When it comes to supporting charitable causes, many large companies put their money to good work. From investments banks to retail chains, it is becoming more and more the case that companies are adopting a spirit of corporate giving that can enrich the lives of the people in communities where they are based, and also of their employees. Here are just a few corporations setting a good example that we hope more and more businesses will follow.
Sun Capital Partners
Sun Capital Partners co-founder Marc Leder puts the resources of his business to work in support of local charities in Florida and beyond. The company offers a matching program that triples its employees’ contributions to charity, and through its Sun Capital Partners Foundation it has donated to more than 250 charities including SOS Children’s Villages, hunger alleviation, organizations providing support to victims of domestic violence, disadvantaged youth, social and employment support to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and more.
Publix
Publix’s corporate philanthropy is especially focused on issues related to youth, education, and homelessness. It operates a matching gift program for employee donations to any public or accredited private school. Publix also provides direct support to nonprofits working in these priority areas in the form of donations, giftcards and various sponsorships.
The website giant has a giant charitable reach, providing support on a global scale. Google runs a number of community programs, many of which are intended to support the spread of accessible technology. For example, it has donated more than 20,000 computers to provide computer science education to children in Japan and the UK. It also regularly donates to a program to encourage civic technology. Google supports its employees’ volunteer efforts, and saw its staff give more than 80,000 hours of service in just one year.
PepsiCo
Pepsi is another company with a global reach, and this is reflected in the scope of its charitable giving. In addition to matching employee donations up to $10,000, Pepsi directly donates more than $25 million a year in strategic grants to organizations able to carry out large scale projects to improve the quality of life for entire communities, especially through water sanitation projects. Access to clean water is a priority cause for Pepsi, but it also gives considerable support to organizations that promote sustainable agriculture, affordable nutrition, job readiness and women’s empowerment. Pepsi also supports volunteerism among its employees with programs that place people in communities around the work to contribute their skills to the implementation of the projects underway.
Whether a company is local or global in reach, it is important that they use the resources at their disposal to make meaningful contributions to the communities in which they have enjoyed their success. More and more businesses are doing just this, and as consumers we should demand that this becomes an important and unquestioned part of doing business.
