Citi’s COVID-19 Community Relief Efforts Reach Over $65 Million Globally

Citi announced today that Citi and the Citi Foundation have committed over $65 million to date in support of COVID-19-related community relief efforts around the world, including nearly $36 million in charitable contributions from Citi and nearly $30 million in grants from the Citi Foundation.

These efforts are helping to deliver immediate relief to frontline workers and populations within communities most impacted. They also are supporting longer-term investments in programs focused on economic recovery and financial stability. Relief is being provided in the form of medical equipment for frontline healthcare workers and meals for low-income families, as well as support and resources for small businesses and individuals, to help communities facing critical challenges.

“Citi colleagues and businesses around the world have mobilized individually and collectively to help those most impacted by this global pandemic,” said Citi CEO Michael Corbat. “These are our values in action and we will continue to complement our business activities with our philanthropy to support our communities in every way we can.”

The Citi Foundation is committing $10 million to help Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the U.S. serve small, diverse entrepreneurs who may not fully qualify for federal government stimulus funding. The commitment will also help scale digital tax preparation services to help more than 50,000 families access remote digital tax prep services, financial counseling and assistance in filing for stimulus funds and Earned Income Tax Credits. Efforts will support communities across the U.S., including those in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. In addition, the Citi Foundation redirected $4.5 million in funding to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation and Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund to support financial counseling and supportive services.

These contributions are in addition to the Citi Foundation’s initial $15 million commitment, which was comprised of $5 million to support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, $5 million for emergency food distribution programs in the U.S. through No Kid Hungry, and $5 million for additional country-specific efforts outside the U.S. Citi also matched $2 million raised from clients and colleagues, bringing the total amount donated to No Kid Hungry to $9 million as a result of Citi’s efforts.

In addition, Citi is launching a new employee donation campaign called Double the Good. For every $1 donated by a Citi employee in support of COVID-19 relief, Citi will donate $1 to one of four organizations selected by each of Citi’s regions to address unique challenges: United Nations Development Programme (Asia Pacific), International Rescue Committee (Europe, Middle East and Africa), the International Organization for Migration (Latin America) and Direct Relief (North America). Donations made between January 1 and May 31, 2020 are eligible, and Citi will be donating up to $500,000 to each organization.Citi’s work to actively support COVID-19 relief efforts include global, regional and localized efforts in specific countries, including:

North America

• Committed $10 million in the U.S. to make financial counseling and supportive services available to small business owners and families experiencing financial hardship through community-based organizations, including Women’s Housing and Development Corporation in New York, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and So Others Might Eat in Washington, D.C.
• Together with Citi Foundation, donated $7 million to No Kid Hungry to support emergency Food Distribution Programs across the U.S, in addition to raising $2 million through the matching program for a total of $9 million to No Kid Hungry
• Donated $2 million to help address the needs of people with disabilities in cities across the U.S., including funding to the National Disability Institute to provide personal protective equipment, medical supplies, meal deliveries and COVID-19-related resources
• Supporting &pizza’s Hero Pie program to help feed frontline workers in New York, D.C. and Boston, and enable the program to expand to additional cities in the U.S.
• Donated personal protective equipment from closed on-site Live Well Medical Clinics to frontline teams across the U.S., including a fire department in San Antonio and a nursing home in St. Louis; equipment included N95 masks, surgical masks, isolation gowns, face shields and gloves
• Supported the creation of an online tool in partnership with Microsoft that provides South Florida residents and small businesses access to economic support services in English, Spanish and Creole
• Provided support to the LA Chamber of Commerce to lead the deployment of LA County’s newly established small business fund targeting minority, women and immigrant-owned small businesses and micro-entrepreneurs at risk of not benefitting from the CARES Act
• Matched employee fundraising efforts to support Food Banks Canada, which is addressing the shortage of food supplies

New York

• Acquired and donated 50,000 fluid-resistant masks to Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City
• Partnering with catering supply chain partners and United Neighborhood Houses NY to repurpose food facilities at our 388 Greenwich Street Headquarters and distribute up to 1,000 meals daily to families across New York City
• Raising funding for Food Bank for New York City to help provide meals for families, healthcare workers and first responders across the city; funds raised through a charitable campaign in which Citi’s North American Rates business donates $1 for every $1 million traded electronically in interest rate products in the U.S.
• Committed funding to New York-Presbyterian Queens to help provide 1,000 meals for frontline workers, including hospital staff, NYPD and paramedics
• Directed funding to Free Arts NYC to ship art supplies and activity packets for 2,000 kids in homeless shelters through June
• Directed funding to USO Metro NY to support service members on the USNS
• Comfort, who are providing frontline care for COVID-19 patients
• Directed funding to City Harvest in support of their “Skip Lunch Fight Hunger” campaign to help feed vulnerable families across New York City

Latin America

• Citibanamex committed approximately $4.4 million to support local communities in Mexico, with a portion of the funding going towards emergency relief efforts and economic recovery
• Citi Foundation committed $1 million for country-level relief efforts across the region
• Pledged funding to the #SeamosUno campaign to help purchase supplies such as food, toiletries and sanitary products for 4 million people in Argentina
• Contributed funds for immediate medical relief efforts in Uruguay

Europe, Middle East and Africa

• Citi Foundation committed $2.5 million for country-level relief efforts across the region
• Matching employee fundraising efforts in the UK to benefit charities providing food to vulnerable communities and support for healthcare workers
• Pledged funding to Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda – Policlinico Hospital in Milan, Italy to support critical relief efforts
• Committed funding to support frontline healthcare workers in partnership with Kronenberg Foundation and Voivodeship Ambulance and Sanitary Transport Stations in Olsztyn and Warszawa
• Committed funding to the Lebanese Banking Association, which is pooling funds across the banking sector to provide support for local relief efforts
• Contributed funds to Latet in Israel to support the purchase of food parcels for the elderly and holocaust survivors
• Donated to the American Chamber of Commerce’s “United Against COVID-19” relief fund in Bulgaria to support medical relief and social services
• Contributed funding to the King Baudouin Foundation’s Fund for Supportive Care in Belgium, which provides support for frontline organizations across the country
• Contributed funding to Barnados in Ireland to support young people adversely impacted by COVID-19
• Pledged funding to PinkDrive in South Africa to support screenings of COVID-19 patients
• Committed funding to Asociatia Daruieste Viata in Romania, which is building a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients and providing public hospitals with protective equipment for frontline medical personnel

Asia Pacific

• Pledged $10 million in India to aid in a number of relief and recovery measures, including food provisions for low-income families across the country
• Citi Foundation committed $1.5 million for country-level relief efforts across the region
• Donated to Give2Asia in support of medical relief efforts in the most impacted communities

Across China

• Matched employee and client fundraising efforts to support frontline hospitals in China via the China Friendship Foundation for Peace and Development
• Acquired and donated over 270,000 face masks and other supplies to Tung
• Wah Group of Hospitals, Feeding Hong Kong, Hong Kong Unison and Social Welfare Department of the HKSAR Government
• Donated to Hope Bridge Korea Disaster Relief Association to provide face masks and hand sanitizers to underprivileged communities, as well as supplies for medical staff in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province

Global

• Citi Foundation committed $5 million to United Nations Foundation to support the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which is providing protective equipment for frontline healthcare workers, equipping diagnostic laboratories, improving surveillance and data collection, and establishing and maintaining intensive care units

In addition, Citi continues to take proactive measures to preserve the well-being of employees globally, including special compensation awards to 75,000 colleagues to help ease the financial burden of this situation. Citi is also offering assistance to impacted customers through credit card payment deferrals, fee waivers, hardship programs, and additional small business support.

Citi Foundation The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach deploys the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation.