Apple employees donated $365M over eight years via internal Giving program
Apple's internal Giving program has raised more than $365 million for non-profit organizations around the world since its creation, a feature on the charitable efforts by the iPhone maker's employees reads, with more than a quarter of a million hours of employee time volunteered in 2018 alone.
Set up eight years ago, the Giving program enables Apple employees to donate time and funds to thousands of organizations. For each hour and dollar donated by employees, Apple provides matching or equivalent funds, effectively doubling charitable donations.
According to Apple, the full year of 2018 saw more than $125 million donated and more than a quarter of a million hours volunteered by employees.
It is noted that part of the efforts includes China, which Apple claims is one of only global companies matching employee donations in the country. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation is one of the 32 charitable organizations in the country eligible to receive funds from Apple's program, with it helping more than 175 people across 24 provinces with disaster relief and preparedness in 2018.
As well as advising on the charitable efforts of its employees, the article also highlights some of the organizations that have been helped by the program.
One program based out of Apple's Cork, Ireland campus has volunteers teaching students at the nearby Terence MacWiney School, one of the most economically disadvantaged in the country. The three-year-old program, which teaches coding, drawing, photography, music, and video, is said to have transformed students who may not have considered going into post-secondary education.
"We have a lot of students that have the odds stacked against them" said Phil O'Flynn, the school's principal. "But this program has helped nurture them, and we've discovered talents that we never knew they had."
Set up eight years ago, the Giving program enables Apple employees to donate time and funds to thousands of organizations. For each hour and dollar donated by employees, Apple provides matching or equivalent funds, effectively doubling charitable donations.
According to Apple, the full year of 2018 saw more than $125 million donated and more than a quarter of a million hours volunteered by employees.
It is noted that part of the efforts includes China, which Apple claims is one of only global companies matching employee donations in the country. The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation is one of the 32 charitable organizations in the country eligible to receive funds from Apple's program, with it helping more than 175 people across 24 provinces with disaster relief and preparedness in 2018.
As well as advising on the charitable efforts of its employees, the article also highlights some of the organizations that have been helped by the program.
One program based out of Apple's Cork, Ireland campus has volunteers teaching students at the nearby Terence MacWiney School, one of the most economically disadvantaged in the country. The three-year-old program, which teaches coding, drawing, photography, music, and video, is said to have transformed students who may not have considered going into post-secondary education.
"We have a lot of students that have the odds stacked against them" said Phil O'Flynn, the school's principal. "But this program has helped nurture them, and we've discovered talents that we never knew they had."
Comments
As a UK government employee 30 years ago, I was able to donate to charities from my gross pay and not see my donations taxed in any way. Shame the government didn't match my donations though.
Let's not forget that for every employee, the government is also paying part of his/her NIC which is the same basic premise.
Tax reductions are another incentive but of course in that case, also to the taxpayer involved. And while speaking about the tax side of things, some governments include an option on tax returns for the taxpayer to decide whether the government should make a donation to - the church or welfare projects. This decision is independent of the taxpayer's actual return so in tax and monetary terms, has no impact at all on the taxpayer's tax situation. It simply means a percentage (0.7% in the case of Spain) of the user's taxes will go to the church or welfare projects.
The nice thing about the scheme I donated too was (and I believe Apple's is the same) that I had some control over where my donations would go.
Apple like many other big companies has a very good gift matching program available to their employees. 65% of Fortune 500 companies have a donation-matching program and last year over $18B was contributed by them.
Sadly many donations go unmatched because employees are either unaware or don't take the time to properly report.
If you're curious whether your employer is part of the group involved with donation matching visit here:
https://doublethedonation.com/tips/matching-gift-search/