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How 15 Companies Went Above And Beyond To Help Japan

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April 7, 2011

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Japan is still reeling from the massive earthquake and tsunami that rocked the country on Mar. 11. The disaster has the death toll at 10,000, and another 240,000 in shelters. Gathering aide for this relief is going to be massive, and the country still looks for help in various ways.

 

Some companies made a huge impact by donating funds, matching employees' donations, and sharing valuable equipment and resources with Japan. The outpouring of generosity from corporations has been incredible, with many finding unique ways to donated resources of all kinds.

 

Here's how 15 of them did it:

 

Western Union

 

Western Union created a way for people to directly donate up to $5,000 (without fees) to the Japan relief using Western Union, and the company also donated $50,000 to Mercy Corps to help. Not only that, Western Union has pledged to match donations up to $150,000 from U.S. employees 2-to-1, and international employees 3-to-1.

 

Apple

 

Apple demonstrated its support in many different ways after the disaster. Firstly, Apple set up a donation page on iTunes that sends money straight to the Red Cross, without any fees. Later, Apple CEO Steve Jobs e-mailed all Apple employees worldwide offering support through their HR departments for shipping supplies to Japan. Reports have come in that an Apple store in Japan stayed open throughout the evening, allowing anyone to come in and use the computers and free WiFi to contact loved ones. They also allowed Apple retail and corporate employees and their families to sleep in the Apple store, which was stocked with drinks and food.

 

iStockPhoto

 

iStockPhoto is matching donations dollar for dollar, and the donations will be going to one of three organizations that are already on the ground in Japan.

 

Nissan

 

Nissan has pledged $1 million to the relief fund, $500,000 going straight to the American Red Cross, and is matching contributions dollar for dollar for the first $500,000.

 

Disney

 

Disney is giving a massive $2.5 million to the American Red Cross, and is matching employee donations of up to $1 million. That's a whopping $3.5 million dollars.

 

MLB

 

Several clubs within the MLB have launched fundraising initiatives for disaster relief. Clubs include the Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres. Many clubs are matching fan donations, while front offices of others are donating six figure dollar amounts to the relief.

 

LivingSocial

 

LivingSocial, a Groupon competitor, managed to raise over $2 million dollars through their coupon site. The Web company matched over a million dollars in contributions from site users.

 

SocialShopper

 

Like LivingSocial, SocialShopper was able to raise $20,000 to the American Red Cross via a coupon on their site. $10,000 of the funds were from site visitors, with SocialShopper matching the other $10,000.

 

Teck

 

A mining industry leader Teck is pitching in by donating $1 million to a few organizations on the ground in Japan. On top of the generous donation, Tech is matching employee donations up to $1.2 million dollars.

 

Hilton

 

The hotel chain is matching donations up to $250,000 through their HHonors program.

 

Bank of America

 

Bank of America has committed 100 million yen ($1.22 million USD) to the American and Japanese Red Cross organizations.

 

dealnews

 

Internet deal shopping site dealnews matched up to $25,000 of donations from site users to the Red Cross.

 

JPMorgan Chase

 

The investing giant JPMorgan Chase pledged a whopping $5 million dollars to the relief in Japan. Here's how the donation was broken down:

 

  • $1.1 million as a direct donation
  • $1 million dollars in matching to both World Vision and the American Red Cross by JPMorgan Chase employees 

American Express

 

American Express has contributed $100,000 to the Red Cross, and is waiving merchant fees for donations to the organizations listed on USAID.

 

Subaru

 

Subaru has donated $500,000, with employees also donating over $100,000 to the cause. The parent company of Subaru Fuji Heavy Industries is donating $500,000 worth of generators, lighting units and other supplies. In addition to those donations, Subaru has an initiative that matches Subaru dealer contributions to the American Red Cross of up to $100,000.

What do you think?

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  • Thursday Bram 1 year 1 months and 20 days ago

    Thursday Bram

    I think corporate philanthropy in situations like this is particularly important: a large corporation often not only has the financial resources to help, but, more importantly, often have the resources to get help into place faster than individuals. Apple's efforts, for instance, simply cannot be mimicked by one person working by himself.

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