During 2020 many Tech Companies made a pledge to “help fight” racism with diversity and “Donations” + “Investments” for the Black community. The purpose of this post is to inform or remind the general public what was said in terms of promises for the Black community from corporations. After going through every promise each company made I caught onto a pattern of promises completely unrelated to racism and the Black community. Some promises included gender equality and other races so they can reap the benefits as well.
- Airbnb
2020 commitment: Donate $500,000 to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter Foundation, match employee donations to both groups, 20% of US employees will be minorities, 50% of global employees will be women or people who IDENTIFY as women.
Progress: Donated $1 Million to organizations (not specified) including $500,000 commitment to the NAACP and the Black Lives Matter Foundation + mathcing employee donations to the groups (amount not disclosed). No comments on the commitment to diversify employees on the board or in high level positions.
- Amazon
2020 commitment: Donate $20 million to organizations selected by their Black Employee Network.
Progress: Donated $27 million to organizations including $10 Million commitment + $8.5 Million employee donation match. As of 12/31/20 3.8% of the high level positions were filled by Black people oppose to the 1.9% in 2019 and 1.5% in 2018.
- Apple
2020 commitment: “Invest” $100 Million in opportunities for POC with education and economic equality, increase spending with Black owned suppliers, add 10 coding facilities at Black colleges and universities. Apple CEO Tim Cook also committed to donating an undisclosed amount to organizations (not specified) as well as matching (2 for 1) employee donations to organizations in June 2020 alone.
Progress: During the beginning of 2021 Apple revealed a few plans related to the $100 Million “Investment” through their Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI) program. Plans include creating a global innovation hub for HBCU’s with $25 Million, creating a Developer Academy in Detroit, $10 Million investment given to VC firm Harlem Capital, $25 Million Investment given to Siebert Williams Shank & Co. As of 2016 Apple’s Black employee rate was 9%, in 2020 it dropped to 4% which is the same percentage as 2019.
- Box
2020 commitment: Box CEO Aaron Levie committed to donating $500,000 to organizations (not specified) fighting racial injustice as well as helping racial equality.
Progress: Box spokesperson stated the CEO along with his wife donated $500,000+ to at least 10 organizations (not specified) with help of selecting the organizations from their Black Excellence Network resource group, employees raised $70,000 to support the fight against racial injustice, Box partnered with HBCU’s to help with diversify their company, partnership with Spelman College for 2021 summer interns.
- Cisco
2020 commitment: Donate $5 Million to organizations including the Equal Justice Initiative, the Black Lives Matter Foundation + their own fund to tackle racism and discrimination, 25% increase of employees who self-identify as AfricanAmerican/Black from entry-level through manager positions, 75% increase of employees who self-identify as AfricanAmerican/Black from Director through VP+ level, through 2025 company will invest in HBCU’s to provide technology upgrades, double spending with “diverse” suppliers by 2023, increase the number of AA/Black-owned tech companies in their ecosystem with $50 Million through 2025, “invest” $50 Million in Venture Funds and startups with diverse founders.
Progress: From the $5 Million commitment company donated $1 Million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, $1 Million to the Equal Justice Initiative, $76,000 to organizations apart of Cisco Fighting Racism and Discrimination Fund + $800,000 employee donation match to groups apart of Cisco Fighting Racism and Discrimination Fund. Along with 12% increase of employees who self-identify as AfricanAmerican/Black from the entry-level through manager positions, 41% increase of employees who self-identify as African American/Black from Director through VP+ level, $50 Million ecosystem plan through 2025 is in “early stages”, still “finalizing investments” for $50 Million towards Venture Funds.
- Comcast
2020 commitment: $100 Million ($75 Million in cash + $25 Million in media) 3 year plan to fight injustice and inequality against any race, ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation + $1 Billion through 2030 to shorten the digital divide between high and low income communities.
Progress: Awarded marketing and tech resources to 700+ Black-owned small businesses via RISE inititive + $5 Million in grants to minority-owned small businesses via RISE Investment Fund, Launched NBCU Academy with 17 academic partners (HBCU’s, Hispanic-serving institutions + colleges with large minority populations).
2020 commitment: Investing $100 million in 2020 in Black-owned small businesses, Black creators + nonprofits serving the U.S. Black community, $75 million in cash grants and ad credits for nonprofits (not specified) and businesses (not specified), $25 million in support of content creators, Spending at least $1 billion with diverse suppliers in 2021 and every year after that, $100 million annually with Black-owned suppliers, $5 million total to over 250,000 Facebook Fundraisers created for the Equal Justice Initiative, Thurgood Marshall College Fund + the Innocence Project, $10 million over two years to fund a Black Gaming Creator Program to diversify its gaming platform, $25 million to support Black creators through We the Culture (Facebook page created by Black employees to elevate voices from the community), Through 2023 reach 1 million members of the Black community and 1 million members of the Latino community in the U.S. through Elevate (a program providing free digital skills training), 100,000 scholarships to Black students working on digital certifications through the Facebook Blueprint program, Diversify staff with 30% more people of color including 30% more Black people in leadership roles over five years.
Progress: Allocated or funded $40 million in grants and ad credits to over 10,000 such entities in the U.S. and released additional resources, It distributed $20 million in grants to 20 community foundations that will disburse funds to local nonprofits serving Black communities, on track to meet its goal of spending at least $1 billion with diverse suppliers this year + $100 million of that being with Black-owned suppliers, donated $10 million to 36 U.S. nonprofits nominated by Facebook employees that are working to address system barriers to racial equity, on track to spend the full $10 million of its commitment to the Black Gaming Creator Program over two years and to spend the $25 million it pledged to support Black content creators by the end of 2021, on track to reach its goals of giving 100,000 scholarships to Black learners and reaching 1 million members each in the Black and Latino communities by 2023.
2020 commitment: $12 million in funding to organizations seeking to address racial inequalities and $25 million in ad grants to such groups, $3 million to help close the education gap in computer science and increase Black representation in STEM, Donating $250,000 to Black in AI, a nonprofit organization that aims to increase the presence of Black people in the field of artificial intelligence, $1 billion with diverse-owned suppliers each year, including $100 million with Black-owned businesses, beginning in 2021, $175 million “economic opportunity package” to support Black business owners, developers and job seekers, including $100 million for Black-led capital firms, start-ups and groups supporting Black entrepreneurs, Its YouTube division committing $1 million to the Center for Policing Equity, YouTube creating a $100 million fund to amplify Black creators and artists, Improving representation of underrepresented groups in leadership by 30% by 2025, More than doubling the number of Black workers at non-senior levels by 2025.
Progress: Allocated over $9 million in loans and grants for Black-owned businesses out of its $50 million pledge, selected 76 founders to receive funds from its $5 million U.S. Black Founders fund, created a $1 million fund in Brazil + $2 million fund in Europe for Black founders outside the U.S, $12 million to supporting racial justice groups had been distributed by October (2021), 30 start-ups received funding from its $2 million Black Founders Fund, distributed $60 million of capital from its $100 million fund to Black-led organizations and would invest the remaining $40 million in Black-led start-ups and investment firms by the end of the year (2021), 2020 was Google’s biggest year for hiring Black workers in the U.S. Black workers represented 8.77% of U.S. hiring in 2020 compared with 5.5% in 2019.
- Intel
2020 commitment: $1 Million for organizations addressing social injustice, 30% of high level positions will be filled by Black employees by 2023, encouraged employees to donate to Black Lives Matter Foundation, Center for Policing Equity + the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (only companies eligible for company match), $5 Million commitment through 2025 to build a tech law and policy center at North Carolina Central University (HBCU).
Progress: $1.2 Million to UNESCO, the Obama Foundation and the Greater Houston Community, $800,000 to eligible companies in employee match program including Amnesty International, Center for Policing Equity, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund + the National Urban League.
- Lyft
2020 commitment: $500,000 in ride credits to the NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, Black Women’s Roundtable + National Bail Fund Network.
Progress: 7.6% of their U.S. employees indentified as Black or African American in 2020 which is lower than the 9% it was in 2019, 5.4% of their U.S. employees in senior positions and up identified as Black or African American in 2020 which is higher than the 4.8% it was in 2019, representation of Black and Latino interns was 38% in summer 2021 which is higher than the 26% it was in 2020, LyftUp Access Alliance partnership with My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and the National Urban League to provide 1.5 Million free-discounted rides through 2025.
- Microsoft
2020 commitment: Research Pending
Progress: Research Pending
- Netlfix
2020 commitment: $100 Million in deposits to financial institutions and organizations supporting Black communities in the US + 2% of their cash holdings going forward, $5 Million to nonprofit organizations creating opportunities for the Black community and creators, $100 Million Netflix Fund through 2025 intended for serving underrepresented communities in TV and film industry, CEO Reed Hastings committed to donating $1 Million to the Center for Policing Equity + $120 Million donation to the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College + Morehouse College from Hastings and his wife.
Progress: $70 of the $100 Million in deposits committment was actually delivered (not specified), employee match not disclosed.
- PayPal
2020 commitment: $10 million fund for empowerment grants to Black-owned businesses impacted by COVID-19 or civil unrest, $5 million fund for program grants and employee matching gifts for PayPal’s nonprofit community partners (Association for Enterprise Opportunity, Baltimore Business Lending, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Micro Finance Group, Expanding Black Business Credit Initiative, Kiva, MORTAR, Nebraska Enterprise Fund, Opportunity Fund, Rising Tide Capital, Start Small Think Big, Walker’s Legacy Foundation and Women’s Opportunity Resource Center), $500 million commitment to create an economic opportunity fund to support and strengthen Black and underrepresented minority businesses and communities, committing $15 million to strengthen its internal diversity and inclusion programs, donating $500,000 to organizations (Chicago Urban League, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Minneapolis African American Leadership Forum, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, National Urban League, Repairers of the Breach and The Empowerment Network).
Progress: $500 Million of its commitment into “action” so far, $15 Million in grants in partnership with Association fro Enterprise Opportunity to around 1,400 Black-owned small businesses, $5 Million in grants to 20 U.S. based nonprofits that seek to empower Black-owned businesses, matched employee donations to eligible companies up to $500,000, $500 Million Economic Opportunity Fund for Black and Latino-led start ups, deposited $50 Million in Optus Bank located in South Carolina, $250,000 grant to create a New York Urban League Small Business Support Center to serve Black-owned small businesses in New York City impacted by Covid-19, $125,000 donation to Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
- Peloton
2020 commitment: Research Pending
Progress: Research Pending
2020 commitment: Replace the co-founder Alexis Ohanian board seat with a Black candidate.
Progress: Company replaced co-founder board seat with a Black candidate + better recruiting strategy to hire students from HBCU’s, 2021 intern class will be 1/3 Black and Latino.
- Shopify
2020 commitment: Donate $1 Million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Black Health Alliance and Campaign Zero + $130 Million (in resources) to help create 1 Million new Black-owned businesses by 2030 with Operation Hope.
Progress: $1 Million donation, highlight Black-owned businesses on the company’s platform.
- Slack
2020 commitment: CEO Stewart Butterfield and partner Jen Rubio will donate $700,000 to several nonprofits (not specified) + match donations to those groups up to $300,000, committed funds (amount not specified) to the Equal Justice Initiative, funded an online service where Black people can report misconduct by police + technical support from 250 Slack employees (volunteers).
Progress: Donated $100,000 to the Equal Justice Initiative.
- Snap
2020 commitment: Research Pending
Progress: Research Pending
- SoftBank
2020 commitment: $100 Million Opportunity Fund to invest in companies led by “people of color”.
Progress: Invested in more than 50 companies via Opportunity Fund. Company stated HALF of the companies they invested in are Black.
- Tik Tok
2020 commitment: $2 Million to Accion Opportunity Fund, BET+ United Way COVID-19 Relief Fund, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation + Black Girls CODE, company match employee donations to the companies just mentioned (amount unspecified), $1 Million to the Center for Policing Equity, $850,000 to the Brooklyn Community Foundation, My Block My Hood My City + The Brotherhood Crusade, $150,000 to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, California African American Museum + The Legacy Museum.
Progress: Spokesperson confirmed all financial commitments have been fulfilled.
2020 commitment: Matching employee donations to racial justice groups with a $1 Million fund created by the company, $250,000 split between the National Association of Black Journalists and Equal Justice Initiative group, $270,000 in ad grants to 13 organizations, $100 Million to fund loans through their Opportunity Finance Network program along with $1 Million grant to the program, CEO Jack Dorsey committed to donating $3 Million to the Know Your Rights Camp.
Progress: $1 Million in ads for the National Museum of African American History series titled “Culture”, employees donated $800,000 to 99 organizations with a match from the company of $1.6 Million, $200,000 left over from a $1 Million match fund went back to the mtach budget for use on other campaigns throughout the year (2021), $250,000 split between the National Association of Black Journalists and Equal Justice Initiative group, $500,000 in ad grants to 13 organizations nearly doubling the $270,000 promised, $15.5 Million to fund loans through their Opportunity Finance Network program along with $625,000 in grants to the program.
- Uber
2020 commitment: Donate $1 Million to the Center for Policing Equity + Equal Justice Initiative, highlight Black-owned businesses + eliminate delivery fees until the end of 2020, enforce community guidelines regarding racist behavior, give Black tech workers more opportunities by expanding their interships, doubling Black employees in high level positions by 2025, annual diversity reports including important data, “Invest” $10 Million through promotions and other features (2020-2022) to support Black-owned businesses, continue to highlight Black-owned businesses after 2020, doubling their spending with Black-owned suppliers.
Progress: New feature on their app to report racism and discrimination, employees from “underrepresented” racial backgrounds will earn $1 for every $1 a “non-underrepresented” employee make at the same job level, “Invested” $25 Million into the MDI Keeper’s Fund + $25 Million into an account for unrestricted cash to qualifying MDI’s, fulfilled commitment to eliminate delivery fees for Black owned businesses totaling 3.5 Million, will “continue” to highlight Black-owned businesses.
The 41st Amendment 
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