We have compiled information directly from our Advisory Council members and from their websites to highlight some of the measures being taken by our corporate sponsor in support Black Lives Matter and social and racial justice. This list is being updated so check back for changes and additions.
AAHOA
AAHOA and the CEOs of Hilton and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts have issued statements supporting the call for justice. AAHOA said that they thrive on the spirit of hospitality to all. AAHOA said that it was founded on a commitment to equal opportunity, acceptance, diversity, and the pursuit of the American Dream. AAHOA, its board, members, staff, and partners stand with those who also champion these values and are working to make them a reality for communities across our country.
CEO Tim Cook sent out a statement addressing the discrimination and racism black people are forced to deal with every single day and committed $100 million to Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative to challenge the systemic barriers to opportunity and dignity that exist for communities of color, and particularly the black community.”
Their efforts will focus on four main areas – listening, leading, investing, advocating.
Listening: In order to make progress for those who have been hurt by systemic racism, they recognize they must first begin to listen. That’s why they are spending time listening to employees and seeking their input on meaningful actions they can take, both internally and externally. They will seek out the voices and expertise of community leaders and social justice advocates to inform their actions.
Leading: When it comes to leading Coca-Cola recognizes that as a company, they need internally to be an example for corporate America and society overall, otherwise what platform do they have to lead from? They plan on renewing their mandatory diversity and inclusive training programs, encouraging more employees to visit the Center for Civil and Human Rights next door and getting more people of color in leadership positions within the company.
Investing: They are committed to investing more resources to advance social justice causes. They have also announced $2.5 million in grants from The Coca-Cola Foundation for the Equal Justice Initiative to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of criminal justice reform; the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in support of the “Policing Reform Campaign;” and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to deliver a platform to bring people together for powerful conversations that matter and inspire social change and their current “Campaign for Equal Dignity.” In addition, they will match employee donations to these initiatives, as well as contributions to the 100 Black Men of America and the National CARES Mentoring Movement. Starting with the CEO!!!!
Advocating: They are pledging to utilize both their own bottle industry as well as their business network to support change and embrace policies that matter, starting with publicly supporting legislation to advance a hate-crimes law in Georgia. They will also continue to support collective actions and pledges across the business community, such as the Business Roundtable, the Atlanta Committee for Progress and CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.
The company released a letter outlining their commitment to listening and to utilizing their platform to educate, inform and inspire people of our country regarding race relations. They also promised that they would remain a champion for equality. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said in a blog post that the Philadelphia media giant would set aside $75 million in cash and $25 million in advertising inventory to fight injustice against “any race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation or ability.” The funds and ad space will be distributed over the next three years.
As an organization deeply committed to diversity and inclusion, Deloitte stands against the legacy of systemic bias, racism, and unequal treatment that continues to plague our communities.
Deloitte is taking multiple actions to support the fight against racial inequalities.
Moments of Reflection: They will be hosting two national webcast sessions to take a pause—a moment of reflection—to honor the victims of racism and racial injustice in our country and to acknowledge and commit to the transformation of society that must occur.
Dialogue: To allow opportunities for employees’ to be heard in a more informal setting, leaders will host small group conversations over the next several weeks. During these sessions, employees will have the opportunity to share their experiences, raise their concerns and ideas, hear each other’s stories, or just simply listen and learn.
Education and Resources: Their team has created a website with many resources to educate people on the struggles and injustices people of color go through. This information is geared to help employees learn more about how they can take definitive actions to support our black community, promote equality, root out bias, speak up against racial injustice, and serve as allies.
Investing Deloitte’s Resources to Rebuild our Communities: Committing $5 million contributions and pro bono commitments to a number of organizations that are fighting for social justice, tackling employment and wealth inequality, and creating educational opportunities for underserved communities.
Entertainment Software Association
ESA has issued a statement in support of the BLM movement. They have also created a list of game companies in their network that are donating money, time, and effort to support the BLM movement.
Facebook is deleting accounts that are not authentically supporting George Floyd as well as donating $10 million to groups that are fighting racial inequalities.
Farmers Insurance Group of Companies
They are mobilizing the Farmers® Black Professional Alliance (BPA), an Employee Resource Group (ERG), to help identify and elevate regular dialogue within senior leadership in an effort to continue listening, learning and finding tangible ways to show support for the black community.
Donating $250,000 to the Los Angeles Urban League, an organization committed to advancing equal opportunities on behalf of African Americans and other minority groups.
Reinforcing the organization’s long standing practice of encouraging employee volunteerism in their local communities, including supporting them with paid time outside of work to participate in safe, orchestrated efforts to rebuild neighborhoods.
Google, Inc.
Google is giving $12 million in funding to organizations working to address racial inequities. Their first grants of $1 million each will go to their long-term partners at the Center for Policing Equity and the Equal Justice Initiative. They will also be providing technical support through Google.org Fellows program. This builds on the $32 million they have donated to racial justice over the past five years.
They are also offering $25 million in Ad Grants to help organizations fighting racial injustice provide critical information. As a result of last week’s internal giving campaign, Google has contributed an additional $2.5 million in donations that they are matching. This represents the largest Google giving campaign in their company’s history, with both the largest amount raised by employees and the broadest participation.
Home Depot has donated $1 million to the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under law in response to the George Floyd murder. On June 1, CEO Craig Menear issued a statement on behalf of the company in support of racial justice and equality for all.
CEO Alex Gorsky announced that Johnson & Johnson is committing $10 million over the next three years “to fighting racism and injustice in America” as people across the United States and other parts of the world protest against police killings of blacks.
They have committed $5 million dollars to the National Urban League to help support their mission of enabling African Americans and other underserved communities to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights. Through the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and other initiatives, they have accelerated efforts to fund research, help shape policy recommendations, lend data science to help rebuild distressed communities and support minority entrepreneurs.
McDonald’s is donating $1 million to racial justice organizations. They have also created an ad that addresses the senseless killings of African Americans in America.
National Beer Wholesalers Association
NBWA made a public statement saying, “The beer industry stands with communities and against racial inequality. We are appalled and saddened by the injustices inflicted on our friends and neighbors. We must take a stand against prejudice and bigotry. America must live up to the promise of liberty and justice for all. And we need to use this moment to renew our fight against injustice and work toward becoming a more perfect union. As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘The time is always right to do what is right.’ And that time is now.”
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Norvartis are working to ensure their company is providing resources to external organizations, including the NAACP Empowerment Program, to support their core work on health equity. Norvartis also working to increase patient diversity within our clinical research and development programs and continue our decades-long efforts to combat diseases that disproportionally affect low- and middle-income countries and Black communities.
With their brands they are going to establish a fund with an initial contribution of $5 million to help fight for a more just and equitable society in regards to healthcare, economy and living situations. The P&G “Take On Race” Fund will support larger, established organizations in North America like the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, YWCA Stand Against Racism and the United Negro College Fund. It will also include smaller organizations that mobilize and advocate, such as Courageous Conversation, and groups that hold our elected officials more accountable.
They are re-releasing their award-winning films THE TALK and THE LOOK, and airing them more broadly to inspire important conversations to drive understanding, empathy, and change. They will also re-release a newer film, CIRCUMSTANCES, which speaks to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities. They are bringing forward programs to create further dialogue, understanding and action: TIME 100 Talks on Thursdays in June; The Queen Collective films focused on social issues that inspire positive change on June 13; The BET Awards on BET and CBS/Viacom on June 28.
In June, SoftBank Group announced the creation of its Opportunity Fund, a new $100 million venture fund to support visionary Black, Latinx and Native American entrepreneurs. The Opportunity Fund will invest in U.S. companies at the seed, venture, and growth stages that use technology to reimagine traditional business models and create new ones.
State Farm Insurance Companies
They have pledged to work with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and will make a $1 million donation toward education and research around social injustice and its impacts to communities.
Target has pledged $10 million to social justice organizations such as the National Urban League and the African American Leadership Forum, as well as community rebuilding efforts, after the death of George Floyd.
T-Mobile is establishing programs to support Black businesses and minority communities across the country. Much of this work is already underway as a result of the diversity partnership and Memorandum of Understanding T-Mobile signed with six National Civil Rights organizations last year, including our commitment to fund their important work on behalf of all Americans with $25M in grants.
Verizon commits $10 million to aid organizations dedicated to equality and social justice.
Visa will establish a $10 million fund to create a dedicated Visa scholarship assistance program over the next five years, specifically for college-bound Black and African American students. Upon graduation, all recipients who have met their commitments will be guaranteed a full-time job with Visa. During the month of June, they will double match Visa employee donations, up to $1 million, to key organizations that support racial justice and equality.
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are committing $100 million over five years through a new center on racial equity. The goal of the center will be to address systemic racism in society head-on and accelerate change.
- Representation:Wells Fargo is committed to doubling Black leadership over the next five years. Currently among the company’s senior leadership, 41% are female, and 21% are racially or ethnically diverse; 6% are Black/African American. The company will aggressively recruit senior managers from outside the company, which will in turn better position Wells Fargo to promote from within for its top leadership roles.
• Compensation: Senior leadership will be evaluated based upon their progress in improving diverse representation and inclusion in their area of responsibility, which will have a direct impact on year-end compensation decisions.
• New and expanded diversity role reporting to the CEO: This is a new role which will have a broad mandate of driving diversity and inclusion in both Wells Fargo’s workplace and business, including working with business leaders to drive investments in products and solutions specifically for diverse populations across our country.
• Wells Fargo education sessions: The company will begin a series of education sessions in which employees can share with colleagues their personal stories and perspectives on the realities of racism in our country. All employees will be able to participate.
• New live anti-racism manager training: All managers will be required to participate in a new live and interactive program specifically designed to tackle today’s challenges. This will go well beyond the current standardized training that is inadequate to the challenge. Senior leadership will go through this training first, and then it will cascade throughout the company. - Investments in Diversity: Investing up to $50 million in African American Minority Depository Institutions as part of Wells Fargo’s commitment to supporting economic growth in African American communities.
