Today, Salesforce announced $19 million in new grants to five school districts across the United States – San Francisco Unified School District, Oakland Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools, Indianapolis Public Schools, and the New York City Department of Education, including $1.75 million to education nonprofits in the United States and Europe.

This year marks a milestone of a nearly decade-long commitment to schools and Bay Area schools in particular. With the addition of these new funds, Salesforce has now donated a total of $100 million to San Francisco and Oakland Unified School Districts.

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Why it matters: Now more than ever, schools need support. Salesforce is building upon its longstanding commitment to education to help schools address growing inequities and get students back on track as they return to school.

What they’re saying:

• “Back to school looks different this year, and there are new demands on teachers, parents, and students,” said Ebony Beckwith, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Salesforce. “To ensure their success, we’re leaning into our values and bringing the full power of our platform to help support them through another year of pandemic learning.”
• “The past year and a half was a challenge for not only staff but also students. To have a community partner like Salesforce come alongside our school district with such a generous donation is invaluable,” said IPS Superintendent Dr. Alessia Johnson. “These additional resources will help IPS address the specific needs of our students — during and after the pandemic — through learning acceleration, ensuring we can continue to provide 1:1 technology and access to reliable internet service for students, and that we’re also focusing on the whole child through social emotional learning and trauma-informed care. I often say that we’re stronger together and it’s partnerships with organizations like Salesforce that highlights how working together can yield awesome benefits for our children.”
• “Salesforce is an invaluable partner to the students and educators of Oakland Unified,” said OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “The remarkable support they give our middle schools, our teachers, our newcomers, and of course, our computer science students is game-changing. We are able to provide computer science instruction, newcomer support, support for middle schools, and connect students and families to much-needed services through the Education Cloud platform, all of which could not happen this way just a few short years ago. As the African proverb says, it takes a village to raise a child. OUSD is grateful that Salesforce is part of our village.”

Zoom out: Salesforce’s commitment to education has made a lasting impact on many educators, school districts, and students. Here are a couple of our favorite stories.

Discover more about Salesforce’s Commitment to Education here.