Apple Says Employee Giving Program Has Raised Nearly $600 Million Since 2011

[MacRumors]

Nearly a decade ago, Apple launched a new "Giving" program for employees. For every hour an employee volunteers or dollar they donate, Apple says it matches that with a monetary donation to the same organization.

Apple today announced that employees have raised almost $600 million in total donations — and logged more than 1.6 million hours volunteered — for more than 34,000 organizations since the program's inception in 2011. This is on top of the donations that Apple makes each year to non-profit organizations around the world, such as Feeding America.

Apple also announced that it is investing in a "multimillion-dollar annual grant program" in an effort to support organizations "in communities where Apple teams live and work," including food banks, health and social services, youth art programs, and more.

And this holiday season, Apple said it is donating an additional $5 million to support various organizations that are offering COVID-19-related support to communities around the world, ranging from hunger relief to medical care.

Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Article Link: Apple Says Employee Giving Program Has Raised Nearly $600 Million Since 2011

 

[4jasontv]

Matching programs are great. They avoid negative PR associated with making donations directly to controversial groups while also avoiding tax deduction limitations.

It’s win-win-win.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

As a former Apple employee, I loved this program and volunteered regularly. Many needed charities were offered and you could target helping those who you had a real interest in. Apple even worked with your schedule to ensure you could participate when help was needed on specific dates.

 

[applicious84]

I don't totally get matching programs. It's interesting that a company would match employees because it helps contribute to the programs that employees would like to see supported. Those matching programs seem kind of limited sometimes, but I honestly don't know.

If a company has a budget in the first place, does it allocate the entire budget to match employee contributions, or does it match on an x to 1 basis? Does that company exceed the money that it has initially allocated because of the generosity of its employees?

And what if the donations go to something that many people see problematic, like anti-choice groups? I don't actually know how Apple does it (and am wayyy too lazy to investigate), but I am kinda curious.

 

[imnotthewalrus]

I don't totally get matching programs. It's interesting that a company would match employees because it helps contribute to the programs that employees would like to see supported. Those matching programs seem kind of limited sometimes, but I honestly don't know.

If a company has a budget in the first place, does it allocate the entire budget to match employee contributions, or does it match on an x to 1 basis? Does that company exceed the money that it has initially allocated because of the generosity of its employees?

And what if the donations go to something that many people see problematic, like anti-choice groups? I don't actually know how Apple does it (and am wayyy too lazy to investigate), but I am kinda curious.

A landmark year of giving from Apple

How Apple recorded a landmark year in giving while helping nonprofits worldwide meet 2020’s biggest challenges.

www.apple.com

 

[ghanwani]

It loses the spirit of charity if it’s being counted and tracked.

 

[Rojaaemon]

Sounds like a lot of money, but it took 9 years and x employees were eligible to participate.

 

[MauiPa]

It loses the spirit of charity if it’s being counted and tracked.

yah, it's called accounting. Dang those beancounters wanting to know how much the company spends on what

 

[MauiPa]

Sounds like a lot of money, but it took 9 years and x employees were eligible to participate.

Seriously?

 

[sw1tcher]

Sounds like a lot of money, but it took 9 years and x employees were eligible to participate.

Let's say Apple averaged 108,580 employees over the past 10 years.

$600 million ÷ 10 years = $60 million raised per year ÷ 108,580 employees = $552.58 donated per employee each year.

Personally, I consider a donation of over $500 per year to be generous.

How much do you donate to organizations per year?

 

[PickUrPoison]

Sounds like a lot of money, but it took 9 years and x employees were eligible to participate.

So it’s not a lot of money?

 

[Rojaaemon]

So it’s not a lot of money?

It’s a lot of money. The piece is poorly written.

 

[ericinboston]

Let's say Apple averaged 108,580 employees over the past 10 years.

$600 million ÷ 10 years = $60 million raised per year ÷ 108,580 employees = $552.58 donated per employee each year.

Personally, I consider a donation of over $500 per year to be generous.

How much do you donate to organizations per year?

Actually, Apple MATCHES it. So the $552.58 is WITH THE MATCH. So the math basically needs to 1/2 it to get th employee portion. Therefore, each employee is giving about $275/year OR if an employee donates time to a charity, Apple gives money to that charity. My guess is Apple gives $25 per hour each employee donates.

I'm not going to judge how much money each person in the world should be giving to charities/non-profits.

A nice read: https://doublethedonation.com/tips/matching-grant-resources/matching-gift-statistics/

 

[laudern]

I give to charity every year. It's called being taxed and that tax going to social welfare.

 

[PickUrPoison]

It’s a lot of money. The piece is poorly written.

Gotcha ok.

 

[bankshot]

It's interesting to note that this program was launched just 2 weeks after Tim Cook took over as CEO. I won't speculate on why such a program didn't exist under Jobs, but there are multiple articles from around that time arguing both sides that could be worth a read.

In either case, it's awesome that they have had the program for 9 years now and have raised a huge amount of money. Let's hope Tim Cook continues to make it a priority to expand the company's charitable giving in ways that will make the most positive impact. They can certainly afford it.