Charitable matching of up to $10K now available for Apple employees
Apple this week launched a new program for its employees in which the company will match personal charitable contributions of up to $10,000 per year.
The program is currently available to full-time employees of Apple in America, but will expand to other countries in time. It was announced on Thursday in an e-mail sent out to employees by Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, which was obtained by MacRumors
Starting September 15, money donated to a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Apple. Up to $10,000 will be matched every year, should employees choose to take advantage of the program.
"Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others," Cook wrote to employees. "I am incredibly proud to be part of this team."
The philanthropy of Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs himself was highlighted last week by Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2. Bono felt compelled to write a letter to The New York Times to respond to an Andrew Ross Sorkin editorial entitled "The Mystery of Steve Jobs's Public Giving," in which Sorkin questioned why there is "no public record" of Jobs donating his money to charity.
Bono highlighted Apple's continuing contributions toward the fight against AIDS in Africa, which the company has supported with special red iPod models since 2006. For each unit sold, Apple donates proceeds to (Product)RED, of which Bono is a founder, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
The full e-mail sent out to Apple employees by Cook on Thursday is included below:
Team:
I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.
Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we'll expand it to other parts of the world over time.
Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.
If you'd like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.
Tim
The program is currently available to full-time employees of Apple in America, but will expand to other countries in time. It was announced on Thursday in an e-mail sent out to employees by Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, which was obtained by MacRumors
Starting September 15, money donated to a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Apple. Up to $10,000 will be matched every year, should employees choose to take advantage of the program.
"Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others," Cook wrote to employees. "I am incredibly proud to be part of this team."
The philanthropy of Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs himself was highlighted last week by Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2. Bono felt compelled to write a letter to The New York Times to respond to an Andrew Ross Sorkin editorial entitled "The Mystery of Steve Jobs's Public Giving," in which Sorkin questioned why there is "no public record" of Jobs donating his money to charity.
Bono highlighted Apple's continuing contributions toward the fight against AIDS in Africa, which the company has supported with special red iPod models since 2006. For each unit sold, Apple donates proceeds to (Product)RED, of which Bono is a founder, and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
The full e-mail sent out to Apple employees by Cook on Thursday is included below:
Team:
I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.
Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we'll expand it to other parts of the world over time.
Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.
If you'd like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.
Tim
Comments
You know what would be cool...if Apple created a Charity Store that worked just like the App Store--break down legit charities by category, give a brief synopsis of what they do, how much money they've received, etc...and allow anyone to easily donate via iTunes
Would Apple get 30% off the top?
You know what would be cool...if Apple created a Charity Store that worked just like the App Store--break down legit charities by category, give a brief synopsis of what they do, how much money they've received, etc...and allow anyone to easily donate via iTunes
Too much effort, and people would call shenanigans if apple would collect the usual 30%.
Too much effort, and people would call shenanigans if apple would collect the usual 30%.
Forget about the cost, it would just be a "bag of hurt" from a perception/politics angle. There are too many controversial organizations and Apple would either be tarred by associating with them or lamasted for cherry picking who was allowed in. Nice idea, but let the United Way deal with it.
PS: I support Tim Cook %100 on this. There are more leftovers from Steve Jobs Apple needs to change.
You know what would be cool...if Apple created a Charity Store that worked just like the App Store--break down legit charities by category, give a brief synopsis of what they do, how much money they've received, etc...and allow anyone to easily donate via iTunes
That would be cool. But Apple hasn't really welcomed charitable apps in the Appstore. That was a big complaint every holiday season for the past three years from some of the higher profile charities. While the 30% cut comment in a preceding post was likely meant as a joke, that's exactly one the complaints lodged.
http://www.socialmediacharity.com/20...y-non-profits/
http://gizmodo.com/5703765/why-does-...le-app-so-hard
Perhaps this new matching policy, a wonderful project for Apple, may signal a change. In any event, this is an admirable move.
2) Follow Apple's plan-only nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations would be listed
3) Apple has in the past made it easy to donate to the Red Cross for tragedies like the Japan earthquake
But, true, they would deal with a certain amoun of political criticism but then they're used to getting criticised for everything....
http://9to5mac.com/2011/09/08/tim-co...ve/#more-91848
STarting September 15, money donated to a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Apple. Up to $10,000 will be matched every year, should employees choose to take advantage of the program.
Good program.
I wonder, however, if Apple will refuse to donate to controversial charities, like The Christian Broadcasting Network or Feed the Children.
You know what would be cool...if Apple created a Charity Store that worked just like the App Store--break down legit charities by category, give a brief synopsis of what they do, how much money they've received, etc...and allow anyone to easily donate via iTunes
Brilliant!
Good program.
I wonder, however, if Apple will refuse to donate to controversial charities, like The Christian Broadcasting Network or Feed the Children.
Here's the email Mr Cook sent out to the employees:
Team:
I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.
Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we?ll expand it to other parts of the world over time.
Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.
If you?d like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.
Tim
My reading of it only seems to require that the charity have 501(c)(3) status, meaning Apple isn't going to be deciding if it's a worthy cause or not.
Shareholders will probably cry over this. They were so used to "maximizing" the maximum profit. Any dime goes to charity is a dime less in their pocket.
Nope. They get a tax deduction of a dime for every dime that they contribute. Additionally, it is an employee perk, which is intended to help attract and retain quality employees.
As such, the goal of the program is to maximize profits by gaining deductions, PR value and employee satisfaction using pre-tax dollars.
My reading of it only seems to require that the charity have 501(c)(3) status, meaning Apple isn't going to be deciding if it's a worthy cause or not.
Get ready for headlines about Apple donating to "F"-rated sham charities.
Get ready for headlines about Apple donating to "F"-rated sham charities.
I don't see that happening. It's a very common practice for larger corporations (Google, Microsoft and Motorola are examples) to match employee charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar. I don't ever recall a story criticizing them for any of those contributions.
Geez, 9to5Mac has a different take on this.
http://9to5mac.com/2011/09/08/tim-co...ve/#more-91848
Wow! Seth Weintraub really took a sour point of view in his article. As one poster said in there, we should not go down the path of questioning every move of Tim Cooks as to whether Jobs would have made the same decision.
Wow! Seth Weintraub really took a sour point of view in his article. As one poster said in there, we should not go down the path of questioning every move of Tim Cooks as to whether Jobs would have made the same decision.
Interesting - is Weintruab really sour? Or is he just pointing out that Cook didn't wait long to do something Jobs was known to be against? This is particularly notable since there has been negative press against Jobs for not being open about his charitable work.
Is Cook trying to show Apple's softer side? Or trying to put his personal stamp on as early as possible?
If we get a 4.3" iPhone 5 or 7" iPad 3, we will know the answer.
Nope. They get a tax deduction of a dime for every dime that they contribute. Additionally, it is an employee perk, which is intended to help attract and retain quality employees.
As such, the goal of the program is to maximize profits by gaining deductions, PR value and employee satisfaction using pre-tax dollars.
But what is Apple's marginal tax rate? It's still costing Apple, what, 7-9 cents for every time they donate. And for those who claim Apple is "required by law to maximize profits", your second statement, which I agree with, supports the statement I've made many times (and been blasted for everytime) that any such law would be nearly unenforceable because "maximizing profits" is not a black-and-white financial formula as some would like to believe.
Kudos to Apple for this. From Tim's email, "we are kicking off a matching gift program" makes it sound like Apple had no such program previously? Or was there one with a lower dollar limit? I think every company I've worked for had some sort of matching program for employees donating to charities. I am surprised Apple didn't have one before this.
The philanthropy of Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs himself was highlighted last week by Bono, lead singer of the rock group U2. Bono felt compelled to write a letter to The New York Times to respond to an Andrew Ross Sorkin editorial entitled "The Mystery of Steve Jobs's Public Giving," in which Sorkin questioned why there is "no public record" of Jobs donating his money to charity.
Why should anyone have a public record about philanthropy. That is for the chest pounders looking for approval from others. It is those that give anonymously that get the best reward -- helping people who need help cause they can and want to not because they are looking for some spin from it or great publicity. Too bad more don't give like Steve.
I should qualify that by saying that just because a donation becomes public does not down play its importance. Bill Gates, et ux have done marvelous things (not a Microsoft fan) for humanity and I really think that is the goal. After all, I can think of many ways he could get notoriety without tossing some much money around. (Just think of his protege MonkeyBoy
Silently giving is true charity
Unless you're a mime, then it's just creepy.
Good program.
I wonder, however, if Apple will refuse to donate to controversial charities, like The Christian Broadcasting Network or Feed the Children.
There are a lot of good charities in the world but more than a few bad ones and frankly I don't even think you had come close to the worst. In any event I'm not sure it is in Apples best interest to have a restrictions free program. Yeah I can hear the noise now about censorship and freedom but once Apple does things publicly everything is then free to be examined by everybody and their brother. That is one of the points behind charitable contributions being a private matter instead of a public one.