Embracing our purpose to build stronger communities

Equitable is proud to be a long-term contributor to the communities where we work and live by providing grants, partnerships and volunteerism through the Equitable Foundation. Our commitment to strengthening our communities is an extension of our promise to be a trusted and valued partner to all we serve.

As the COVID-19 pandemic presented health and economic challenges to nearly every person, company and industry, Equitable employees, financial professionals, and the Equitable Foundation stepped up to deliver support, donating $1 million to nonprofits specifically for COVID-19 relief.

Recognizing the incredible need for students and educators to safely return to classrooms, we pledged $500,000 to DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning program in April, which enabled teachers to send personalized educational care packages to students’ homes to help facilitate remote learning. Equitable’s donation to Keep Kids Learning benefitted more than 20,000 students and 500 teachers. This was followed by an additional commitment of $150,000 to DonorsChoose to provide masks, sanitizer, and supplies to more than 500 educators and 15,000 students. The Foundation also donated more than 8,000 face masks and shields, 20,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and 7,000 packages of disinfecting wipes to schools. Additionally, the Foundation has been supporting efforts by 3 Heart Strings to create and deliver PPE kits to schools in need in Broward County, Florida.

$ 2 million to local nonprofit organizations

$ 650,000 in assistance to educators and supplies, helping at least 35,000 students and 1,000 teachers

$ 1.8 million in academic scholarships, awarded to 369 students across all 50 states

8,000 face masks, 20,000 bottles of hand sanitizer, and 7,000 packages of disinfecting wipes donated to schools

Equitable Excellence program

Our commitment to education is further exemplified by our Equitable Excellence program which has awarded over $30 million to more than 6,800 students since its inception in 2003. As one of the nation’s largest corporate scholarship sponsors Equitable provided $1.8 million in academic scholarships to 369 students across all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. With these scholarships, students were able to launch their own nonprofits to fund childhood cancer research, protect the environment, and combat racism. Students used the funds to launch creative initiatives in their schools, towns, states and even in other countries around the world.

Aligned with our efforts to identify opportunities to advance equity in all we do, we took steps to help ensure the recipients of these awards represent a diverse array of experiences and backgrounds.

Michaela James-Thrower

Michaela planned the first student-led teacher conference at her school; at the event, teachers were given real-world situations that students encounter and worked to resolve them from the student’s point of view.

Sophia Xu

Sophia developed a custom hoodie to help ease symptoms of sensory overload for those with autism. This weighted hoodie provides a sense of physical security to those who wear it.

Sophia Andrews

Sophia launched a community-based performing arts program for underprivileged, orphaned and refugee girls in Nairobi, Kenya.

In total, Equitable awarded $5 million to our local communities in 2021, including more than $1 million directed by employees through our Matching Gifts program, which encourages direct funding to the causes and charitable organizations employees most care about in their local communities. And through our Equitable in Action program, employees and Financial Professionals across the country strengthened their communities with more than 2,200 hours of virtual and in-person volunteer service.

We are proud of what we have accomplished though the Equitable Foundation to help make the world a better place and are looking forward to continuing these efforts together.