Apple celebrates 'landmark year of giving'

Apple Giving Dec 2020 Hero
Apple Giving Dec 2020 Hero (Image credit: Apple)

What you need to know

  • Apple has published a press release to celebrate a landmark year of giving for the company's Employee Giving Program.

Apple has today celebrated a "landmark year of giving" for the company.

In a press release the company stated:

For every hour an employee volunteers or dollar they donate, Apple matches that with a monetary donation to the same organization. Since the program's inception in 2011, Apple employees have raised almost $600 million in total donations — including more than 1.6 million hours volunteered — for more than 34,000 organizations. This is on top of the corporate donations Apple's Community Investment team makes each year to nonprofits around the world, including Feeding America, FIRST, Malala Fund, Simplon, and many others. Apple is also investing in a multimillion-dollar annual grant program geared toward supporting organizations in communities where Apple teams live and work, including food banks, health, and social services, youth art programs, and more. This holiday season, Apple is donating an additional $5 million to support an array of global organizations that are helping families and communities worldwide weather the storm of the COVID-19 pandemic — from hunger relief to medical care.

The release further highlights specific causes the company has supported, such as the British Red Cross's Miles for Refugees event in London that raised over £2 million, and projects like the Caritas of Austin scheme in Texas:

In Austin, Texas, home to Apple's largest campus outside of Cupertino, California, the organization Caritas of Austin works with people who are experiencing or are in danger of experiencing homelessness. From March to September 2020, it helped house 30 percent more individuals and families compared to the same time last year; such help included providing financial support to many who lost their jobs because of the pandemic.

Apple says its scheme has donated raised $600 million since 2011, supporting 34,000 global organizations and clocking 1.6 million hours of voluntary work. You can read the full release here.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9