Businesses’ charitable giving programs offer both customers and employees a chance to participate in improving the world around them. Many employers also establish paid volunteer days and set up opportunities for their teams to get hands-on with community projects. Here are eight companies that give back by investing financial support and volunteer hours in initiatives that support art, education, small business and other areas of focus.
Companies That Give Back
- Toast
- SRAM
- CarGurus
- The Kraft Heinz Company
- The PNC Financial Services Group
- NVIDIA
- Uncommon Goods
- Bookshop.org
Companies That Give Back
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Toast’s point-of-sale system and other technology solutions are used by thousands of restaurants to make ordering, food prep, service and payment processes run smoothly. The company engages in various community service activities through Toast.org, its philanthropic branch, which maintains partnerships with groups like No Kid Hungry and Project Bread. The initiative has gotten more than 1.5 million meals into the hands of people who need them, and Toast joined a pledge to invest at least 1 percent of its product, equity or employee time into bettering communities, according to the Toast.org impact report.
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
SRAM is a global company manufacturing components for both mountain and road bikes. Its Cycling Fund invests $1 million annually in organizations from Europe and North America dedicated to building and improving cycling infrastructure. The company also supports World Bicycle Relief, which was co-founded by SRAM’s executive vice president in the early 2000s. The nonprofit group provides bicycles to people living in low-income regions so they’re able to make it to school, work and medical appointments.
Headquarters: Cambridge, Massachusetts
CarGurus is a tech company that functions as a virtual used car lot, operating a platform for buying, selling and financing consumer vehicles. The company has strong environmental, social and governance values — it donated nearly $700,000 to global charities between 2018 and 2021 and supports all its employees with funding and resources for learning and development. Despite being nominally in the car business, CarGurus is committed to offsetting its carbon footprint with its forthcoming headquarters, which will have public transit access, bicycle storage and EV charging stations.
Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois
The Kraft Heinz Company is a food and beverage industry staple producing condiments, macaroni and other popular brand-name food products. The company has pledged to deliver 1.5 billion meals by 2025 to people in need as part of a global mission to aid in mitigating hunger. The Kraft Heinz Foundation has initiated partnerships, made donations and engaged employees in volunteer opportunities to work toward this goal.
Headquarters: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
PNC provides banking services to individual, small business and corporate customers. Its commitment to philanthropy includes the PNC Grow Up Great program, a $500 million initiative focused on early learning and preparing children for school. PNC Arts Alive has also provided more than $20 million in grants to various cultural organizations since 2009.
Headquarters: Santa Clara, California
NVIDIA builds hardware for applications like artificial intelligence-powered robots and high-performance computing. The NVIDIA Foundation enables employees to give back to the community by making donations and volunteering through the company’s Inspire 365 initiative. As part of the initiative, the foundation matches employees’ personal donations of up to $2,500 annually. Another option allows employees to be connected with opportunities to tutor students in subjects like math and science. The Save the Children Federation, Foundation for Ecological Security and Marine Toys for Tots Foundation have been among the organizations to benefit from the NVIDIA Foundation’s charitable giving.
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York
Uncommon Goods is an online marketplace that sells items designed by independent makers and artists. The company’s Better to Give program, which began in 2001, has donated more than $2.8 million to various nonprofit organizations. Every purchase made on Uncommon Goods’ site results in a $1 donation — $2 for Uncommon Perks members — to a Better to Give partner of the shopper’s choice.
Headquarters: Brooklyn, New York
Bookshop.org is an online bookstore that provides financial support to more than 1,600 independent, brick-and-mortar bookstores across the United States. Shoppers can select the bookstore that will receive the direct profits from their purchase, or the money can go into a profit pool that’s split between the Bookshop’s partner stores. Over 80 percent of Bookshop’s profits are given to independent booksellers, with more than $25 million raised to date, according to the company website.