worth Mr. Cook donated last year?

I would guess it's a decent amount of money.

 

[bbednarz]

BUT WHY NOT $200 MILLION!?!?

/s

 

[CarlJ]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

No. “Just marketing” would have been donating, say, $1000, and then running endless advertisements about “look! we donated!” I don’t see a trivial amount and I don’t see endless advertisements, I see a press release talking mostly about the causes that Apple employees took a hand in supporting. Mostly a “feel good” story, and yes, sure, it also casts the company in a favorable light. But apparently that’s abhorrent to you, so you feel righteous in looking down your nose at them for actually doing good things.

Now, if, say, Tim Cook were to set up a charitable foundation in his own name, and then use the donations to buy overpriced paintings of himself, I’m sure we could both agree that would be marketing (and narcissism) and not actually charitable.

Yep... definitely not news.

You are going out of your way to read a site dedicated to reporting every bit of information available about Apple, and you’re upset to find information about Apple here? You could just glance at the headline, realize it doesn’t interest you, and skip to the next article.

 

[toph2toast]

Sadly, society is. If this information was NOT published, there would be a new story about how horrible Apple is for not donating.

The good news is this money will be used much more efficiently than if it were collected as tax.

Agreed. This information would come out one way or another.

 

[mi7chy]

If they're going to use it for marketing purpose they're not even in the top 10.

https://www.philanthropy.com/interactives/philanthropy-50

 

[Bandaman]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

And how much have you donated?

 

[kol77]

Coming in to post this but you beat me too it.

Billion dollar companies, why do we need to know how much they donate?

Are we keeping score?

True... And "if we were keeping score" - as a Trillion dollar company, this to me would be embarrassing...

 

[Falhófnir]

And far more than Amazon's Bezos donation of $690,000 to the devastating Australian wildfires fund....

Jeff Bezos net worth is around $117 billion.

Likely nowhere near that in terms of cash-in-bank liquid assets though?

 

[timidpimpin]

And how much have you donated?

I guess you don't understand the meaning of anonymous. If I say how much I donated (under any name/nic) then it isn't anonymous.

I'm always amazed at just how offended some get over any criticism of Apple.

 

[Bandaman]

I guess you don't understand the meaning of anonymous. If I say how much I donated (under any name/nic) then it isn't anonymous.

I'm always amazed at just how offended some get over any criticism of Apple.

This isn’t a response to the criticism of Apple. It’s to the silliness that one thinks donations must be anonymous to be important or worth something. I’m 100% certain the people that received the donations aren’t thinking “Gee, these donations aren’t anonymous. We can’t accept them.”

 

[benshive]

A true donation is anonymous. Anything else is marketing, and it's quite shameless here.

What are the chances that if it was all given anonymously you'd instead be complaining that Apple didn't give anything to charity this year?