Bayer Fund Awards Millions of Dollars in Grants to Help Thousands of Americans, During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of life sciences company Bayer, today awarded more than $4 million in grants to 250 charities and non-profit organizations throughout the United States. Each grant will go toward a program that supports one or more of Bayer Fund’s key focus areas: food and nutrition, STEM Education, health and wellness and community development.

“We’re proud to support these organizations and help strengthen them to make meaningful impacts in the communities they serve,” said Al Mitchell, President of Bayer Fund. “Now, more than ever, we need to make sure we provide them with the tools they need, such as programming and other resources to support their communities in such unprecedented times.”

In addition to program grants, another $2 million will be given to help support initiatives related to COVID-19, with the first $710,000 awarded to address food insecurity, which will help thousands of Americans within the greater St. Louis, New York, New Jersey, Pittsburgh and Berkeley, Calif. regions.

“Bayer Fund’s generous support of our mission during this critical time is two-fold. Not only will the funds help us buy more food as we work to meet the unprecedented increase in need, but they will also allow us to purchase a 26-foot box truck for the FoodBank that will bolster our operations and expand our capacity to get that food out to where it's needed most,” said Carlos Rodriguez, President & CEO of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey.

In 2019 alone, the Fund awarded more than $14 million to over 3,200 charitable and nonprofit organizations to help address essential needs in food and nutrition, STEM education and community development. Over the last five years, nonprofit organizations across the United States have received more than $79 million from Bayer Fund.

“Bayer Fund has shown tremendous leadership and generosity in responding to the needs of the St. Louis community,” said Rosemary Hanley, CEO and Co-Founder of The Little Bit Foundation, a St. Louis-based nonprofit working to empower under-resourced students to succeed in the classroom and beyond. “Through forward-thinking and significant investment by Bayer Fund, Little Bit and the Washington University Institute of School Partnership have been able to bring STEM programming to more than 5,000 students that may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience real-world applications of this important field of study. We are grateful for their continued partnership and vision.”

In addition to grant donations, Bayer Fund offers a matching gifts program to all Bayer employees in the United States. This program allows employees to donate up to $2,500 a year to a qualified local charity or multiple charities of their choice, and Bayer Fund will match 100% of the employee’s donation. As an extension of this program, Bayer Fund will provide Bayer employees an opportunity to donate an additional $2,500 to their preferred qualified local charities from May 15 through August 31, to help support more organizations and non-profits, during this critical time.

About Bayer Fund

Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the communities where Bayer customers and employees live and work by providing funding for food and nutrition, education and community development projects. For more information, visit www.fund.bayer.us.