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Macy's believes in giving back to the communities where we live and work. We focus our funding on arts and culture, education, HIV/AIDS, and women's issues (with an emphasis on minority issues within each of those four areas) and the environment.
Collectively, contributions from the company and the Macy's Foundation – as well as employee contributions through workplace giving campaigns and customer contributions through our signature giving programs – totaled approximately $76.6 million in 2008.
CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION GIVING
Grants from the company and the Macy's Foundation totaled approximately $31.5 million to more than 5,000 nonprofit organizations in 2008.
Across the country, our support helped sponsor important exhibits at museums, formed partnerships with symphonies, theatres and zoos to create educational and fun "family days," provided scholarships and mentoring for disadvantaged youth, raised funds for the fight against breast cancer, supported women's shelters, and rallied behind the HIV/AIDS cause with funding for testing, food banks and other support services.
As part of our 2008 holiday "Believe" advertising campaign, Macy's contributed $1 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to help make dreams come true for children with medically life-threatening conditions.
To learn more about Foundation grants and sponsorships, please send inquiries to visit the Community/Foundation section of www.macysinc.com. (Unfortunately, we cannot accept inquiries or proposals via fax or mail.)
CUSTOMER GIFTS
Throughout the year, we invite our customers to join us in supporting causes that make a difference – both nationally and in local communities. In 2008, customers contributed $32.8 million through our signature "give back" opportunities.
Go Red For Women – 2008 was Macy's fifth year as national sponsor of "Go Red For Women," the American Heart Association (AHA) campaign for awareness and prevention of heart disease in women. A total of $3.5 million was contributed to the AHA from Macy's participation in National Wear Red Day, our national Shop For A Cause charity shopping day and our Thanks For Sharing holiday program. In the past five years, Go Red has received more than $19 million from Macy's and its customers.
Shop For A Cause - Macy's Shop For A Cause, our national charity shopping day, raised more than $9.1 million in one day in 2008 for local, regional and national nonprofit organizations across the United States. Shop For A Cause has raised nearly $28 million in the three years the event has been held.
Thanks For Sharing, Macy's holiday gifts rewards program, raised a record $14.7 million for nonprofit organizations in 2008. This signature program offers customers the opportunity to support charities when they enroll in the holiday rewards program. Thanks For Sharing has raised more than $51 million for charities nationwide in the past six years.
Back To The Books – In its third year, Macy's Back To The Books campaign totaled a record-breaking $3.2 million in 2008 to benefit Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the oldest and largest children's and family literacy organization in the country. Donations support local RIF programs and provide reading resources. In addition, the Macy's Fund for Multicultural Resources provides literacy resources to African-American, Hispanic, and Native American children and their families. Back To The Books has raised more than $6.9 million in the past five years.
ASSOCIATE GIVING
Macy's associates are equally committed to the "give back" philosophy.
Partners in Time – Volunteers through Partners in Time, our employee volunteer program, have donated approximately 1.7 million hours of community service since the program began 20 years ago. This is a contribution valued at more than $28 million.
Partners in Time has been nationally recognized and, among its many honors, received the Points of Light/Hands On Network's "Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteerism." In 2008, about 60,000 employees volunteered for more than 3,500 projects.
The major Partners in Time project during the year is Bag Hunger, the food drive held across the company to help alleviate hunger during the summer – a time when pantry shelves are often bare and school meal programs are not offered. In 2008, 10.2 million pounds of food and equivalent donations were collected. Since 1998 when Bag Hunger was introduced, Partners in Time has provided 62 million meals for hungry families across the country.
Macy's Foundation Matching Gifts – In 2008, our associates contributed more than $4 million of their personal funds to approximately 3,200 nonprofit organizations across the country. The Macy's Foundation contributed an additional $4 million, matching our associates' gifts on a dollar-for-dollar basis through our Matching Gift program.
Earning For Learning – Grants totaling $68,000 were awarded to 158 schools across the country in 2008 through the Earning For Learning (EFL) program. With EFL, associates and their immediate families can earn a $250 grant for their local school by volunteering their time for mentoring and tutoring activities.
United Way – In 2008, the Macy's contribution to United Way chapters across the country totaled more than $16.3 million – including $12.4 million from associates and $3.9 million from the Macy's Foundation. Total giving by Macy's places the company on the United Way's "National Corporate Leader" roster.
