Companies across all kinds of industries — from grocery stores to major tech corporations — are investing in local communities. They’re putting money into nonprofit groups, classrooms and other organizations focused on building a better world. Here are five companies that donate to schools, whether through direct financial support, acts of service or by providing technology and resources to enhance students’ learning experiences.
Companies That Donate to Schools
- Verizon
- Whole Foods Market
- Office Depot
- JetBlue
- Darden Restaurants
Companies That Donate to Schools
Known as a provider of mobile devices and wireless network technology, Verizon participates in various community giving programs each year. The Verizon Foundation matches employee donations up to $1,000 for schools and other charitable organizations and up to $5,000 for higher education organizations. Eligible schools can also apply for Verizon’s education grants, which are meant “to support projects that promote digital skills development for students and teachers in grades K-12.”
The Whole Kids Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Whole Foods Market, funds multiple grants to provide healthy food for students in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. These offerings include the Garden Grant Program, which helps schools and nonprofits convert outdoor spaces into gardens, and the Salad Bar Grant, which ensures recipient schools have fresh fruits and vegetables. The foundation also offers a Get Schools Cooking Grant that facilitates a shift from processed lunches to meals cooked from scratch.
Office Depot launched its Start Proud initiative in 2018. With support from its partners, Office Depot recruits volunteers to assemble backpacks filled with school supplies and a gift card. These supplies are then given to students at the start of the school year. The program provides supplies for teachers to prepare their classrooms as well. Office Depot also has a Give Back to Schools program that allows individual customers to give back to local schools. When a buyer purchases qualifying items from Office Depot and provides a school’s ID number at checkout, 5 percent of the total is given to the school in the form of credits for classroom supplies. To date, the program has provided schools with more than $38 million in credits, according to Office Depot.
Education is one of the focus areas for airline JetBlue’s social impact and corporate responsibility platform. The JetBlue Foundation accepts grant applications for aviation-related education programs and STEM initiatives. Past recipients have included Sally Ride Elementary School’s aviation and aerospace magnet program and Spelman College.
Darden Restaurants operates Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and other popular brands. Its philanthropic branch, the Darden Foundation, has been responsible for more than $100 million in contributions to various organizations since the mid-1990s. Its charitable giving has included upwards of $5.5 million in university endowments, which support financial aid programs that can help prepare students for careers in hospitality.
Optimum serves as a video and communications and video services. It offers mobile, proprietary and broadband content to almost 5 million business and residential customers throughout 21 states. The company has hosted annual back-to-school backpack programs where it distributes thousands of backpacks to support children in local communities throughout the New York Tri-State area.
