Largest Companies Pledge Over $1.6 Billion to Fight Inequality

Companies have been bending over backwards looking for ways to connect to consumers during COVID-19 lockdowns. With the introduction of worldwide Black Lives Matter protests, many companies are again charting new territory in how to respond in a positive way on social media and other platforms. For some of the top Fortune 100 companies, large-scale donations to fight inequality have been their primary response.

In data from Fortune 500 companies collected by Axios, 42 out of the top 100 companies have pledged roughly $1.6 billion to charities and organizations in the fight against inequality. Among the top companies are Bank of America, which has pledged $1 billion, followed by Walmart, Comcast and Apple who have all pledged $100 million each.

The response of many top companies to the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd is very different from the recent past, where companies thought discussing the issues would only hurt their brand. Now, it seems many companies think the opposite – if they don’t outwardly pronounce their support, their brand could suffer.

While 42 out of the 100 top companies have pledged money, just 10 companies make up 90 percent of the total donations so far.