Covid Related Corporate Philanthropy

While COVID-19 has hit the entire world like a sledgehammer, infecting millions of people and killing hundreds of thousands, it was not without severe economic repercussions as well. Through stay at home orders and lost economic productivity, many companies both big and small took massive hits to their revenue that would be hard to recover from in a non-pandemic environment. However, even while these companies were doing their Corporate Social Responsibility, many went above and beyond in the philanthropy they provided through the pandemic even though they were suffering from it as well.

What I find interesting is how many technology based companies did their part to help their communities both online and in person, while being some of the hardest hit with their close links to China, Bay Area, and Seattle based operations.

First, Biogen, a multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, made a $10 million commitment to address critical immediate needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Awarded through the Biogen Foundation, the funds were used to expand testing options, provide training to frontline health workers, ease the strain on digital healthcare systems and databases, and improve access to basic necessities for their communities. As such, the majority of the funds will support the U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, including those in Massachusetts and North Carolina, but also some worldwide organizations. The company has provided medical equipment and supplies to Partners HealthCare in Massachusetts and provided direct support to Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Cisco has also made a big response to the pandemic, most interestingly the funding of rapid deployment of its Country Digital Acceleration Program (DCA) for businesses and governments, providing access to technologies like Webex. In short, “Cisco's Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) Strategy is a long-term partnership with national leadership, industry & academia. By accelerating the national digitization agenda, the country will grow GDP, create new jobs and provide innovation and education across public & private sectors.” Notably, the educational aspect of this program falls right in line with the story of Philanthropy 4 Technology, and is a great example of improving education with philanthropic technology.

One last notable example of philanthropy though technology was Spotify. Believing in the healing power of music, Swedish streaming platform worked to support creative professionals that have been impacted by the virus. On March 25, it launched the Spotify COVID-19 Music Relief project to shine a light on the efforts of verified support organizations like Musicares, Help Musicians, and Unison Benevolent Fund. Furthermore, It’s also working on a feature that will allow artists to fundraise directly on their platform, and has waived revenue share and fees on creator tools to support the ones who do this.

In all, there have been so many unique and interesting responses to the coronavirus pandemic stem from big tech companies, and these three companies were some, but not nearly all, of the companies that have been able to do philanthropy through technology.