Google CEO announces $800+ million commitment for COVID-19

Google has been contributing to the fight against COVID-19 by offering the largest donation yet in the form of grants, as well as its services and expertise.

Last month, the company announced that they were offering $25 million in ad grants to educate the public on prophylactic measures to take to help curb the spread of the virus, as they believe that education is the main weapon against the spread of the Coronavirus.

CEO of Google and Alphabet, Sundar Pichai, today announced what further commitments Google has pledged.  The company is setting out to support, in particular, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), health organisations and governments, and health workers on the frontline during the pandemic.

Here’s what Google’s commitment includes:

• $250 million in ad grants to help the World Health Organization (WHO) and more than 100 government agencies globally provide critical information on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other measures to help local communities. This is an increase from our initial $25 million announced last month. In addition, we’re providing $20 million in ad grants to community financial institutions and NGOs specifically to run public service announcements on relief funds and other resources for SMBs.
• A $200 million investment fund that will support NGOs and financial institutions around the world to help provide small businesses with access to capital. As one example, we’re working with the Opportunity Finance Network in the U.S. to help fill gaps in financing for people and communities underserved by mainstream financial institutions. This is in addition to the $15 million in cash grants Google.org is already providing to nonprofits to help bridge these gaps for SMBs.
• $340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year. Credit notifications will appear in their Google Ads accounts and can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across our advertising platforms. We hope it will help to alleviate some of the cost of staying in touch with their customers.
• A pool of $20 million in Google Cloud credits for academic institutions and researchers to leverage our computing capabilities and infrastructure as they study potential therapies and vaccines, track critical data, and identify new ways to combat COVID-19. Learn how to apply for credits on the Google for Education site.
• Direct financial support and expertise to help increase the production capacity for personal protective equipment (PPE) and lifesaving medical devices. We’re working with our longtime supplier and partner Magid Glove & Safety, with the goal of ramping up production of 2-3 million face masks in the coming weeks that will be provided to the CDC Foundation. Additionally, employees from across Alphabet, including Google, Verily and X, are bringing engineering, supply chain and healthcare expertise to facilitate increased production of ventilators, working with equipment manufacturers, distributors and the government in this effort.

Further to this, Google is also increasing the gift match that they offer to every employee annually from $7,500 to $10,000.

Together, we’ll continue to help our communities—including our businesses, educators, researchers and nonprofits—to navigate the challenges ahead.

Despite the generous gesture, some are questioning whether Google is using this opportunity to give away ad inventory that they were unable to sell due to the global downturn.  Regardless, it will undoubtedly benefit the companies involved and help spread their message, and if anything, set a charitable example for other companies.

Source: Google