“Apple, the world’s most valuable tech company, has donated $500,000 to the anti-poverty initiative SF Gives, Fortune has learned from two sources familiar with the matter,” JP Mangalindan reports for CNNMoney. “”
“The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant joins a list of 15 corporate contributors that includes Google, LinkedIn, and Zynga. Launched in early March, SF Gives is the brainchild of Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff and Daniel Lurie, CEO of the nonprofit Tipping Point,” Mangalindan reports. “The goal: have 20 businesses contribute $500,000 each, or $10 million total, to fund local charitable programs.”
“The arrival of an initiative like SF Gives comes at a precarious time for Silicon Valley. Critics of the thriving tech industry have blamed companies for a meteoric rise in rents and increased evictions. In recent months, protesters have blocked Google’s employee commuter buses, held a rally at the annual Crunchies tech awards gala, and stood outside the San Francisco home of Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose, distributing flyers and holding signs maligning Rose as a ‘parasite’ and ‘leech,'” Mangalindan reports. “SF Gives wouldn’t be the first time Apple has made a charitable contribution. The company has given $70 million to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, raised from the sale of (PRODUCT) RED-themed devices and donated tens of millions to Stanford hospitals.”
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