Salesforce Gives $25M to Education with a Focus on Teacher and Student Wellbeing

• New grants support school districts and education nonprofits across the United States
• Local leaders to gather at “Celebrating our Schools” event in San Francisco to mark the occasion
• New features introduced for Salesforce’s Student Success Hub for K-12 to deliver holistic student support, automate processes, and boost staff productivity

San Francisco – September 19, 2022 – Salesforce, the world’s leading CRM, today announced $25 million in new grants to support school districts and education nonprofits across the United States. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Salesforce’s commitment to education, with giving now totaling more than $165 million in support of schools, educators, and students around the world. 

As the education system looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, schools need support more than ever. Students face significant learning loss and many are struggling with social and emotional traumas experienced during the pandemic. This gap is particularly pronounced for students of color. Educators are also feeling the pressure, with teacher shortages leading to increased workloads and class sizes.

This year’s funding will focus on student wellbeing, supporting both social and emotional learning, behavioral and mental health programs, and trauma-informed therapy, as well as robust support to improve the resiliency of schools and educators.

Salesforce celebrates 10 years of supporting schools at Presidio Middle School

To celebrate reaching a milestone — 10 years of giving — Salesforce will today host a special event at Presidio Middle School in San Francisco. 

“Celebrating Our Schools” will feature remarks from Salesforce Co-CEOs Marc Benioff and Bret Taylor, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, San Francisco Superintendent Dr. Matt Wayne, and Acting Oakland Superintendent Dr. Sondra Aguilera. 

As schools’ needs have changed, we’ve evolved to meet those challenges – from the early days of providing WiFi and devices, to STEM and computer science, and now a renewed focus on mental health. We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do together.

Ebony Beckwith, Chief Business Officer and CEO of the Salesforce Foundation

“It’s been an amazing 10-year journey working with our schools,” says Ebony Beckwith, Chief Business Officer and CEO of the Salesforce Foundation. “As schools’ needs have changed, we’ve evolved to meet those challenges – from the early days of providing WiFi and devices, to STEM and computer science, and now a renewed focus on mental health. We’re just scratching the surface of what we can do together.” 

“Salesforce’s 10-year partnership represents the single largest investment from a private entity to SFUSD. Their support continues to have a profoundly positive impact on San Francisco public school students, preparing them for 21st Century-learning in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, all while decreasing the opportunity gap for our underrepresented students of color and girls,” says Dr. Matt Wayne, Superintendent of SFUSD. “We are incredibly grateful for their leadership, vision, and investment in our public schools.”

The Top News from Dreamforce 2022

Salesforce’s Cary Chow breaks down the biggest news from Dreamforce 2022

As part of the celebration, Salesforce will host a student fair, staffed by 150 Salesforce employee volunteers, with wellbeing and mindfulness activities for 1,000 Presidio students.

Supporting student wellbeing and celebrating school resilience 

CEO Marc Benioff pledged that the company would donate $100 million over 10 years to support local schools. What started as a $2.5 million donation that first year to San Francisco Public Schools has since grown to more than $165 million in support of education around the world.

Today’s announcement builds on Salesforce’s longstanding partnerships with schools and other organizations, supporting students’ urgent wellbeing needs and improving school resilience by investing in educators at all levels. Grants include support to:

• San Francisco Unified School District: STEM instruction, support for middle schools educators, and middle school redesign. 
• Oakland Unified School District: Case management and other holistic newcomers supports, STEM instruction, and educator retention. 
• Indianapolis Public Schools: Sensory-friendly environments for struggling students, peer mentors, and social-emotional professional development.
• Chicago Public Schools: Violence prevention in high violence neighborhoods, advanced STEM education, and principal pipeline efforts.
• New York City Department of Education: Academic recovery programs and teacher professional development.
• Institute for Educational Leadership: Preparation and support for community schools, which leverage external partnerships to support children’s holistic needs. 
• The Partnership for LA Schools: Social-emotional services, community partnerships and wrap-around services for students in LA’s historically under-resourced schools.
• Ed Trust: Educator diversity investments to drive improved student outcomes and equity. 
• New Leaders: Recruitment and support for diverse school leaders, including a new partnership with a Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU).
• TNTP: Improved recruitment and retention of diverse educators and academic acceleration to address students’ learning gaps after the pandemic.
• Chiefs for Change: Specialized support for district superintendents to ensure strong leadership for school systems. 

“The partnership between Oakland Unified and Salesforce is critical for providing additional support for young people who are often furthest from opportunity,” said OUSD Acting Superintendent Dr. Sondra Aguilera. “With so much remarkable assistance, Salesforce has helped our schools stay resilient in the face of great challenges, leaving us in a place where the future is indeed promising for all of Oakland’s young people.”

With so much remarkable assistance, Salesforce has helped our schools stay resilient in the face of great challenges, leaving us in a place where the future is indeed promising for all of Oakland’s young people.

Dr. Sondra Aguilera, OUSD ACTING SUPERINTENDENT

“At IPS, we are grateful for our continued partnership with Salesforce,” said Dr. Aleesia Johnson, Superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). “Through their consistent support, we are working to advance, scale, and sustain racial equity initiatives across the district, and to continue to increase social and emotional resources for students and staff most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Over the past decade, Salesforce has also developed deep partnerships with local educators. Through its Principal Innovation Fund, Salesforce has provided unrestricted funds to support principals’ top needs – addressing everything from STEM education and computer science, to teacher recruitment and retention programs, to programs designed to boost students’ and teachers’ social and emotional wellbeing.

Salesforce employees donate nearly a million hours to schools

To date, Salesforce employees have given nearly a million hours of their time volunteering for schools and education – including nearly 100,000 hours in FY23 alone. 

Through Salesforce’s Circle the Schools program, employees have adopted 130 schools globally – including 34 schools in San Francisco and Oakland. Employees have also participated in volunteer activities designed to advance student skills, including literacy in elementary schools, STEM in middle schools, and college and career readiness in high schools.

Together, Salesforce and its employees are committed to investing in the next generation of leaders, in the Bay Area and beyond. 

New innovations to support schools 

In addition to funds, Salesforce leverages its full power to tackle education challenges head-on — including technology. This week, new features will be introduced into Salesforce for Education offerings, specifically Student Success Hub for K-12, a product that helps schools intervene collaboratively, connect students with services faster, and better track their progress. 

Within this tool, Student Success Alerts, Data Mover, and Guidance Center offer schools new innovations to deliver holistic student support, automate processes, and boost staff productivity:

• Student Success Alerts: Quickly raise alerts about students from a Slack app that feeds directly into Student Success Hub, streamlining communication between student support staff.
• Data Mover: Easily brings external data into the Education Data Architecture (EDA) and Student Success Hub with ready-to-use importing, custom mapping, and duplication prevention logic. (GA Winter ‘23)
• Guidance Center: Admins get onboarding support with step-by-step instructions and resources to set up Student Success Hub quickly and easily. (GA Winter ‘23)

Learn more:

• Read more about Salesforce’s commitment to education. 
• Read how Salesforce hit half a billion dollars in all-time giving. 
• Read about Salesforce’s partnership with SFUSD.