Today, Salesforce announced that we have invested nearly $23 million in philanthropic dollars to advance racial equality and justice since June 2020. At that time, we pledged to donate a total of $200 million over five years. Eight months later, we are proud to provide a look into our strategy and what’s driving this work.
Our Philanthropic Strategy to Advance Racial Equality & Justice
Our strategy to advance racial equality and justice is grounded in a simple vision: to create a society where everyone has an equal chance at prosperity, resilience, and representation. While our focus on driving more equitable outcomes for the Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities has deepened over the last year, amidst a global pandemic that has disproportionately impacted marginalized communities and a profound reckoning with racial injustice, this work is by no means new to us.
Through the Salesforce Foundation, we are committed to opening the doors of opportunity so that everyone has equal access to a quality education, a meaningful career, and a prosperous future. Our Education, Workforce Development, and Thriving Communities programs continue to prioritize support for individuals from underrepresented and underserved communities in the U.S. and globally. We are working to embed an even deeper racial equity lens in this work by examining our philanthropic policies and practices to address unconscious bias, ensure our dollars are funding both immediate and long-term solutions, and support more Black- and minority-led nonprofit organizations.
As part of our 5-year, $200 million commitment, Salesforce has also launched a new corporate Racial Equality & Justice Fund, focused on three intersecting areas:
- Economic Opportunity: Advancing access to capital for Black, Latinx, and Indigenous entrepreneurs; supporting tech solutions that foster financial inclusion among underrepresented communities; and promoting access to growth opportunities within the Salesforce ecosystem.
- Civic Engagement: Creating a more inclusive democracy that represents the voices of every American, with a focus on advancing voting rights and voting access within the Black and Latinx communities.
- Systems Change & Resilience: Investing in research and data to address the root causes of racism and promoting equitable recovery efforts related to both the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.
Our philanthropy doesn’t stand alone. It’s a partnership with other areas of the business—including People, Policy and Purchasing—and it’s a reflection of what we’ve heard from our Equality Groups, our nonprofit partners, and our communities. We also know that how we invest our philanthropic dollars is just as important as where we invest them. That’s why we’re focused on providing general operating support and prioritizing donations to Black-, Latinx-, and other minority-led nonprofits.
Our Latest Racial Equality & Justice Donations
We are proud to announce $5 million in new donations to 16 remarkable nonprofit organizations. These investments build upon our previously announced $5 million in donations, and include a focus on all three priority areas:
Economic Opportunity
- $1M to the Robin Hood Foundation’s Power Fund to address the interplay of racial justice and economic justice by investing in nonprofit leaders of color.
- $475K to Mission Asset Fund, Talk Tech Association, Go Paladin, and Transparent Collective to create a fair financial marketplace and help Black and Latinx founders break into and succeed in the tech ecosystem.
- $420K to Climb Hire, JVS Bay Area, and HBCUforce to prepare individuals from underrepresented communities for jobs that require a background in Salesforce, and provide the experiences and connections needed to succeed in the Salesforce ecosystem.
Civic Engagement
- $1.5M to the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. and the Brennan Center for Justice to protect and expand voting rights to ensure every American has access to equal representation.
Systems Change & Resilience
- $755K to Eat. Learn. Play Foundation, Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, to promote food security and advance fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
- $550K to PolicyLink and the Urban Institute to support research that analyzes and exposes racial and ethnic disparities, and promote data-driven policy solutions to further equitable outcomes for the Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities in the United States.
- $300K to the American Red Cross to support disaster preparedness and enable immediate relief to communities in crisis.
In addition to these investments, Tableau has driven $5.4 million in donations through its Racial Justice Data Initiative.
It is our hope that this early progress will inspire others, because we aren’t alone on this journey. To build a just and equal society, we need to do it together: across industries, across sectors, and in partnership with our communities.
