Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out an internal email earlier today announcing a new charitable matching program for Apple employees. Under the program, Apple will match amounts donated to charity by employees dollar-for-dollar, up to a $10,000 annual limit.
The report comes to use from MacRumors, and continues on to state that the program is presently limited to Apple’s full-time US employees, but there are plans to expand the program to additional counties in the future. The information has been confirmed by an Apple spokesperson. This marks a change at Apple, as Apple has typically not engaged in charitable donations in the past.
The full text of Tim Cook’s letter is as follows:
Team:
I am very happy to announce that we are kicking off a matching gift program for charitable donations. We are all really inspired by the generosity of our co-workers who give back to the community and this program is going to help that individual giving go even farther.
Starting September 15, when you give money to a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, Apple will match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to $10,000 annually. This program will be for full-time employees in the US at first, and we’ll expand it to other parts of the world over time.
Thank you all for working so hard to make a difference, both here at Apple and in the lives of others. I am incredibly proud to be part of this team.
If you’d like more information on the program, you can get it on HRWeb, which can be easily accessed through AppleWeb.
Tim
The introduction of this charitable matching program may support the notion that Tim Cook’s managerial style does vary from that of Steve Jobs, who was not known for his charitable efforts as Apple’s CEO, despite a significant contribution to the Product(RED) campaign against AIDS.