Business Council of Alabama member ExxonMobil’s Educational Matching Gift Program has awarded $865,000 to Alabama’s 11 institutions of higher learning. The grants are unrestricted but colleges and universities are encouraged to designate a portion to math and science programs supporting student engagement, the company said.
ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors, and surviving spouses contributed $219,000 to 11 Alabama colleges and universities, an amount that was matched by $646,000 in unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation.
ExxonMobil’s program matches donor pledges on a three-to-one basis up to $7,500 to qualified U.S. colleges and universities as well as the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and the United Negro College Fund.
More than $630 million has been contributed to American institutions during the more than 50 years the company has offered the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil said.
“ExxonMobil’s employees are committed to investing in quality education,” said Ben Soraci, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. “The ExxonMobil Foundation has a long history of supporting a range of efforts to improve education in the United States. We hope our contributions and the generous support of ExxonMobil’s employees will help create a stronger future for today’s students.”
Nationwide, more than 850 institutions received more than $50 million through the 2016 Educational Matching Gift Program.
In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation support and develop programs that encourage students, particularly women and minorities, toward careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teacher training initiatives.
The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corp. in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities advancing education, with a focus on U.S. math and science, promoting women as catalysts for economic development, and combating malaria.
In 2016, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corp., its divisions and affiliates, and the ExxonMobil Foundation provided $242 million in contributions worldwide, of which $72 million was dedicated to education.