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
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.
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.
Mixbook’s online platform lets users design and order custom products like calendars, cards and home decor featuring their own photos. The Mixbook for Schools program simplifies preordering and paying for yearbooks online, and 10 percent of the net sales from parent orders are donated back to the participating school.
The Kraft Heinz Company is one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, known for iconic foods like macaroni & cheese and ketchup. It works in food technology and has an AI-powered neural network that processes data for manufacturing, processing and marketing of its products. The company partners with No Kid Hungry, which offers school meals.
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.
HopSkipDrive provides supplemental transportation solutions for schools and other organizations through its network of vetted CareDrivers. The company donates used laptops to Bay Area schools in addition to hosting yearly back-to-school drives to collect backpacks and other supplies. It also provides discounts on youth transportation to qualified nonprofits through its HopSkipImpact initiative and has committed to investing $2 million toward addressing school bus driver shortages through the Opportunity for All Community Fund.
Enova’s businesses offer online financial services for consumers and small businesses. The Enova Gives initiative supports organizations that increase access to quality education, improve the lives of children and young adults in need and enable access to quality financial literacy programs. It matches up to $500 in annual charitable donations for every employee.
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.
AlertMedia’s platform delivers a unified set of tools that businesses rely on to access threat intelligence, manage risks, communicate with employees during emergencies and coordinate incident response. Through an initiative arranged by its DEI Committee in collaboration with Partnerships With Children and the Rainbow Room, AlertMedia facilitates school supply donations to local Austin schools and provides Amazon wishlists so that remote team members can participate.
Cargill delivers food, ingredients, agricultural solutions and industrial products to support global supply chains. The company has almost 500 employee-led Cargill Cares Councils, which are dedicated to community engagement. For example, the company’s India Capability Center based in Bengaluru engages in partnerships and volunteer opportunities, which have provided millions of meals to local students, refurbished 1,000 classroom blackboards and renovated 32 anganwadis for early childhood education.
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.
