Salesforce pledges $27 million in new education grants across major US cities

Salesforce revealed a $27 million education grant package, directing $18 million to public school districts in San Francisco, Oakland, New York City, Chicago and Indianapolis. This allocation continues a partnership that started in 2013 when CEO Marc Benioff wrote a $2.7 million check as a down payment on a pledged $100 million contribution over ten years. Benioff emphasized that the donations are unconditional except for a “no hate, no discrimination” clause, and they now focus on AI readiness as well as traditional computer-science and math support.

The grants are part of Salesforce’s 1-1-1 model, which dedicates 1 % of equity, product and employee time to charitable causes, and include $100,000 checks for each middle-school principal. The company also relaunched an Adopt-a-School program, pairing staff with schools for mentoring, workshops and classroom upgrades, aiming to expand globally in future fiscal years.