In the midst of turbulence, fear, and anxiety, brands are stepping up to help others during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspired by their actions, we are beginning a series to spotlight brands whose generosity during this time is an extension of their core values that they have been living all along. To jumpstart the series, we are maintaining an ongoing list of companies, listed in alphabetical order below:

• Alibaba Group and the Jack Ma Foundation together have donated millions of face masks and testing kits to almost every part of the world impacted by coronavirus, including: 2 million masks, 150,000 test kits, 20,000 sets of protective gear and 20,000 face shields to four countries in Southeast Asia, 1.1 million tests, 6 million masks, and 60,000 protective suits to all African countries, and 500,000 testing kits and 1 million masks to the United States.

  Values: Embrace change, Integrity, Passion, and Commitment to enable businesses to operate anywhere in the world

• Amazon is donating $1 million to each of the four foundations located in Washington D.C.: ACT for Alexandria, Arlington Community Foundation, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia and the Greater Washington Community Foundation. In addition, Amazon is giving cash to local food banks in the area and has established the Neighborhood Small Business relief Fund, donating $5 million, as well as donating $1 million to people impacted by the coronavirus in Seattle.

  Brand Values: Long-term thinking

• Anheuser-Busch has pledged to produce hand sanitizer and use nonprofit organizations to help with the distribution.

  Brand Values: Integrity, hard work, quality, and responsibility

• Apple has donated 20 million masks to the medical community in the United States and donated over $15 million to help support treating those infected with coronavirus. Apple has also updated Siri to help users who might be infected with the coronavirus walk through the symptoms and steps.

  Brand Values: We are here to make a positive difference in society, as well as make a profit

• Armani is using all of its factories in Italy to produce protective coveralls for health care workers and founder, Giorgio Armani, has donated $2.2 million to hospitals in Italy.

  Brand Values: Sustainability, ethics before strategy

• Bank of America pledged to donate $100 million to communities in need that have been impacted by the coronavirus. Additionally, CEO Brian Moynihan announced they will not lay off a single employee this year—and in fact, they have hired over 1,700 people in client support roles and are providing additional boosts to salaries. For their customers, Bank of America is providing relief on an individual basis, which could include waiving account and overdraft feed and deferring payments on credit cards mortgages, and auto loans.

  Brand Values: Deliver together and realize the power of our people

• BBC is helping freelancers out of work due to the pandemic by donating more than $800,000 to the U.K.’s Film and TV Charity.

  Brand Values: Collaboration, support and the challenge to continue learning

• CASETiFY is donating 100% of proceeds of its UV Sanitizer to the GlobalGiving’s Coronavirus Relief Fund.

  Brand Values: Empowering people

• Christian Siriano was one of the first fashion brands to volunteer producing and sewing face masks, in addition to other health care materials amid the shortages.

  Brand Values: Commitment to bringing positivity

• Citi is using their foundation, which helps low-income communities, to raise money pledging to match donations up to $2 million. Citi Foundation also announced they will be donating $15 million: $5 million to No Kid Hungry to help children who are unable to receive school lunches during this time, $5 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, and $5 million to aid international, highly impacted areas. In addition, CEO Michael Corbat has pledged zero layoffs for the remainder of 2020.

  Brand Values: An obligation to act responsibly, do everything possible to create the best outcomes

• Citizens Bank is donating $5 million to aid small businesses and affected communities.

  Brand Values: Do the right thing, think long-term, work together

• Comcast and NBC Universal leadership, including Comcast chief Brian Roberts, NBC CEO Jeff Shell, Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh, Comcast Cable chief Dave Watson and Sky CEO Jeremy Darroch, will donate 100% of their salaries to organizations fighting COVID-19. Comcast has committed over $500 million to continue to pay all employee salaries and benefits.

  Brand Values: Doing what’s right and treating people the right way, a commitment to giving back

• Crocs is offering health care workers across the U.S. a free pair of clogs with free shipping until they run out of supplies, pledging at least 10,000 pairs of Crocs through daily donations.

  Brand Values: People-purpose design, unapologetic optimism

• Facebook has pledged $100 million to help small businesses and is working with them to provide free advertising, $100 million to support the news industry, and has donated 720,000 masks to health care workers. Through Mark Zuckerberg’s Zuckerberg-Chan Foundation, Facebook has committed $25 million to the Gates Foundation to support the development of a treatment and will match donations to the Solidarity Response Fund for WHO.

  Brand Values: Build social value

• Ford, 3M & General Electric have partnered up to make masks and ventilators, currently in short supply, to help health care workers battle the coronavirus. Ford has challenged themselves, with the help of GE, to make 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days, with 30,000 a month as needed. Ford is also designing and testing new face shields for emergency responders.

  Brand Values:

  • Ford: Servant’s attitude, do the right thing

  • 3M: Act with uncompromising honesty and integrity in everything we do

  • GE: Globally oriented, every person and every idea counts, play offense

• General Motors is offering its help to Ventec Life Systems, a ventilator manufacturer, to manage logistics related to manufacturing, purchasing and distribution to increase output.

  Brand Values: Innovation, responsibility, teamwork, and continuous improvement

• Goldman Sachs has donated 600,000 N95 masks, 400,000 of which were distributed to New Jersey and New York hospitals and an additional 50,000 masks to the NHS in the UK.

  Brand Values: A commitment to people and the communities we serve to grow

• Google, announced via Alphabet Inc, is donating $800 million in medical supplies. Google also started a global COVID-19 Fund for temporary staff and vendors to take paid sick leave if they are quarantined or experiencing symptoms that prevent them from going to work. Additionally, Google is providing their video conferencing service, Hangouts Meet, for free to all G-suite customers until July.

  Brand Values: The relentless search for better answers

• Gucci donated €2 million in to support a crowdfunding campaign in Italy (for the Italian Civil Protection Department) and another global crowdfunding organization and is producing over 1 million masks and gowns for health care personnel.

  Brand Values: Cultivating joy and happiness in the way we work

• Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which owns both the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, have donated millions to organizations in Philadelphia, Camden and Newark to help with the impact to education, food programs, and communities due to coronavirus. The Sixers Youth Foundation has committed hundreds of thousands in food donations and educational tools alone.

  Brand Values: Inspire and enhance the communities where our fans live

• JP Morgan Chase has pledged $50 million in relief to groups and organizations helping fight coronavirus.

  Brand Values: Commitment to integrity, fairness, and responsibility

• KKR & Co. started a Coronavirus Relief Fund, with an initial $50 million donation to help communities and those impacted by the pandemic.

  Brand Values: Teamwork and integrity

• Kraft Heinz Co. pledged to donate $12 million in cash and food globally to help address the coronavirus pandemic–the plan includes $1.9 million to U.S. hunger organization Feeding America, which will also receive $4.7 million in products.

  Brand Values: Take ownership

• LVMH donated over 40 million face masks to health care workers in France and was one of the first to announce that it will use its perfume production facilities to make hand sanitizer to donate to the French health system.

  Brand Values: A spirit that places priority on long-term vision

• Miller Lite began a “#VirtualTipJar” campaign to raise money for bartenders. Owner, Molson Coors personally added $1 million, which goes to the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program run by the United States Bartender’s Guild National Charity Foundation.

  Brand Values: Be dedicated and authentic

• Morgan Stanley has pledged $10 million to help relief efforts and CEO James Gorman announced that they will not lay off a single employee for the remainder of the year.

  Brand Values: Doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas, giving back

• Netflix established a coronavirus relief fund, setting aside $100 million for laid-off production workers.

  Brand Values: Courage, passion, selflessness, innovation, inclusion, integrity, and impact

• Nike CEO John Donahoe announced that they have partnered with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) to prototype personal protective equipment, including face shields, in addition to their $15 million donation to support the state’s relief efforts.

  Brand Values: Authenticity, innovation and sustainability

• Patagonia, at the direction of founder Yvon Chouinard, is continuing to pay all employees despite shutting down all production, including online sales, on March 13th.

  Brand Values: Cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

• CEO Dan Schulman of PayPal announced that they will not lay off a single employee during the coronavirus pandemic and are providing customers, particularly small businesses, with relief including the ability to defer repayments on business loans and cash advancements, free of additional fees or cost.

  Brand Values: Collaboration, demonstrating integrity, trust, respect, empathy, innovation, wellness, and inclusion

• PepsiCo is committing $45 million to help communities impacted by coronavirus.

  Brand Values: Sustained growth, empowering people, trust, and responsibility

• Pfizer and the Pfizer Foundation has committed a $40 million donation in medical and grants to address the urgent needs of those impacted by coronavirus—including dedicating their resources to develop a vaccine.

  Brand Values: Quality innovation, collaboration, respect for people and integrity

• Pret a Manager is offering NHS workers hot drinks for free and a 50% discount on all other products—and will continue their commitment to distribute unused, uncontaminated food to organizations that feed the homeless.

  Brand Values: Do the right thing

• Prudential Financial is helping health care workers in New Jersey by donating 153,000 face masks, including 75,000 N95 respirators, and has pledged $1.5 million to local and global businesses. Prudential waived rent for small business owners in their retail spaces in Newark, New Jersey and continues to pay vendors for building services, such as janitorial, cafeteria, security and van drivers, with the goal to not lay off any of their workforce.

  Brand Values: Worthy of Trust: We keep our promises and are committed to doing business the right way

• Ralph Lauren Corporation is donating $10 million across the Emergency Assistance Foundation, the World Health Organization and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund’s coronavirus fund.

  Brand Values: A spirit of giving back and helping those in need

• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called for all CEOs to commit to a 90-day layoff freeze. Salesforce has also pledged to match all employee donations to relief efforts and Salesforce has donated $1 million to UCSF’s COVID-19 Response Fund and $500,000 to the CDC Foundation’s Emergency Response Fund.

  Brand Values: Trust, customer success, innovation, and equality

• Starbucks announced that they will not lay off a single employee during the coronavirus pandemic and provide free coffee to all first responders. In addition, they have partnered with Amazon, Microsoft and others to launch a relief fund.

  Brand Values: Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome. Acting with courage, challenging the status quo. Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.

• Sweetgreen is delivering free salads and bowls to hospitals in all of the cities they are located.

  Brand Values: Create solutions where the customer wins, the community wins, the company wins. Think sustainably and make decisions that last longer than you will.

• The Kraft Group founder, chairman and CEO Robert Kraft used the New England Patriots team jet to fly to China and purchase over 1.4 million face masks and PPE to bring back to the U.S. Inspired by Governor Cuomo, Kraft donated over 300,000 to New York City.

  Brand Values: Exercise good character and be responsible for your actions

• Tito’s Vodka has pledged to produce and distribute 24 tons of hand sanitizer to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also released an immediate donation of $1 million between four organizations focused on those in the service industry — CORE, USBG Foundation, Southern Smoke, and World Central Kitchen — and will fund an additional $1 million to uncover further needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Brand Values: Spread love, spread joy, committed to making the world a better place

• Truist Financial Corp. pledged $25 million through its Truist Cares initiative to provide aid and supplies across the U.S. impacted by the coronavirus. A $1 million donation is immediately going to the CDC Foundation and Johns Hopkins Medicine and $3 million to United Way organizations that support local communities.

  Brand Values: To inspire and build better lives and communities

• CEO Alan Jope, on behalf of Unilever announced a donation of over $100 million in products such as soap, sanitizer, bleach and food for charities, with half of the amount going to the COVID Action Platform of the World Economic Forum. Unilever will also release around $580 million in cash to aid suppliers and small retailers to help protect jobs and keep the businesses running.

  Brand Values: Integrity, responsibility, respect, and pioneering

• Visa, under the direction of Alfred F. Kelly Jr., chairman and CEO, has committed to zero layoffs for staff, over 20,000 people during the remainder of 2020.

  Brand Values: Integrity, people, innovation, clients, collaboration, and excellence

• Walmart is donating $25 million to various organizations, including: $10 million for food banks, $10 million to “support local efforts” in the U.S. and around the world and $5 million to help other countries fight the virus.

  Brand Values: Respect for the individual, strive for excellence and act with Integrity

• WarnerMedia is setting aside $100 million to establish a relief fund for staff on productions that have been shutdown.

  Brand Values: Committed to helping employees feel valued and inspired

• Wells Fargo is using its foundation to donate up to $6.25 million to global and U.S. public health aid with an additional $5 million to support local communities.

  Brand Values: People as a competitive advantage, ethics, diversity and inclusion

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About Brand Acts of Kindness® 

Brand Acts of Kindness® is a series from Carpenter Group that spotlights companies across industries that are living their brand values in addressing the unprecedented challenges facing the world today.

The series initially headlined companies assisting healthcare workers and first responders, as well as communities, businesses and families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We also highlight brands taking the lead in supporting social and racial justice, LGBTQ rights, sustainability and the environment. Their stories show how innovation, resolve and action, built on a solid value proposition, can both strengthen a brand and help create a better world.

About Carpenter Group

Carpenter Group is an independent, woman-owned strategic branding, messaging and marketing communications firm that has delivered results-driven solutions to financial, professional services and technology firms for 30+ years.

Our broad cross-discipline experience enables us to craft brand messaging and carry it through to the channels that most effectively connect with our clients’ target audience, from editorial content to advertising to event marketing and more.