Salesforce has announced grants totaling $19 million in support of education access and advancement, with a focus on racial equity.

The funding includes grants totaling $17.25 million to five school districts across the United States: $7.5 million each to the San Francisco Unified School District and the Oakland Unified School District and $750,000 each to Chicago Public Schools, Indianapolis Public Schools, and the New York City Department of Education. The grants will support efforts to provide computer science curricula, support math and science teachers, recruit teachers for hard-to-staff positions, redesign middle schools, and offer additional equity-driven learning opportunities; create social-emotional support programs for students, offer professional growth for teachers, provide computer science and math tutoring, and counsel students who are newcomers to the U.S.; and develop programs to address learning loss, the digital divide, and social-emotional wellness after COVID-19.

In addition, grants totaling $1.75 million were awarded to four education nonprofits in the U.S. and Europe: $50,000 to School Board Partners (U.S.) and $500,000 each to OneGoal (U.S.), Forum des Images (France), and the Access Project (United Kingdom). With the latest grants, Salesforce's giving in support of education totals more than $140 million, including $100 million to the San Francisco and Oakland school districts.

"Back to school looks different this year, and there are new demands on teachers, parents, and students," said Salesforce chief philanthropy officer Ebony Beckwith. "To ensure their success, we're leaning into our values and bringing the full power of our platform to help support them through another year of pandemic learning."

"The past year and a half was a challenge for not only staff but also students. To have a community partner like Salesforce come alongside our school district with such a generous donation is invaluable," said IPS superintendent Alessia Johnson. "These additional resources will help IPS address the specific needs of our students — during and after the pandemic — through learning acceleration, ensuring we can continue to provide 1:1 technology and access to reliable Internet service for students, [and] focusing on the whole child through social emotional learning and trauma-informed care. I often say that we're stronger together, and it's partnerships with organizations like Salesforce that highlight how working together can yield awesome benefits for our children."

(Photo credit: Salesforce)