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Nike, Inc. and Company Leaders Will Donate Over $15 Million to Coronavirus Relief Efforts

Portland, OR. The Nike Family is coming out in support of COVID-19 relief efforts including funds for the Oregon Food Bank and Oregon Community Foundation. Nike, Inc. explained the donation in a statement:

In light of the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak impacting our teammates, friends and family, we are coming together to support communities where our employees live and work. Nike’s leaders, the Nike Foundation and Nike are committing more than $15 million to COVID-19 response efforts.

Chairman Emeritus and co-founder Phil Knight and wife Penny; NIKE, Inc. Executive Chairman of the Board Mark Parker and wife Kathy; and NIKE, Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe and wife Eileen, are personally donating a combined $10 million to the following: $1 million to the Oregon Food Bank, $2 million to the Oregon Community Recovery Fund created by the Oregon Community Foundation, and $7 million to Oregon Health & Science University to improve statewide care coordination in Oregon, increase patient access, and ramp up operational readiness for expanded diagnostic testing for COVID-19.

Phil Knight has been involved at OHSU for many years and in 2015 he joined Good Morning America Anchor Robin Roberts and Dr. Brian Druker for an interview.

In addition, the Nike Foundation announced a $1 million donation to the global COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, created by the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, to fund efforts by the World Health Organization and partners to support countries preparing for and responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Nike Foundation is also doing the following:

$1 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, formed by the United Nations Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation
$1 million to the Oregon Community Recovery Fund, formed by the Oregon Community Foundation
$1 million ($1.1 million) to support the company’s partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The money will be given to the King Baudouin Foundation
$250,000 to the Mid-South Food Bank in Memphis, Tennessee, where Nike has a large presence and distribution center
$250,000 to the COVID-19 Regional Response Fund, formed by the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis
$500,000 to the COVID-19 Response Fund, formed by the Boston Foundation

Nike also gave roughly $1.4 million to the China Youth Development Foundation in January to help provide supplies and equipment to frontline workers.

To further support communities where NIKE employees live and work, we will also support a two-to-one match for any donations to support COVID-19 responses locally, nationally and internationally.

Nike closed stores in multiple countries around the world including in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand to limit the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Customers can continue to shop on Nike.com and on our Nike apps.

More information can be found at https://news.nike.com/news/nike-covid-19-community-response.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.