MOST GENEROUS CORPORATE, NON-PROFIT & CELEBRITY DONORS TO FIGHT COVID-19
Please note that the following list is being updated regularly
to reflect the names of new donors.
COVID-19 (CorronaVirus) is an unprecedented global pandemic of its magnitude which surely influence the global economy long after its cure if found. As usual with disaster such as this, many corporations, organizations, celebrities, and other high-profile individuals have have stepped up and offered donations, services, and various other types of help. This is a list of the most generous and philanthropic corporations, celebrities, and other exceptional individuals that have made a difference.
CORPORATIONS
Apple has donated more than $15 million globally and matches employee donations two-to-one. Among other efforts, Apple has committed to donating several million masks to hospitals across the country.
Amazon: $20 million AWS Diagnostic Initiative to accelerate COVID-19 research. In Europe, Amazon committed €21 million (almost $23 million USD) to support those most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos donated $100 million to Feeding America. $5 million grant fund to support small businesses in Seattle.
Facebook, through Mark Zuckerberg’s Zuckerberg-Chan Foundation, has committed $25 million to the Gates Foundation’s efforts to develop a treatment for Covid-19. Facebook also announced a $100 million program to help small businesses in over 30 countries, contributed $100 million to support the news industry and donated hundreds of thousands of face masks to protect health workers against coronavirus.
WarnerMedia said it would provide a $100 million relief fund for those who were working on productions across the corporation. John Stankey’s memo to employees said, “We are stepping up with a commitment of more than $100 million to assist team members of those productions during this time. And as things evolve, we’ll continue to evaluate how we can best respond to the challenges we face as an industry as a result of this pandemic.”
NBCUniversal chair Jeff Shell, who was diagnosed March 26 with a mild case of coronavirus, said the corporation would commit “over $150 million across our film, television and parks businesses to help our employees and other workers, and to at least partially bridge the period before normal operations can restart.”
Netflix was one of the first companies to announce a coronavirus relief fund, with the bulk of the $100 million set to go toward laid-off production workers.
The BBC has donated more than $800,000 to the U.K.’s Film and TV Charity, aimed particularly at freelancers who are out of work during the pandemic.
Lowe’s: $25 million( in grants and in-kind donations to benefit the coronavirus relief effort. Among the first grants announced is $1.5 million to the Covid-19 Response Fund, a joint project of the Foundation for the Carolinas and United Way of Central Carolinas to aid residents of Charlotte, N.C.
Spotify: $10 million challenge grant to the Spotify Covid-19 Music Relief project to provide financial aid to musicians who are out of work because of the pandemic. The music-streaming service is offering a dollar-for-dollar match of all donations to its fund.
Anheuser-Busch: $5 million to the American Red Cross to identify sports arenas and stadiums that can be used as temporary blood-drive centers.
Citizens Bank: $5 million commitment to support communities and businesses dealing with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Charities in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island will receive grants for broad relief efforts. Grants and loans will also be available for small businesses.
Lineage Logistics Holdings: $5 million pledge to support relief efforts, including $1 million to Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund. The Michigan company is also creating a Share A Meal campaign that aims to provide 100 million meals to people in need due to the crisis.
Southern Company: $4.9 million from several of its subsidiaries to support relief efforts in the South. The parent company has committed $2.5 million across its service area. The Alabama Power Foundation is providing $1 million to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, United Way, and other community partners in that state. The Georgia Power Foundation pledged $1 million for efforts to relieve food insecurity and homelessness. The Mississippi Power Foundation also committed $350,000 in aid.
Bacardi Limited: $3 million to #RaiseYourSpirits, a campaign to support bars and restaurants that are closed and experiencing financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. The tequila brand Patrón is also pledging $1 million to the campaign.
Dow: $3 million pledge to the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, Direct Relief, and other groups for coronavirus-relief efforts both globally and in the communities where the chemical company does business.
Union Bank: $3 million to local efforts in Los Angeles to help small businesses and human-services organizations, as well as $100,000 for community-based organizations in Canada and Latin America.
Estée Lauder Companies: $2 million to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières to support its work to treat people sick with Covid-19 in poorer and highly affected countries. The cosmetics company is also dedicating its manufacturing facility in Melville, N.Y., to produce hand sanitizer for medical workers and other high-need groups.
Lysol: $2 million to the CDC Foundation for its crowdfunding campaign called All of Us: Combat Coronavirus.
Northwestern Mutual: $1.5 million to its nonprofit partners to address shortages in food and essential supplies in the areas where the financial company does business. The company has designated $1 million to Feeding America’s nationwide efforts and an additional $50,000 for its work in Milwaukee. It is also making grants to the Dominican Center, Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, Milwaukee Christian Center, Ronald McDonald House Charities Eastern Wisconsin, United Performing Arts Fund, and the United Way of Milwaukee, and New York City.
Pegula Sports & Entertainment: $1.2 million to nonprofit organizations in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, including a donation to the Western New York Covid-19 Community Response Fund.
San Diego Gas & Electric: $1 million to the San Diego Foundation’s Covid-19 Community Response Fund. Other local corporate and foundation donors to the fund, which has raised $6.5 million so far, include a $500,000 matching grant from the Dr. Seuss Fund, plus donations from the Alliance Healthcare Foundation, AFL-CIO, the California Wellness Foundation, San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, the United Way of San Diego County, and the Qualcomm Foundation.
Twitter: $1 million split evenly between the Committee to Protect Journalists and the International Women’s Media Foundation to support journalists who are reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.
WhatsApp: $1 million to the Poynter Institute’s International Fact-Checking Network to provide fact-checking assistance for the #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance, which is working to slow the spread of misinformation about the virus in 45 countries.
Workers Lab: $1 million to create the Workers Fund: Covid-19 Rapid Response to give emergency financial assistance to gig workers and low-earning contractors. The Marguerite Casey Foundation seeded it with a $300,000 grant.
MAC Cosmetics: $10 million to 250 local organizations across the globe supporting COVID-19 relief efforts.
Hearst: $1 million to the American Red Cross and $1 million to the United Way’s national crisis relief fund. It is also instituting a giving program that will match employee contributions up to $1 million.
Versace: Donatella and Allegra Versace have pledged €200,000 to the ICU at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, with an additional $400,000 coming from the company. The brand will also donate $100,000 to Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana for its efforts to bring ventilators and medical equipment to hospitals in Italy. In February, Versace donated ¥1 million to the Chinese Red Cross Foundation.
Jimmy Choo: The London-based accessories label has pledge $500,000 to organizations in the United Kingdom: $250,00 will go to the National Health Service COVID-19 Urgent Appeal by NHS Charities Together, and $250,00 will go to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
Estée Lauder: The beauty corporation donated a $2 million grant to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières to support its efforts in countries that lack substantial resources to combat the coronavirus. It also announced the reopening of a factory in Melville, New York, which will start producing hydroalcoholic gel. “The Estée Lauder Companies is proud to contribute to the broader COVID-19 relief efforts by reopening our Melville manufacturing facility this week to produce hand sanitizer for high-need groups and populations, including front-line medical staff,” it tells WWD.
CELEBRITIES
Elton John: $1million COVID-19 Emergency Fund to make sure that frontline partners can respond to the effects of COVID-19 on HIV care for the most marginalised communities around the world.
The Elton John Foundation has been working to eradicate AIDS since 1992, and now it has established a COVID-19 emergency fund to further help communities that could be catastrophically impacted by this global pandemic.
“For almost 30 years, my foundation has prioritized the most vulnerable people to HIV to end the AIDS epidemic, and we’re committed to this during the COVID-19 crisis, too,” he said in a video message he shared on April 4. “Distributing medicines, testing and preventative treatment is not as simple as it was a few weeks ago, so our new COVID-19 emergency fund will help frontline partners to prepare for, and respond to, the pandemic and its affects on HIV prevention and care for the most marginalized communities.”
Oprah Winfrey: $10 million “to help Americans during this pandemic in cities across the country.” Of her total donation, $1 million will go toward America’s Food Fund to alleviate food insecurity. The rest will be donated to other groups helping Americans during the pandemic.
“I was struck by the work these organizations are doing and while everyone’s priority right now is to stay safer at home, I know there are many of us looking for ways to help,” Winfrey said on Instagram.
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively: $1 million donation on behalf of himself and his wife, actress Blake Lively, to the organization Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. “Covid-19 has brutally impacted older adults and low income families…. If you can give, these orgs need our help,” he wrote in his post, adding links to direct his fans to the charitable organizations.
Dolly Parton: $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University‘s coronavirus research. “My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram.
Rihanna: $5 million to various organizations assisting with coronavirus relief efforts. The Clara Lionel Foundation announced the donation in a statement on Saturday. “When we first began this year, never could we have imagined how (the coronavirus) would so dramatically alter our lives,” the foundation said. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from, this pandemic will affect us all. And for the world’s most vulnerable, the worst may be yet to come.”
Madonna: $1m to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in order to help create a vaccine for coronavirus. Earlier this week, the Microsoft co-founder announced his plans to fund seven different research labs to find a cure for the disease. In a video on Instagram, Madonna told fans: “Individually and globally we are obviously living in a state of emergency, I must admit it took me time to accept and process and modify my own lifestyle… “I’m joining the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation effort to find a drug that will prevent or treat Covid-19… We need this to protect our health workers, the most vulnerable, and all of our friends and families.”
Ralph Lauren: $10 million donation to coronavirus relief efforts last week. The funds will be divided among the label’s Emergency Assistance Foundation to help its employees, the World Health Organization COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, the Pink Pony Fund to help cancer patients during the pandemic and the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund‘s COVID-19 relief efforts.
Angelina Jolie: $1 million to No Kid Hungry to help children left without meals due to school closures. “As of this week, over a billion children are out of school worldwide because of closures linked to coronavirus,” she said in a statement. “Many children depend on the care and nutrition they receive during school hours, including nearly 22 million children in America who rely on food support. No Kid Hungry is making resolute efforts to reach as many of those children as possible.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger: The actor and former governor of California donated $1 million to the Frontline Responders Fund, a fundraising effort to provide essential supplies, like masks and gloves, to medical personnel and first responders fighting the pandemic. “I never believed in sitting on the couch and complaining about how bad things are, I always believed we should all do our part to make things better,” he wrote in an Instagram post, featuring a screenshot of the fundraising page.
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos: $1 million, split between the New York governor’s office to assist in purchasing more ventilators and WIN, an organization that runs shelters and supportive housing units in New York City.
Kanye West: The musician donated an undisclosed amount to the Chicago-based organization We Women Empowered, which is currently delivering meals to the elderly during the coronavirus pandemic.
Jessica Alba: The actress and business owner announced that her Honest Company is donating 3 million diapers, 20,000 personal care products and 30,000 wipes to Baby2Baby, an organization that provides supplies to babies without diapers, formula and more essentials.
Ciara and Russell Wilson: $1 million meals to Food Lifeline in Seattle through Feeding America. “Obviously this worldwide pandemic, coronavirus, is changing the world. Second by second, minute by minute,” Wilson said. “People are losing loved ones. The elderly, the young and the people in between. You know, think about people losing jobs, even in Seattle.”
J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai Watt: $350,000 to the Houston Food Bank. The charitable organization services 18 counties in the Southeast Texas area and is part of Feeding America.
Justin Timberlake: The singer announced Sunday that he would be donating to Mid-South Food Bank, a charitable organization in Memphis, Tennessee, that is part of Feeding America. “This is a crazy time, but remember we’re all in it together,” he wrote. “Start small and support your local communities by getting food out to those in need.”
Miley Cyrus and Cody Simpson: The couple brought 120 tacos to a local hospital as a delicious thank you for the healthcare workers treating patients in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. “So grateful for these true legends of our time dedicating their lives to battling this pandemic,” Simpson wrote on Instagram following their taco delivery. “Show some love to yours in your community!”
ORGANIZATIONS & FUNDS
LEGO Foundation and LEGO Brand Group: $50 million to Education Cannot Wait and other partners to bring play-based learning to children and families around the world who are experiencing school closures as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
UJA-Federation of New York: $23 million in grants and loans to provide immediate financial aid to people in New York who are facing food insecurity and economic hardship. Of that total, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty has received $1.8 million in operating support and to help stock local food pantries.
Citi Foundation: $15 million to support coronavirus-relief efforts globally. Of the total, $5 million will be directed to the United Nations Foundation and World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Another $5 million will go to No Kid Hungry to support emergency food-distribution programs in the United States. The remaining $5 million will be disbursed to international efforts in countries that are severely affected by the pandemic.
Google.org: $15 million in cash grants to nonprofit groups that are helping small and midsize businesses. This commitment is part of the tech giant’s commitment of $200 million to create an investment fund that will support nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit financial institutions, and other banking groups to make grants and loans to small businesses. In addition, Google is giving $250 million in advertising credits to help the World Health Organization and more than 100 government agencies disseminate critical information on how to prevent the spread of Covid-19
Seattle Foundation: $14.3 million to the Covid-19 Response Fund to aid community-based organizations that are providing emergency assistance, including financial support, health care, and child care, to people working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in Seattle. Among the foundation and corporate donors to the fund are the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, KeyBank, Liberty Mutual, the Microsoft Alumni Network, Nordstrom, the Northwest Area Foundation, NW Children’s Foundation, Puget Sound Energy Foundation, the Seattle Seahawks, the T-Mobile Foundation, Target, Tencent America, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and Weyerhaeuser.
TikTok: $13 million to two groups responding to the coronavirus-relief effort. Of the social-media company’s gift, $10 million is going to the United Nations Foundation and World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and $3 million will help After-School All-Stars provide food for families who rely on free and reduced-price meals at schools that are closed.
Amgen and the Amgen Foundation: $12.5 million pledge to Direct Relief, International Medical Corps, and other organizations to support emergency-response efforts to address the spread of the novel coronavirus in the United States and abroad.
AT&T: $10 million to create a Distance Learning and Family Connections Fund that will support students and their families who are experiencing school closures. The telecommunications company has given $1 million to Khan Academy for its online learning platform.
Biogen Foundation: $10 million to support the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The commitment includes a gift of medical equipment and supplies to Partners HealthCare, in Massachusetts.
Dogwood Health Trust: $10 million commitment in support of efforts to address the public-health crisis in western North Carolina. The pledge includes support of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina’s Covid-19 Pandemic Response fund.
Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation: $10 million pledge in grants and loans to small businesses, families, and nonprofit groups. Of the commitment, $3 million in grants will support Boston-area nonprofit groups that are focused on Covid-19 relief; the remaining $7 million will provide loans to small businesses and individuals facing financial hardship.
Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation: $10 million pledge, including support for the Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund and $1 million to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s A Common Thread campaign to give financial aid to workers in the American fashion industry who are facing a loss of income because of the pandemic. The brand has also promised to begin making 250,000 masks and 25,000 isolation gowns for medical workers.
Delta Dental Community Care Foundation: $5 million to organizations across its 15-state service area that are supporting coronavirus-response efforts for at-risk populations. Of the total, $3.5 million will go to federally qualified health centers, which are government-funded clinics that provide primary-care services for people most in need.
California Wellness Foundation: $4 million commitment to provide support for frontline health workers; financial relief for economically disadvantaged people, particularly immigrants and seniors; and protections for Asian Americans experiencing race-based harassment and assaults as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Of the pledge, $1 million will go to community clinics in California and the associations that advocate on their behalf.
Comerica Bank and Comerica Charitable Foundation: $4 million to community- development financial institutions to support nonprofit organizations and small businesses affected by the Covid-19 crisis. Community-service organizations that provide services to young people, seniors, and other vulnerable populations also will receive grants as part of this effort, with a particular focus on food insecurities and access to health care.
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation: $4 million to its current grantees to provide emergency operational funding during the Covid-19 crisis. Of the commitment, $2.6 million has already been paid to 55 of its grantees.
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Foundation: $3.3 million to food banks across the state. Grants include $750,000 to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, in Nashville, and $750,000 to the Mid-South Food Bank, in Memphis.
Bloomberg Philanthropies: $3 million to Johns Hopkins University for research into the potential therapeutic uses of plasma taken from people who have recovered from Covid-19. The State of Maryland is matching the donation with $1 million in public funding.
William Penn Foundation: $3 million to create the PHL COVID-19 Fund. An additional $3 million in commitments has flowed to the fund from local individuals and businesses as well as the United Way, the Philadelphia Foundation, and the City of Philadelphia.
Avangrid Foundation: $2 million pledge to support national and local organizations that help vulnerable communities as they deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The energy company has committed $1 million to support emergency needs in New York, Maine, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
New Balance Foundation: 2 million to organizations responding to the coronavirus pandemic, including Global Giving, No Kid Hungry, and a selection of local food banks throughout the United States.
S&P Global Foundation: $2 million to support the global response to Covid-19, specifically focusing on food scarcity and medical supplies. Initial grantees include the Unicef Covid-19 Fund, Direct Relief, Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund, the Food Bank of New York City’s Covid-19 Readiness Response, and Give2Asia.
Gulf Coast Community Foundation and Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation: $1.5 million to create the Gulf Coast Covid-19 Response Joint Initiative, a new fund to make grants to key health and safety organizations in Florida that are contending with the public-health crisis.
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: $1 million to Citymeals on Wheels and an additional $250,000 to God’s Love We Deliver to bring free, nutritious meals to homebound elderly and health-compromised people in New York.
Coca-Cola Consolidated Charitable Giving Fund: $1 million to the Covid-19 Response Fund, a joint project of the Foundation for the Carolinas and United Way of Central Carolinas to aid residents of Charlotte, N.C.
Hellman Foundation: $1 million to the Give2SF Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to support food security, access to housing, and financial security for workers and small businesses.