TikTok Pledges Over $250 Million to Coronavirus Relief Efforts

TikTok continues to do its part in recovery and relief efforts for the coronavirus pandemic, pledging over $250 million toward various initiatives. President Alex Zhu said in a blog post, “Covid-19 is giving all of us a new perspective and, in the face of this unprecedented crisis, we are collectively seeking moments of joy and inspiration. Sometimes that means dancing and having fun where we can. Sometimes that means experiencing the comfort and warmth that comes through simple human connection in the face of adversity. The TikTok community is uplifting one another, caring for one another and lending a hand to one another. This may be a serious time, but on TikTok it can still be joyful—and deeply inspiring. We are committed to playing our part in that global outpouring of mutual support and giving. We want to magnify all we are seeing across our community and translate it into concrete relief for those most affected by this crisis.” TikTok established the TikTok Health Heroes Relief Fund to provide $150 million toward medical staffing, supplies and hardship relief for healthcare workers on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus. Zhu said the initiative will focus on local organizations, but it is also partnering with the CDC Foundation to donate $15 toward supporting surge staffing for local response efforts via state and local health departments, and $10 million is going to the World Health Organization’s Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund to aid efforts globally. TikTok’s employee matching program will aid organizations including Direct Relief and the Red Cross. And the company is working with global and local partners to distribute masks and other personal protective equipment to hospitals in hard-hit countries including India, Indonesia, Italy, South Korea and the U.S. The TikTok Community Relief Fund will earmark $40 million for local organizations that serve groups representative of the video creation application’s communities, including artists, educators, families, musicians and nurses. Zhu said TikTok will match up to $10 million in donations from its community for this fund, adding that it is already supporting programs such as After-School All-Stars, which received $3 million to provide food for families who relied on lunch programs from schools that are now closed. TikTok U.S. head of music partnerships and content operations Corey Sheridan added in a separate blog post, “Today, we donated $2 million to MusiCares, an organization supporting artists, songwriters, technicians, crew and other music professionals whose livelihoods have been severely impacted as a result of canceled performances and work. While we know this won't replace being on tour, we hope it can help working artists and music industry professionals through this challenging time.” The TikTok Creative Learning Fund will provide $50 million in grants to educators, professional experts and nonprofits “whose real-world skills and expertise can help spread educational information and useful course material in an accessible, distance learning format,” Zhu wrote. The company will provide $100 million in ad credits to small and midsized businesses to help them pick up where they left off once normal economic activities resume. TikTok will also provide $25 million in “prominent in-feed ad space” for nongovernmental organizations, trusted health sources and local authorities to share important messages and engage with the community. Zhu concluded, “Looking ahead, TikTok will be actively seeking more ways to contribute, including identifying the most effective ways to allocate these funds to support ongoing relief needs. We understand that these are challenging times for everyone. Alongside businesses, governments, NGOs and ordinary people across the globe stepping up in this critical moment, we are committed to offering the very best that we can to help out humanity. Together, we will persevere through this time of crisis and emerge a better community and part of a world that we fervently hope will be more united in common purpose than it was before.”

Coronavirus

TikTok Pledges Over $250 Million to Coronavirus Relief Efforts

$150 million will go toward medical staffing, supplies and hardship relief for healthcare workers

David Cohen

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David Cohen