TECH FIRMS STEPPING UP TO HELP HARVEY VICTIMS
Apple donates $2M to the Red Cross; Google, Amazon, AT&T, Facebook also dig deep into pockets
Tech companies are tapping their deep pockets to raise money to help victims of Hurricane Harvey.
Google staff donated $250,000 to the American Red Cross, which the company matched dollar for dollar, and Google also made a corporate contribution of $250,000. On Tuesday, it launched an additional $1 million matching campaign to gather donations from staff and Google users for Red Cross efforts in Texas and other affected areas.
Apple donated $2 million to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The company has also pledged to match employee donations two to one.
In addition, Apple is making it easy for users to donate to the Red Cross via its iTunes page, which now features buttons for donating between $5 and $200. The money is transferred directly to the American Red Cross from iTunes, so those donating won’t get a tax writeoff. But they also won’t have to do anything more than click a button on a site they probably visit frequently.
Amazon, and its newest acquisition Whole Foods Markets, will be matching donations made in stores or on its website for up to
$1 million.
The Amazon wish list from the Red Cross gives a sense of the immediate needs of those in floodravaged areas: phone chargers and children’s bedding.
Facebook has announced it will match every dollar raised on its site, up to $1 million, for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy’s Hurricane Harvey Recovery Fund.
AT&T has pledged $350,000 to help communities affected by Hurricane Harvey. The AT&T Foundation will also match employee donations up to $100,000. In addition, customers can text ‘HARVEY’ to 90999 to donate
$10 to the American Red Cross. Microsoft made an initial donation of $100,000 to the Red Cross, with the company and its employees pledging to do more.