Google Commits Over $800 Million to the Fight Against the Coronavirus

Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai detailed a commitment of more than $800 million to support small and midsized businesses, health organizations, governments and health workers on the front lines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Pichai said in a blog post Friday that $250 million in ad grants will go to the World Health Organization and more than 100 government agencies worldwide to help them share critical information on preventing the spread of Covid-19 and other ways to help local communities. Alphabet and Google will also provide $20 million in ad grants to community financial institutions and nongovernment organizations for public-service announcements on relief funds and other resources for SMBs. The company created a $200 million investment fund to support NGOs and financial institutions globally and help them provide SMBs with access to capital. Pichai said as an example that Alphabet and Google are working with the Opportunity Finance Network in the U.S. to help fill gaps in financing for people and communities that are underserved by mainstream financial institutions. A total of $340 million in Google Ads credits will be made available to all SMBs that have had active Google Ads accounts over the past year, and Pichai said notifications will begin appearing in those accounts, and the credits can be used at any point until the end of the year across all of the company’s advertising platforms. Academic institutions and researchers will have access to a pool of $20 million in Google Cloud credits to leverage its computing capabilities and infrastructure as they study potential therapies and vaccines, track critical data and identify new ways to combat the coronavirus. They can apply here. Google is working with longtime supplier and partner Magid Glove & Safety to produce 2 million to 3 million face masks in the coming weeks for the CDC Foundation. Employees from Alphabet companies including Google, Verify and X will help bring engineering, supply chain and healthcare expertise to boost production of ventilators, working with equipment manufacturers, distributors and the government. Finally, Google increased its annual gift match for employees to $10,000 from $7,500. Meaning that each employee can now donate $20,000 to organizations in their communities, with one-half coming from the company. Pichai wrote, “Together, we’ll continue to help our communities—including our businesses, educators, researchers and nonprofits—navigate the challenges ahead.”